From the time we were children, we have been indoctrinated to think of capitalism as the best economic system on the planet, synonymous with \u201cfreedom and democracy\u201d and even America itself. Capitalism is the \u201cAmerican way,\u201d and it holds out the promise to ordinary people, that if they apply themselves, they too can become wealthy. So, no surprise there\u2019s a taboo when it comes to looking critically at how our economic system is organized and at whom it actually serves. To question capitalism, or to suggest other economic systems might be more humane and effective at helping everyone, is considered deeply un-American.<\/p>\n
If there is poverty, we are taught, it is caused by individual lack of initiative and effort, or by social problems like racism, or by bad parenting, not by the economic system itself. This view is repeated in classrooms and churches, and woven into advertising and media. University economics programs assume capitalism as a given, and corporate owned media rarely questions capitalism as a system. Even those who call themselves \u201cliberal\u201d or \u201cprogressive\u201d wholeheartedly support capitalism. We are taught that this system is superior because anyone has a chance to make it, and if you don\u2019t make it, it\u2019s your fault. \u201cMaking it\u201d is defined narrowly as making a lot of money and owning the material possessions that go along with that. All the other intangibles that make life worth living are left out of the equation.<\/p>\n
Capitalism creates poverty<\/strong><\/p>\n In the United States, where we have the \u201cbest economic system on the planet\u201d the level of poverty is startling. We are a country of absolutely enormous wealth, yet, according to the census bureau, more than one in every six people in the United States lives in poverty or near-poverty. Poverty is defined as living on $23,000 for a family of four\u2014a ridiculously low and unrealistic figure. It\u2019s nearly impossible to survive on this without government subsidies. Here\u2019s a summary of Census data on poverty<\/a> from Wikipedia:<\/p>\n In November 2012 the U.S. Census Bureau<\/a> said more than 16% of the population lived in poverty<\/a>, including almost 20% of American children, up from 14.3% (approximately 43.6 million) in 2009 and to its highest level since 1993. In 2008, 13.2% (39.8 million) Americans lived in poverty. Starting in the 1980s, relative poverty<\/a> rates have consistently exceeded those of other wealthy nations. California<\/a> has a poverty rate of 23.5%, the highest of any state in the country.<\/p>\n In 2011, child poverty<\/a> reached record high levels, with 16.7 million children living in food insecure<\/a> households, about 35% more than 2007 levels. A 2013 UNICEF<\/a> report ranked the U.S. as having the second highest relative child poverty rates in the developed world (behind Romania<\/a>).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n