Capitalism is a self-defeating system

The title is a bit of a bold claim, I suppose, but hear me out on this.

An excerpt from the Wealth of Nations by an Adam Smith, reads:

"In the progress of the division of labour, the employment of the far greater part of those who live by labour, that is, of the great body of the people, comes to be confined to a few very simple operations, frequently only one or two. ...The man whose whole life is spent in performing a few simple operations, of which the effects too are, perhaps, always the same, or very nearly the same, has no occasion to exert his understanding, or to exercise his invention in finding out expedients for removing difficulties which never occur. He naturally loses, therefore, the habit of such exertion, and generally becomes as stupid and ignorant as it is possible for a human creature to become. ...His dexterity at his own particular trade seems, in this manner, to be acquired at the expense of his intellectual, social, and martial virtues. ...this is the state into which the labouring poor, that is, the great body of the people, must necessarily fall, unless government takes some pains to prevent it."

By this, we understand that the working class is not meant for any more than performing a solitary act, day after day until he eventually dies (or, in less stringent capitalist systems, retires). The American Dream is to one day break free from the bounds of the definition of himself as a laborer, and become a manager, make more money, etc and so forth.

The status quo that Americans are so often content with depends on an exploited working class, whose only goal, or so it seems, is to survive and make ends meet until the next paycheck. The minimum wage in the US is set at at little above $15,000. And, depending on where you live in the US, it depends on how you can live. Generally speaking, however, if you are making $15000 a year, you may just be barely "scraping by." Where I live, you will be hard pressed to find an apartment for less than $700/month. Including utilities, bills, food, transportation, and other expenses, you are virtually guaranteed to be in debt.

So, what do we do? We have to raise the minimum wage. What does that do? Since smaller businesses can't pay a wage that is any higher than $x.xx per month, then they have to lay people off, and perhaps even go out of business. Suddenly, the only people left that have any sort of income are those making minimum wage at the fictional corporation Welmart. The Welmart is viral in the number of stores that they are opening. In the goal of giving you, the now unemployed consumer that needs these products, the lowest prices, they will outsource their labor to other countries where there are more lax labor laws.

So, now there are fewer and fewer jobs available. People are being laid off right and left. There are fewer and fewer factory jobs, and what will eventually become the only retail positions available will be at the Welmart.

You see my point, now? We can't allow this to happen for much longer. It will eventually become the demise of us all.

Food for Thought,

Phoenix-Rising