News What happens when the whole world is Capitalist?-OR-Capitalism=Communism

  • Thread starter Thread starter wasteofo2
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary
The discussion centers on the evolution of global capitalism, highlighting that historically, only a third of the world participated in the capitalist system, primarily the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and Japan. As China, India, and Southeast Asia integrate into capitalism, they initially serve as sources of cheap labor but are expected to evolve into significant consumer markets over the next century. This shift could lead to a scenario where global wage competition reduces profit margins, potentially resulting in a more equitable distribution of wealth. The conversation speculates that as wage disparities diminish, capitalism may inadvertently resemble a form of communism, where workers gain more power and influence. Ultimately, the future of capitalism hinges on how these dynamics play out in a more interconnected world.
  • #31
wasteofo2 said:
That's a totally ridiculous assertation.
Right now, about 1/3 of the world is so wealthy that nearly all the products made for this 1/3 of the world must be made in another 1/3 of the world that is poorer. This 1/3 of the world (China, India, and South East Asia, which are actually far more than 1/3 of the world's population) are rapidly growing because of the immense amounts of wealth being pumped into them by the currently rich Western World. Why is raising the living standard of the remaining 1/3 anything but inevitable?
Whilst I see merit in your central premise that over time it is likely nations will reach a global equilibrium I question your assertion regarding a harmonisation of wealth within these nations.
Statistics show that in all capitalist countries wealth gravitates to the wealthy even when as in France and Britain there is a 'socialist' government in charge. Taking Britain as an example the current figure is approx. 3% of the population own 97% of the wealth.
Given this huge disparity there will always be an underclass to exploit. With no cheap international labour pool to fish in I would imagine capitalism would simply revert to pre-globalization days (which is a relatively recent phenomena anyway) in which each nation simply exploits it's own underclasses as it does today. Wage competition has not eradicated the need for western capitalist countries to impose minimum wage levels to prevent the worst excesses of exploitation.
The effects of no longer having cheap international labour available will actually be fairly marginable. It is perhaps worth bearing in mind that for most manufactured items labour costs account for less than 10% of total production costs and so given the increase in transport to get the goods to market the bottom line saving to manufacturers from out-sourcing is typically in the low single digits.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #32
I honestly don't see "capitalism" ever taking over the whole world. I think the only way you'd be able to do that is if you find a way to constantly, systematically purge out the lower classes.

Hey, at least we'd have the population under control.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 20 ·
Replies
20
Views
8K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
8K
Replies
44
Views
11K
  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
4K
  • · Replies 27 ·
Replies
27
Views
6K
  • · Replies 35 ·
2
Replies
35
Views
8K
  • · Replies 34 ·
2
Replies
34
Views
6K
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
3K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
  • · Replies 46 ·
2
Replies
46
Views
5K