Capitalism In Canada

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Capitalism is the economic system that is most prevalent globally. It is a system in which the consumers drive the prices of goods and services without government influence, known as the free market. Dating back to the colonial era, it has been said that capitalism had its origins in mercantilism which was the economic system of colonialism. Colonial powers profited from the raw goods, land and labour collected from the colonies. It is important to note however that although the consumer has a significant impact in the capitalist economy, it is ultimately the private corporations that determine the economy by owning the means of production and distribution of goods and services. According to Robert Heilbroner “the two realms of capitalism” …show more content…
The main responsibility of the Canadian government first and foremost should be to ensure that the needs of its citizens are met. Although capitalism has ensured that the desires of the consumers are met, the system has failed to meet the needs of the citizens; this is where the government should begin to take the initiative to balance the income gap, match wages to the cost of goods, increase or create more social benefits for low or middle class citizens, etc.The private realm has steadily become a growing influence in politics as they seek the state realm to pass legislation that will suit their capitalistic drives. The state realm uses the economic and social power of the private realm to meet their political ambitions. It is clear that “business stands behind government in emergencies, while government stands behind business between emergencies” (Heilbroner, 1992, p. 57). The private realm supports the public realm in emergencies because they want their interests protected in the worst of economic situations whereas the state realm will not interfere with the affairs of the private realm if things are running smoothly and in their favour. The state realm benefits from the profits of the private realm in order to carry out its own goals and wishes not to jeopardize their relationship with the private realm. The private realm needs …show more content…
66).The idea of mass consumption has resulted in overspending rather than the traditional idea of saving money, only to be used purposefully. This has led to economic disparity as consumers remain unfulfilled no matter if they buy and own the latest products on the market. Although some argue that capitalism has resulted in the “diffusion of what were once considered luxuries to the middle and lower classes in society” (Bell, 1976, p. 66), capitalism has pushed people to the brink of poverty by fuelling the idea of buying on credit in order to satisfy their material needs.As a result of the rise of consumerism and materialism, people are socially classified not by their occupation but by the capital and material goods that they own and have accumulated as a result of overspending. This is significant because only the private realm benefits from the increased sales of material goods. The very drive of a capitalist is capital. By enforcing and promoting the idea of buying on credit through aggressive mass media advertising, the wealthy happily collect these profits as the working class is further disillusioned of the idea that they can live beyond their means. There is also increased stress on people to meet their basic needs because of increasing debt as “what happened in the United States was that traditional morality was
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