Capitalism is morally NOT sustainable

and ecologically neither

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Capitalism is morally (and ecologically) NOT sustainable:

American capitalism is to blame for the current economic crisis, which is structural and rooted in long-term shifts in the balance of power between labor and capital. Capitalism worldwide does not care about unemployment, foreclosures, and cuts to public services. All of which are symptoms of a failing system, worsened by corporate-driven policies, environmental destruction, and military interventions.

Capitalism in the U.S. and in the world boomed thanks to World War II, but at the same time Communism took the Soviet Union and China. Workers started to get organized and oppose their Tsars and Emperors. In the western world the working class unionized and organized strikes after which they got better wages. The power lay in the collective, and the capitalists responded by strategically waging wars against it. The idea of unstoppable economic growth and the American Dream were used to blame all left wing political views, regardless of how good they might be for society in the whole. Individualization was essential for capitalism to thrive, and any collectivist action was marked communist, thus evil.

Inevitably, the dream shattered and led to the huge crisis of the 1970s, when a structural economic downturn led capitalists to launch a renewed offensive against the working class. This included union-busting, tax cuts for the wealthy, job insecurity, outsourcing, and stagnant wages. The post-World War 2 boom, which had temporarily improved conditions for workers through government programs and labor unions, ended when global competition and falling profits pushed capitalists to roll back these gains.

The neoliberal policies of the past few decades prioritized corporate profits at the expense of workers' rights and economic stability. Financial speculation by bankers, increasing debt, and economic bubbles in sustaining capitalism culminated into the 2008 financial crisis.

The decline of worker power can be blamed on union bureaucratization whose leaders joined ranks with the elite and a lack of mass movements. Any real social change requires large-scale worker participation, strikes, and direct action, but this requires overcoming internal divisions and building a popular movement supported by workers joined by artists, students and all who strive for greater equality, justice and a healthy environment and climate.

It should be obvious by now that capitalism is morally (and ecologically) NOT sustainable. Because it will never emphasize workplace democracy and mass participation. In order to overcome capitalist destructive greed, we need a more militant labor activism to shift the balance of power away from the corporate elite and toward working people.

Real change requires mass participation and working-class organization, rather than reliance on bureaucratic unions or liberal coalitions. The world needs libertarian socialism which emphasizes worker self-management, direct action, and grassroots organizing as a path toward an alternative economic system.