Be that as
it may, the maximized exploitation of human labor, in a capitalist society, leads
to a corresponding and inevitable creation of degrading and inescapable poverty. This happens as wages for the bottom
two-thirds of workers are constantly driven downward, so that those at the top
may get rich at the expense of those desperate workers they exploit, many of whom
get replaced by ever more
sophisticated robots, computers and automation. All this is endemic to modern capitalism, but
especially to global corporate capitalism. For unless they have guaranteed employment
opportunities provided by the government, workers will always be at the mercy
of those private enterprises that deign to offer them work. Problem is, private enterprises can offer no
more work than growing amounts of superfluous consumption allow. And superfluous consumption cannot grow in an
economy where the median wage is constantly being reduced, as ever more
sophisticated robots, automation and other computer applications (as well as
low-wage workers abroad) steadily replace the workers who once did this work,
thereby forcing these laid-off workers into an ever-growing reserve army of the
unemployed, within which they stand ready and willing to replace any employed
worker who complains too much about their steadily diminished package of wages
and benefits.
Summary and conclusion
In highly
unequal societies the very rich are prone to seek affirmation of their personal
worth through extravagant displays of excess wealth. By this means they readily lose sight of the
true sources of human happiness, they sacrifice authentic relationships, and they
forget their responsibility to the larger society -- and they do all this at
the expense of their own humanity.
At the other
extreme, the financially desperate are prone to manipulation by political
demagogues who offer simplistic analyses and self-serving solutions that in the
end further deepen the misery of these poor souls. Governing institutions then lose legitimacy, democracy
becomes a charade, and moral standards decline. Civic responsibility gives way to narcissism
and automatic disregard for the rights and well-being of others.
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