Human opinion on capitalism

Most of the world's inhabitants have become disillusioned with Western-style capitalism and liberal democracy, and see little future for themselves.

Such conclusions follow from the report of the authors of the Edelman Trust Barometer study, conducted in October-November 2019. In the course of this study, more than 34 thousand people were interviewed in 28 countries of the world, and 56% agreed that capitalism does more harm than good.

The share of such answers was especially high in Thailand (75%) and India (74%), however, more than half of the respondents in their seemingly prosperous countries such as France (69%), Italy (61) declared their disappointment in modern capitalism. %), Spain (60%), the Netherlands (59%), Ireland (57%), Germany (55%), Singapore (54%) and the United Kingdom (53%). In Russia, 55% of respondents agree that there is more harm than good from capitalism. The increase in general pessimism is logically accompanied by a decrease in confidence in the political system: 57% of the respondents said that the authorities serve the interests of the minority.

Most are dissatisfied with capitalism, even in "developed countries."

Distrust of the market system and the demand for an alternative that would meet the needs and requirements of the majority of the population is a growing phenomenon, but not a new one. Back in 2010, according to Gallup polls, more than a third of Americans spoke positively about socialism, despite the fact that the term and generally any idea of ​​a social and economic system alternative to a market (i.e. capitalist) in the USA were carefully trampled on and denigrated by decades of powerful propaganda for all levels: from the media, schools and churches to specialized foundations and institutions.

A similar picture can be observed in the UK: YouGov polls in 2016 showed that the majority of respondents are more likely to have a negative attitude towards capitalism and rather a positive attitude to socialism, especially among young people. The situation in Germany is even more obvious. It is significant that such sympathies are often not expressed in greater support of the official left-centrist, left-liberal and social-democratic parties, which over the past 30-40 years have finally refused even in words the transformation of the capitalist system into something else, and they are only talking about its cosmetic improvements and regulation.

The mood of Russian citizens as a whole is in line with world trends, which is clearly seen from a study conducted in 2017 and 2019 by the Carnegie Moscow Center. Residents of the Russian Federation more and more want changes, moreover, "decisive and large-scale." But no matter how the authors of the study try by carefully selecting questions and directing respondents to achieve the picture they want for themselves — that citizens want changes in a liberal way, more than “democracy” and the market, the results are completely opposite.

Russian citizens lose faith that “stability” and the market are good for them

The number of Russian citizens who believe that decisive full-scale changes are needed has increased from 42% (as of July 2017) to 59% (as of July 2019).

Liberal reforms interest people far less than affordable medicine and education, job creation, lower prices for food and utilities. Even the item “redistribute resources in favor of the poor at the expense of the rich” gained more than “carry out democratic reforms”. In the same way, people in their desire for change do not want to focus on the United States, and even less so Ukraine: the desire to rely "only on their own experience" is leading, which the authors of the study reluctantly respond, "Perhaps they mean Soviet management practices. " And only 18% of those surveyed by the Carnegie Center agreed that "the market will regulate everything." It is also characteristic that as the main opponents of change, the respondents called not only “officials and bureaucracy”, but also big business, and the proportion of those who think so has grown sharply since 2017.

Another part of the study, devoted to “personal contribution to change”, in our opinion, speaks more about the researchers themselves than about the citizens they interviewed. As possible options for what citizens would have to do to improve their lives, they offered them a list of “change of profession / retraining,” “partial payment of medical services,” “canceling part of social benefits,” “expanding the system of paid education,” and “ raising utility bills ”. It is logical that most people who wanted and want from the changes are not shocking liberal reforms in the Ukrainian style agreed only on the first point - retraining and changing their profession, and rejected all the others. The authors of the study, of course, are blatantly annoying.



There is nothing strange in such moods in Russia and around the world. Another Oxfam study showed that the state of billionaires around the world - there are about 2.1 thousand people - exceeds the total state of 60% of the world's population, or about 4.6 billion people. And if we take the entire population of the planet, then the people included in 1% of its richest inhabitants, in aggregate, have a fortune twice the wealth of 6.9 billion people in the world.

Similar reports are made almost every year, and every year the situation becomes even worse. But a lot has already been written about this situation with glaring inequality and the injustice of the socio-economic structure both in the Russian Federation and in all other parts of the global system. As well as what is proposed to do with it.

On the other hand, barricades, among major business figures and various international structures, are increasing expectations of an imminent crisis. Everyone understands that the market system creates large-scale crises that destroy the lives of millions of people with an enviable frequency, and the time is right for another crash. The pessimism of top managers regarding the growth rate of the global economy has reached record levels. The problems of the world economy are exacerbating even faster than expected, and the head of the IMF at the forum in Davos warns that the world will face a new Great Depression. Some domestic experts are also talking about the impending crisis in the world economy, although it is still unclear whether their specific forecasts will come true. Perhaps all that is missing is the trigger in the form of some kind of malfunctioning of exchange software in the USA or a sudden epidemic in Asia.

Everyone is restless. Such a respectable magazine as Forbes wrote at the end of last year that large-scale upheavals await modern society, calling even the world revolution among the possible. The realization that the global socio-economic system, based on private property and a free market, has exhausted the possibilities of its development and leads mankind to perish, is already coming to those who derive the most benefits from its existence and would like to close it most of all eyes.

The environment is being destroyed at a record pace

The demand from the working population for an alternative to a market socioeconomic system, crushed in the 80s and 90s of the last century, is growing as more and more people realize that while maintaining the current order, nothing shines for them. Worse, the continued existence of the system in its same form threatens them not only with ordinary living in poverty and exhaustion in the constant rat race of the market. Events looming on the horizon, threatening a much faster loss of livelihoods, and even life: due to another crisis swollen by speculation in the global economy, more frequent wars in an unstable international environment or the consequences of mindless environmental destruction.

Of course, you should not take it for granted, or succumb to premature panic. The global market system is unlikely to collapse from the next crisis, but it will certainly aggravate the already troubled situation in the world. It is unlikely that a new world war will begin from today to tomorrow, but the world more and more begins to resemble the beginning of the twentieth century, on the eve of the First World War. Environmental degradation will not lead to the instant death of mankind in a cataclysm of absurd proportions. Natural disasters will simply become more frequent, resources will be depleted, and pollution will accumulate further. Life will become worse, usually slowly and not so noticeably, and sometimes - by sudden leaps.

Those who want to seriously fight for the interests of the working-class majority need to bear in mind these threats, as well as the growing demand for a different, more just and sustainable social structure. The ground for the development of a movement aimed at fundamental changes in life already exists. We need to work on preparing this event now, so that at a crisis moment the working people are ready to take the fate of humanity into their own hands.



2020.01.25 https://www.pf.team/articles/kapitalizm-nadoel-bol%2527shinstvu__bGtpaZYF