Read the following considerations
about Capitalism
1) Capitalism is the destroyer of the self, and thus the destroyer of love; it values men not on their own self worth, but on the bankability of their labor. They have been “transformed into a commodity”, their life is an investment which must bring [back] the maximum profit obtainable under existing market conditions. This leaves the worker pervaded by the deep sense of insecurity, anxiety, and guilt. [Adapted]
2) Capitalism alienates human beings; it corrupts the individuals’ selfhood by allowing it to be governed by others. It injects the self full of desire and hope for a better tomorrow that unfortunately will never come. Love is a means of escape for people to vainly remove themselves from a society that enslaves the spirit. Without the self, without identity, without our own nature, true love is impossible because the relationship is not from, as Fromm puts it, “the center of [ones] existence.” (p. 86) This empty love is a direct result of the harmful effects that capitalism has on western society.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Based on these ideas of "Love in a Capitalist World" and all the discussions we had in class about "Life and Capitalism", including the one regarding the film American Beauty, write down a paragraph or an essay with the purpose of discussing the following question/s:
What/Where are human human values
in our materialistic world?
In our materialistic world, human values are based on money.
Very few people think in terms of humanity. Why does this happen?
Capitalism, according to [www2.truman.edu/~marc/resources/terms.html], is an economic theory which stresses that control of the means of producing economic goods in a society should reside in the hands of those who invest the capital for production.
ResponderExcluirA society which has this economic system needs to develop some values to maintain the system. A person who can produce more valuable goods to capitalism is the most valuable person to the system.
When a person is involved with the system, she/he has the necessity to please it, for example, getting more goods and people feel good when please the system. So, because of this, if some person have some, he/she wants to get more.
This mean the creation of news values. For example, people can be accepted because they have more things to offer to the system. In this kind of world, decent or honest people cannot be viewed like good people because they cant offer anything to the system.
It obvious, at least for me, that some values are wrong. People cannot be analyzed based on they have but based on they are inside of them.
Teacher asked us to read a text written by one of the most success capitalism person in the world: Bill Gates. I was scared when he sad that the help offered by his organization to poor people has one goal: get money unexplored for the most of organizations. He really doesn't care about people suffering but he is interest on their money, an unexplored money. He call this "more creative capitalism".
Where is the care about our neighbors? Where is the pure love? Is this already exists in this society?
I really believe that the man was corrupted by the system but inside of each of them there is feelings, real feelings, some sleeping feelings, but there are feelings.
Hugs for all!
Fabiana =)
It's funny treat this term now because love, at the first moment, has nothing to be with Capitalism. But actually, the both are joined so closed. Human society is loosing its values. Not all, but moral and social values. Why is it happening? Well, like Fabiana said in the last comment "a person who can produce more valuable goods to capitalism is the most valuable person to the system". That is the problem. To produce more the society must spend much time doing it. Spending time to produce the maximum profit. That's the main aim, and the current that hold on the foot of all society. Where does the society's values came from? I don't have doubt that is comes from the family. This is the sphere from society that gives the first predictions for futures adults. The education's begins is in the family. But how can the family exist with the parents and children don't have time to spend together? The parents are working in almost all time, and to not let their children alone they put them in many activities, hoping teachers will educate their kids. The parents are blind and can't see that their children are lacking! They lack attention, values and mainly LOVE! Only the parents can give mother's and father's love. And kids need this to complete their cycle of life. None can pass a good value by a pressure. Good values only are passed by a love way, being the parents the children's mirror. Without a good mirror the young society can't have a good reflex.
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ResponderExcluirWe live in a materialistic world, and is difficult to change this situation, due to we used to consumption to satisfy ourselves and the other peoples near us. But we don’t care about how many people are being explored to produce these things. A business man wants cheap workers, to work like a horse and don’t require theirs rights. In this materialistic world doesn’t have real feelings, anyone be real worried to each other, only want the good things that this ‘friendship’ could bring. Because of this there are more false friends and loves than true relationship. Is here my short thought, really short.
ResponderExcluir"Individualism has been raised almost to a religion, appearance made more important than substance. Success justifies greed, and greed justifies indifference to fellow human beings" (Okri, 2008).
ResponderExcluirIt is often felt that human nature is basically selfish and that the desire for increasing consumption will always be the natural basic motive for man. The people are content with materialistic lifestyle that they are living. The happiness for many is in grow financially and socially, the love and the human values are increasingly losing their relevance. capitalism seems to be a kind of religion and God is Money. The people don’t have time, they always are busy and stressed. Family, friendies, religion, compassion, empathy, equal respect for all human beings, as well as caring about others are losing place in a materialistic world. Under capitalism, the value of a human being is related to our value as a productive unit, not as a "Human Being" that have feelings, cry, smile and need to be loved. The society is unstructured,the competition is more important than collaboration. Our prevailing system of capitalism feeds on the continued desire for increased consumption. Only the love can change of society and love is one of sacrifice, commitment, and devotion in the face of tremendous pressure from a society that discourages all of these things.
One day I read a phrase that talked: ‘’Capitalism is a social system based on the principle of individual rights’’. What’s individual rights? I think that when we say about individual rights we should think in every people including the poor people but I can’t see the capitalism in this way.
ResponderExcluirCapitalism as Kelly said is seems to be a kind of religion and God is Money. It’s true. The people lives in function of produce more money and in many cases forget their own lives. But, fortunately or unfortunatelly, the capitalism is essential in our lifes. We can't stay without computers for example and if we don’t speak English in many cases we can’t look for a job. Capitalism involved everything. What we should do is try to change this image and turn the Capitalism a form of life and not our life.we can't accept the capitalism impose how we live because so we lost our really identity.
Amanda Rafaela Rodrigues
So what do speak about something so powerful and so present in all economics and social discussions, called Capitalism? Why do we write it with case letters? I don't know, but...
ResponderExcluirThis "God" governs at least whole governments in the planet and good share of global population. This "God" controls our lives, our tastes, our minds until our ways with a fake's flag of the freedom.
Freedom for people, thus capitalism had started and thus it has showed to us how paradoxal an idea can be. Under the wealth' speech it have been changed societies and people's realities around the world, for good or for the extreme poverty and it's exactly the capitalism drama.
While some people have became very rich others have stoped in a terrible situation of poverty. An example: See to Africa, capitalism built bourders, separate people, gave weapons for rival tribes and stole all wealth from African's people leaving hungry, diseases and civil wars.
Another example: What has been motivated Afghanistan and Iraquian wars? An answer isn't necessary right.
Beside us on our country there are bad reflects too, begining for our giant inequality that has been created with capitalist philosophy.
The descrution of our enviromental resources also has been motivated for capitalist machine.
Capitalism has been changing our lives to not good directions and a great change is urgently necessary to stop him bad issues. Look to our relationships with another people, with the enviroment, and think about - "what is happening?". This is the first step to change some rules of the Capitalism "God's" game.
No matter what people say I still believe that money does not bring happiness. Capitalism’s first concern is to get as much benefit as possible. Because of it, humans beings are no longer reliable.
ResponderExcluirLove is built on trust, but how a person should trust another if modern relationships are full of ulterior motives involving money, better life conditions and extortion.
Love is dead, just like people are dead inside through the relentless search for more money.
Larii
Capitalism is the great prague of the Universe. It comes to destroy all the true values of society and you need to know that if you allow it can ruin your life. The capitalism makes power and money extremely important and it becomes the focus of the lives of most people and when it happens don't stop anymore. Happiness now is to have money. Love can be bought. Even a place in heaven money paid.
ResponderExcluirThe sad thing is that we are really depedents and I don't know if there is an exist.
Ludmila
HELLO PEOPLE!!!
ResponderExcluirIs the love the felling that come up from the human relation or is the love inborn of human nature?
First of all, capitalism is not a culture. It is a group of economics relations that develops itself in a culture that already exist and promotes many changes in the ambit social and politic.
The man has the necessity of make the goodness for live in community. Through theses relations that man uncover his feelings. In this context the love appears, this capacity of making the goodness of the others without any conditions or recompense. This posture contradicts the capitalism ideology that is based in the quest of profits and corrupts the man in his society life. So, the man is naturally good but it is the system that corrupts him.
The capitalism spreads the idea of private society, it means, the people become extremely individualist and this reduces the sentimental relations. This situation lets them less sensitive to the feelings that come up with human relations.
So it is all. See you later!!!
It is easy to observe that humanity is not going in a good way. Why? Because many values has been forgoten. People lost then selves on their routine activities.
ResponderExcluirI understand that culture (west and eastern) nowadays is in decadence because hadn´t taught human being to know about him self, about his inner world, the mental reality (organization, faculties and thoughts), how to solve his psychological deficiences and propension , undestand God thrught the kwoldge not from the belief and realise how the Universal Laws guide the Criation and our own life.
Do you know any philosopher, humaniost or pedagogist that had the answer this question.
Do you agree with me? Is the human being lost on his evolution route?
I have tried to promove on you this inquietudes and refletions and I have a porpuse for it.
The captalism sistem is not the origin of the problem but on the human mind.
Have you thought about the most frequent thougths in your mind, in your friends and professors minds, on the childhood, on television, news paper... Why do they live in our mental house?
What are the real porpuse of my life? What kind of thougths must I cultive to frutify my plans?
That is a good oportunid to think about what have we done with our live and our time, what we want for the future generation...
Capitalism it is a economic sistem based in production and buy of goods. In this sistem products are ephemeral. People work day after day for give more money and buy new goods. In the course of it, peolpe forgotten their family (parents don't have time to talk, have a diner or enjoy whit his children), friends (peolpe don't have time to call, listen, talk or go out whit a friend), and values (people stay in a job, that don't like, only for give money).
ResponderExcluirThus, importante values given place to only think: money. Nowadays is more important have that be. Capitalism take of people's life.
Lidiane Alves de Souza
Talking about human values within the capitalism system it is difficult because their goal is just earn money and profit. Nowadays nobody take care about the other or how their actions could disrupt somebody.
ResponderExcluirLike my mother said to me, that when she was a child it was common shared fruits with the neighbors, nowadays people sell even the spoiled fruits thinking of earn money. The feeling of help somebody was regarded as a density.
The capitalism(way of life) shows to us that a way to feel happiness is due to a materialistic world as Nathalia says.
To resolve this problem, using the culture, happened when we show for children good examples. But how can we do this? Learning them to share the snack with their friends could be a first step. Or we could show them, that it is important realize that (at the first year in schools) had others students and talking whit them is a way to live in society.
kisses,
Gabriela 'Bafão'
The capitalism is a system that aims for lucre and our society is losing human values seeking for this. The people can be fake, mechanical or even enemy of yours to obtain what they want. However they do not necessary need to have this features mentioned above to be considered capitalists, they can be nice and cool like us (because we will never feature ourselves with bad characteristics) and even well be capitalists. So all the world is like this independent on who we are, we are capitalists (I think that may be exceptions).
ResponderExcluirLike we saw in class capitalism can bring a lot of bad things for our lives and can take off us our humanity. The human values are lost and so either the real love. We are chasing profits and lucre and forgetting the persons around us. We struggle for get money and we are never delighted with we already have, we want more. Thereby we do not enjoy the life – and by life I mean the days.
But is capitalism the root of the problem? I do not believe so. We build up this system, it does not build up from itself. So the real problems are ourselves. We do not get it that inside us there is an unclean heart. We want glory, we want power, we want to be accepted and idolized by others. If we do not resolve these problems first the capitalism could be ruined and nevertheless we will still having these same problems but with another name.
Alice
Everbody say - the capitalism is a cruel sistem! But if we see its discurse, maybe we can guess that it is a good idea for us. “The capitalism say” - if you work more than another person you need be rewarded! - Then the people that work hardly need win more money! - Then this idea is very good for everybody. Right?
ResponderExcluirThis simple idea can trick unwary! Because this argument can seem logical if you forget the others things relevants of this sistem. The capitalism favors a small part of the population, that is the controllers of the means of production, political machine, tecnology, media, and others strategical means of maintaining power. Then the misery tends to increase in this sistem and the competition too. With this, the life of the people tends deteriorate because of social problems and the fight to survive, the case of the poor people, or to the power, the case of the rich people, increase the lost of human value.
Thereby do not fool yourself or another people with illogical discurse of the capitalism is good for everybody.
Fred sad a important ting about capitalism, That kind of sistem is not good to every body, always will have some one whit more power or more money and this person will overwhelm the other. This is clear and we Know that will happen and whit hardwork we can fight against that. For me the problem is when qe live in a sistem wher every body is "equal" and nothing that we do will change this. The lazy one will be like me and we will be ever closelly.
ResponderExcluirWhat we need is moral principles, the problem is not the sistem, the problem are us.
fernando motta
Talk about the capitalism is very interted because is one type of life determinate by human society many years ago and the present people and future people don't have choice... got to live in copitalism society. If you don't agree with the model you shouldn't make manything.. just accept and to live! It's sad!!!
ResponderExcluirThe capitalism is a production model where the social status is defined by the amount of paper valued that a person disposes and that for needing of profit generates a competition inside of the human society, being that inhuman competition, once there is the humans' physical exploration for other humans and that brings for the modern societies more disadvantages than advantages, that because the the biological success of the species depends on cooperation among them and not of competition, like this that effective economical model in the world is something that benefits small part of the world population while most of the human beings lives in conditions of extreme poverty and inhumanity.
And so, to change the human situacion in the world is necessary that our actions are more affectionate and less rational!!!
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ResponderExcluirWell, this subject is not easy! But is very important we discuss to open our eyes to see what are hidden behind of the world of the materialistic appearances.
ResponderExcluirWe use our human's senses to cognize and avaliate the world how many others being do. We usually use the experience that we lived to make decisions in the present. So if we have lived in a society that show a good thinks ever related with a materials things, we usually will value the amount of money of someone have and it is correlate with the “race” of people.
Consequently our socities value the material to the detriment of people really are. But this can and need be changed when we think about the illogical way to avaliate the human being.
Finally I ask for everybody -Who Do you have gain whith this materialism world?