“Social mobility allows those willing to work hard, with a particular talent or simple doggedness, to make a better life for themselves and their families — a far cry from the rigid class structure which preceded capitalism and commerce, as well as from communism and attempts to fix the economic system.”
I suspect the main source of recent criticism of capitalism in the U.S. is the reduced opportunity for upward social (economic) mobility. The financial gap between lower class and middle class has been increasing for decades as is the gap between the middle class and the upper class. It is frustrating for a competent, hard working employee who realizes that expenses exceed earnings and the future means increased debt.
The emphasis of capitalism in the U.S. has shifted from prosperity for all to maximizing accumulation of wealth for the wealthy. Some contributing factors are: the decrease in the capital gains taxes; the transfer of healthcare and retirement costs from the employer to the employee; the decreased influence of unions; the rapid cost increase of urban housing; the high cost of college/university education; competition in the global market; expansion of industry automation; and availability of inexpensive labor.
The availability of television and the media to virtually every American created an awareness of the wealthy lifestyle contrasted with the lifestyle of the poor. I remember our daughter coming home from school one day and complaining that we were the last family in the state to still have a black and white television.
When families can’t afford what they think other comparable families have they search for remedies. When they see no remedy within their control then they look to the government.
But the government typically provides poor remedies. Readily available federal backed student loans escalated the cost of tuition. The Affordable Care Act became much less desirable in practice than in theory. Federal social welfare programs prevent starvation but don’t provide self worth or encourage/assist the recipients from rising out of poverty.
The people should look to the federal government to reduce the influence that lobbyists paid by max-profit corporations and the wealthy have over the elected representatives of the people. When laws are revised, created or repealed to promote all people prospering from capitalism then there will be much less interest in alternative based economies.
