Capitalism is a system of production that allows private individuals and entities to personally own means of production and create wealth without limitation(Schweickart, 2018, p. 8). Since capitalists and other wealthy individuals own factors of production, it is difficult for the poor, who in most cases constitute the majority, to prosper in their businesses. Due to the fact that capitalism allows people to create wealth without any limit, oppression, stealing, and corruption become the order in society. As such, this paper seeks to discuss how crime is an inevitable by-product of capitalism.

It is worth noting that companies are formed as private entities, and, as such, owners exercise full control of the economy through managing factors of production like labor, capital, land, and entrepreneurship(Schweickart, 2018, p. 9). Entrepreneurship is the factor that owns labor, and, thus, all employees become under the leadership of an entrepreneur; which brings the difference between slavery and capitalism. However, an entrepreneur remains to be the owner and the controller of the overall process. This gives entrepreneurs the monopoly of power to make wealth, leaving the majority of people miserable.

Entrepreneurs use all possible means to maximize profit and reduce expenses used in production. Nonetheless, in the process of minimizing cost, an entrepreneur is usually tempted to engage in unethical activities in an attempt to get a shortcut to become rich(Tyner, 2016, p. 13). This is because capitalism system allows everyone to amass as much wealth as they can within the least possible time. Besides, the means through which people get rich are not scrutinized or questioned, because the outcome is the main factor considered, but not the process. As such, the process through which wealth is obtained is not considered to be necessary, but the result is what matters since everyone wants to be rich.

The free market economy allows businesspeople to extort the economy under the guise of supply and demand(Hill, 2016, p. 44). As such, everyone in the market aims to benefit the most by making abnormal profits. Edging out competitors and potential entrepreneurs are the main business of established and existing enterprises. In some of the cases, the prevailing companies form cartels so that they benefit entirely by manipulating their prices. In other instances, business cartels unite to kick out other industries that try to enter the market. These are dubious practices.

Capitalism divides society into classes so that the poor have no chance to interact with the rich. This is the reason why the rate of crime is currently very high. As such, the poor live in slums and have no stable sources of livelihood. When capitalism couples up with democracy, the underprivileged tend to get even more miserable, despite persistent appeals to help them get out of poverty. Moreover, politicians use the misery of the poor majority to sail to power. Ignorance is a tool that is fashioned by democracy and capitalism to help the wealthy class continue maintaining their status(White, 2015, p. 39).

Criminal activities have taken the order of the day; because when the poor are unable to match the class of the rich, they tend to engage in social evils to get their means of livelihood(Quinney, and Shelden, 2018, p. 34). Further, most employees are poorly paid for entrepreneurs to maximize their profit, as they aim to use the least amount of funds on human resources. As such, employees must get a way to match and maintain their lives and meet their basic needs. Therefore, crime seems to be the only avenue that is cheaper to help them to attain their means.

Politicians embezzle government funds and other resources that are meant to be used in funding development projects(Quinney, and Shelden, 2018, p. 34). This is stealing of public resources, which is allowed by capitalism. Public looters are shielded by capitalism because they are never investigated to find out the source of their wealth, or ways through which they obtain their property and money. The primary goal of capitalists is to allow people to grow as rich as they can. Thus the ideology only applauds efforts of criminals who have crippled the economy by hailing their success(Hill, 2016, p. 45). Oppression of the majority is bound to happen under capitalism so that the minorities benefit to become rich.

Nonetheless, when poor majorities engage in criminal activities to find means of survival, they are the ones who are exposed the most to authorities and punished as a result(White, 2015, p. 38). This is committing a crime while punishing the same. Those who steal at higher levels of the government or using their giant enterprises are never questioned.

In conclusion, capitalism encourages crime, and, thus, it is inevitable to evade unethical economy when the country is being run under this system. Everybody tends to be a criminal regardless of the position that he/she occupies. Theft and stealing are inevitable where capitalism has been allowed to take root.

References

White, R., 2015. Climate change, ecocide, and crimes of the powerful. The Routledge international handbook of the crimes of the powerful, pp.211-222.

Hill, J.E., 2016. Crime. In Adam Smith’s Equality and the Pursuit of Happiness (pp. 161-177). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.

Quinney, R. and Shelden, R.G., 2018. Critique of the legal order: Crime control in capitalist society. Routledge.

Schweickart, D., 2018. Against Capitalism. Routledge.

Tyner, J.A., 2016. Violence in capitalism: devaluing life in an age of responsibility. U of Nebraska Press.

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