Capitalism covers a very wide range of systems, and is not the direct culprit for our problems. However, the way capitalism is implemented today is a big problem, it is undermining democracy and radicalizing large portions of the population. It will not end well, if this trend is allowed to persist.
Probably the single most harmful detail is the stock exchange. There are many other issues also, but shareholders in particular have been given the rights of owners, which is illogical, as they are in fact speculators. The owners should be the long term caretakers of corporations, with managers more interested in short term benefits. All shareholders care about is the short to mid term value of the stock, not the long term viability of the enterprise. To get the managers to play this game, they have given managers salaries that approach investor profits in scale. As a result, capitalism has gone bananas, not caring for long term viability, the communities they function in, the environment, the law, not even the customers .... share value is all that counts these days and no cost is too great to achieve it.
Democratic Capitalism need not be like this, it is just the default mode of operation it will slip into if left unattended. And this mode is bent on self-destruction, with a tendency to degenerate into Fascism or Communism ... if left to play out its natural course. If this is not to happen, the democratic part of Democratic Capitalism needs to be more pronounced...point / counterpoint...Capitalism works because entrepreneurs and managers figure out how customers, employees, suppliers, communities, and people with the money all can cooperate to benefit....No it doesn't.
- Capitalism works by creating profit. Where there is profit there is deficit.
- Capitalism works by making profit out of the exploitation of those who create that profit in the first place. This is why workers are not paid the actual value of what they produce, because the capitalist or entrepreneur cant make any profit out of that.
- Capitalism may not be perfect, yet it is the greatest system of social co-operation ever created thus far.
No it isn't, the greatest system of social co-operation is where everyone is equal and treated equally, that is true co-operation. Capitalism is exploitation of the masses for the benefit of the minority.
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The EU needs to curb its emissions of greenhouse gases by 40% by the year 2030, says the European Parliament’s Environment Committee. This is a major leap forward compared to the current target of a 20% reduction by 2020.
Today’s vote on a Resolution drafted by Anne Delvaux MEP represents the Parliament’s input to the proposal for a new Climate and Energy Package which the European Commission is expected to present on 22 January.
Anne Delvaux stressed the need for ambitious measures to fight climate change: “After months of intense negotiations, we are very happy that our hard work has paid off. Building on the 20-20-20 climate goals fixed seven years ago, the European Parliament demands that the Commission comes up with an ambitious proposal that includes three binding targets: the reduction of CO2 emissions; the production of renewable energy; and the increase of energy efficiency.”
"The EU needs to be a world leader when it comes to clean energy. This not only benefits the environment, but also guarantees our energy supply. We will therefore continue our fight to limit global warming to 2°C compared to the 1990 level.”
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