Underlying problems of capitalism

The economic growth achieved during the past six months of 2009 is unsustainable. The underlying problems of capitalism needs to be solved before the world can see a revival of growth and prosperity. These problems are:

a) wide gap in income
b) insufficient employment opportunities
c) cheating

The wide inequality in come means that a few people are super rich while the majority are poor and struggling to get by. The poor families cannot consume goods or services, which are necessary for economic growth. The super wealthy can flout their wealth, but their actual consumption is limited.

Insufficient job opportunities leads to uncertainty and insecurity. They force more families to increase their savings and have fewer children, in case they lose their jobs. Many people work harder to keep their jobs, leading to fewer jobs for the unemployed.

There is rampant cheating, especially in the financial products. Bad products that rip off consumers are being sold under the regime of "caveat emptor". Many are unregulated investment products, which are actually scams created to cheat people of their money using deception and false promises. Even regulated products are sold using deceptive means, and are used to hide exorbitant charges to enrich the issuer and the marketeers.

If the underlying ills of the capitalist system are not addressed, the global economy cannot have a sustained recovery. As individual countries struggle to take care of their people, they will increase the suffering inflicted on other countries. This could lead to economic and military conflicts.

The measures to address these economic ills include:

a) Fairer distribution of income through minimum wage and high taxation of the super rich
b) Fairer distribution of work by imposing a cap on the working hours, so that more jobs can be created for the unemployed and school leavers
c) Stronger regulation to prevent cheating of consumers and to encourage honest business practices.
d) Return to some measure of protectionism, to reduce the harmful effects of globalization and international competition.

We have to say goodbye to the bad capitalism of the past two decades, and to the excessive greed and dishonesty that thrived during this period, before we can see a better economic and social world. We also have to return to religion.

Tan Kin Lian