Twenty-first Century Capitalism

    The state realm of capitalism is beneficial to our society. The state governs economic activities on occasion by creating rules and regulations. Three beneficial duties that the state provides are “of protecting the society from violence and invasion; second the duty of protecting, as far as possible, every member of the society from the injustice or oppression of every other member in it, and third, the duty of erecting and maintaining certain public works and certain institutions.” (Helibroner 53) One can see that the state is beneficial because it is a force of power. When something goes wrong then the state intervenes with minimal power using the court, police, military, and jail power which are necessary to maintain infrastructure in society. The state has “the duty of superintending the industry of private people and of directing it towards the employment most suitable to the interest of society.” (Heilbroner 53) The state benefits society by providing jobs to people in the private industry; therefore, the state works in the publics interest.

    The economy realm of capitalism is beneficial to our society. Businesses in the economy pursue capital for their own interests and it is essential to the maintenance of human life. “Every man as long as he does not violate the laws of justice, is left perfectly free to pursue his own interest his own way, and to bring both his industry and his capital into competition with those of any man or order of men.” (Helibroner 52) Our economic system is beneficial because people in the society can run a business and make profit from their business only if they follow the law. The economy is promotes fair competition for every participant.

    The state is dysfunctional for our society. The state intrudes on the policies and functions of the economy. “Foreign policy as an instance point, and sometimes in ways that are inseparable from it, the formulation of economic policy as the central example.” (Helibroner, 51) The state intervenes occasionally on economic affairs and it is not always in the public’s interest; it is usually in the interest of the state. When the state interferes with the achievements of the economy it diminishes the energy within the competitive economic system. The economy has “factories and stores, banks and markets, want ads and unemployment offices.” (Heilbroner 50) The state is dysfunctional because it governs the economy when producing or distributing within the businesses. Therefore, the state is creating rules, regulations, and guidelines that the economy must follow. The state is being dysfunctional by using constant force of power on the government.

    The economy is dysfunctional for our society. In society “we are by now familiar with the drive for accumulation that energizes the private realm.” (Helibroner 54) With the accumulation of capital it creates power of purchasing. The accumulative task cannot perform without assistance from the state. It is dysfunctional for the economy to strive for more production in a capitalist society because it creates inequality among citizens. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The rich man glories in his or her riches while the poor men or woman suffers. The economy won’t allow two unequally circumstanced individuals to exchange their services on a mutually stratified transaction. With a lack of wealth for some individuals in society it forces them to enter into a market relation with a more favourably situated one due to their circumstances. With constant accumulation in businesses it is dysfunctional because the rich are in a position to enjoy a large share of the societies goods and services while the poor does not have access to society’s good and services.
   
    We often “fail to realize how remarkable this aspect of capitalist political life is probably because we are not generally aware of its features.” (Helibroner 50) There separation of two independent realms all governance in different social orders. The state deals with matters of national importance in the public sector and the private sector the economy deals with private matters. In my point of view, capitalism contribution to society is positive than negative because it has led to the industrial revolution, which means there is a rise in production, and for that reason more amounts of supply within the economy. Capitalism has lead to the development of technology in our society. It allows information to be exchanged quickly and it makes life comfortable if compare to feudalism. Capitalism led to the centralization of education to advance production and it increased literacy rates; therefore more people are capable of operating machines. When people can work more complex jobs it accelerates inventions such as the light bulb; thus, increasing productivity in society.