Capitalism is a vehicle we're too drunk to drive. There's no direction - we've fogged the windows and interior with ignorance and unresolved psychological problems that we can't see where we're heading or whose hands are on the steering wheel.
The major flaw with capitalism is more so within the culture that operates the system. If the ideas and customs of a society hosting this political and economic theory do not involve an educational system encouraging self-understanding through forms of conscious interaction - then capitalism deforms into destructive consumerism. That is our predicament. Of course, consumption is essential for any economy, but have you taken a step back to observe what's consumed by the majority and why? Most of it is senseless considering the lack of environmental or health benefits, implying people do not value themselves, or know themselves, so they become consumers. They even become products of the products they consume. It's a matter of confusion, crippling the positives of capitalism. For example, people are now buying 'NFTs.' They're exchanging their time and energy, the only legitimate currency, for money, to purchase nothing.
We shouldn't overlook this; it's not something to shrug off by focusing on monetary growth. This is a monumental psychological revelation of how unwell the collective psyche is regarding our consumption, direction, and uncertainty of what we want or who we are. We are so empty and meaningless that we're now capitalising on the action of seeking fulfilment in both materialistic possessions and conceptual acquisitions for identity. That's a shallow objective, and ideally, if we're interested in our betterment, our novelty and innovations would concern technological advancements and artistic creations that positively enhance the human experience, not revolve around identity or status due to feeling incomplete.
To profit oneself, one must know themselves. Self-interest, therefore, means first to clarify the self, which, in doing so, you realise the intrinsic, symbiotic relationship the self has to the other and its environment. That true selfishness is to act selflessly. Unfortunately, however, what we're seeing out in the world is an absence of self-awareness, which immediately faults capitalism because a misunderstanding of who one is corrupts the cynicism involved with the economic system. Capitalism can't work unless the self profits, but we're not seeing self-profit; we're seeing self-destruction.
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