Financial expert Rick Orford explained to Bored Panda a while back that extreme capitalism and excessive greed are the consequences of a large enough part of the population that’s willing to take risks. The core problem, therefore, is greed. Or rather, too much of it.
“Greed is widely accepted to be the reason for the two largest financial crises in the last century; namely 1929 and 2008. It also creates the income inequality that’s largely seen in the United States. Indeed, while everyone, in theory, has an equal opportunity to flourish, the scales seem to tip to those with the most money," he said.
“[Capitalism] allows folks like you and me to succeed by creating or investing in businesses. Indeed, one looking to borrow money from the banks today won’t have to pay much for the loan. As such, it encourages growth. However, extreme capitalism creates a scenario where greed overtakes reason, and it risks the financial system," financial expert Rick told Bored Panda.
According to the expert, social democracy, also known as socialism, lies at the other end of the scale from capitalism. Social democracies tax their citizens more than capitalistic countries, however, in return, the people have easy and free (or very cheap) access to vital services.
"Citizens are given services such as free and (easily) accessible healthcare, child care, social welfare, etc. Conversely, highly capitalistic societies charge for these services, making it incredibly challenging for the poor," he said.
Rick pointed out that capitalism gives anyone the tools to flourish and grow. What’s more, nobody should be under the illusion that the wealthy are always making a profit. Businesspeople take large risks and can suffer very heavy financial losses if things don’t pan out the way they expect them to. Problems arise, however, when major companies and social media conglomerates start influencing how people think.
“Today, the news is largely distributed by some of the largest American corporations: Google, Facebook, and Twitter. Think Brexit or the 2016 American Presidential election,” the expert warned.
Though, theoretically, capitalism helps ordinary people sell their products and open up their own businesses, the reality is tougher: they have to compete with established industry giants.
“Those [products] with the best quality, price, customer service, or combination (of at least two) often do well. Increasingly, however, those who are willing to spend more at the beginning are seeing both extreme gains and losses. Famously, Amazon and Tesla, for example, have spent hundreds of millions of investors’ dollars before ever making a cent," he said.
Certain parts of social media are very anti-capitalist and Instagram is no different. Very recently, Bored Panda wrote about the ‘Humans of Capitalism’ project that makes memes about economic dystopia.
Angel, the founder of that particular IG project, told Bored Panda that they’re not optimistic about the future. They believe that people are constantly bombarded by information, non-stop, to get them to consume more and more products, which helps capitalism survive as a system.
