Matthew Rosenthal 9/10/12

Homework # 2 Capitalism
1) What is capitalism?
Capitalism is an economic system that relies mostly on wealthy individuals or
corporations to regulate production, distribution, and exchange of wealth.
2) What Work Is Really For by Gary Gutting (New York Times) September 8, 2012
This article is about what we really work for in society. What are the goals we wish to
accomplish when we work in our jobs, our classes, and in other aspects in our life? The
article does a good job of relating work to the idea of capitalism. Capitalism is an
economic system that relies mostly on wealthy individuals or corporations to regulate
production, distribution, and exchange of wealth. Modern capitalism has put an
emphasis on quantity, rather than quality, according to Gutting. Gutting argues that
people should work for the love of doing that particular job, but it is important to keep
in mind that almost all work contributes to the economy in some way.
Big corporations tend to want less and less people working, replacing them with
machines. This is dangerous because not only are these corporations the source of
economic success (or failure) in capitalist countries, they are now replacing humans,
who BUY, SELL, and consume goods/services with technology that will not put back into
the economy the same way. However, capitalism is not interested in the quality of life
of these workers, according to Gutting. As long as the items are being produced, and
the people are buying, then we should be able to live harmoniously in a capitalistic
economy. Right?

I think it is difficult to live in a society in which the economy is directed by big
businesses and corporations. First of all, the quality of life of the people is lessened by
the selfishness and greed of some of these wealthy individuals. As Gutting argued,
people should work for enjoyment, they should take pleasure in doing their work and it
is important for them to do so to keep them motivated. Capitalistic economies can
sometimes be cruel, especially when corporations start replacing humans with machines
in order to cut expenses and speed up the production line.
Another problem with businesses running the show is that they start to hold
money to themselves. Naturally, these businesses are going to want to put money into
their own personal and business expenses. Sometimes the money that gets put into
these businesses doesnt trickle down to other classes because of their greediness.