c:

I think I might need to develop a better sense of class consciousness. I had that a lot when I was younger; I used to read and watch materials that were about class consciousness and workers’ struggles. Most of the literature I read was in fact socialist or socialist-oriented. Interestingly enough, I didn’t find much literature that espoused a moderate view of capitalism (or proprietorship, or a market economy of independent businesses). I didn’t find much literature that embraced the workers’ cause, but that acknowledged a certain validity to business ownership, and stuff like that. I mean, I guess I always felt that small business ownership is a rather good thing—and that even proprietorship of larger enterprises is not necessarily a bad thing. I guess I had always approached this specific issue from the angle of “a greater level of wealth equity between the rich and the non-rich”; “a more balanced level of decision-making within the workplace”; and etc. I never really rejected capitalism outright, but I did see much of the current practice of it as unfair and unjust. I think this inclination is more aligned with social welfare, and less aligned with the question of business proprietorship, and things like that. (I.e., I’m more in line with social welfare and maximizing wealth and opportunity for everyone, more so than I am inclined towards questioning capitalism, itself. I think the way it’s being practiced is unfair and unjust, but the basic idea of a market economy and independent companies seems benign, to me. And so I think it might depend on how you do it; it seems to be a malleable phenomenon, and not a rigid, unyielding practice. It can include profit-sharing, wealth equity, optimal working conditions, and etc., while keeping the practice of business ownership within a free market, permissible. The fact that anyone can become a business owner if they have the means to do it is enough to convince me that it’s ok, it’s a benign thing. There are a lot of black business owners; racial/ethnic minority ones; female ones; immigrant ones; etc. As long as you have the determination to do it, you can make it work out for yourself, and for the people around you. And when practiced humanely, it seems that it actually does lift people’s lives up—not just for the businessperson, but for everyone around her. (Meaning: the people who work within the enterprises; the customers; the wider society; and etc.) I think the main guiding point that people just have to remember when talking about capitalism is workers’ rights and the rights of the working class. It seems that we haven’t shared wealth and resources nearly enough in society. And so we often mistakenly believe that poverty, inequity, and lack of upward mobility is caused by capitalism itself. (Or that it’s an inherent characteristic.) It seems that the actual truth is that capitalism requires direction, regulation, and steering in order to orient it into a moral system, a moral socioeconomic system. Right now, I’m actually researching social capitalism, or a social market economy—and perhaps something even more egalitarian than that, something that balances the wealth and power in society more evenly. Right now, capitalism seems like it’s being directed and taken advantage of by those at the top—although many of them do give in charity, quite a lot; and they pay their fair share in taxes (-sometimes it’s about half of their income that they have to give up in taxes every year, especially in areas with a progressive income tax); and they might even oversee highly ethical and socially responsible enterprises. I don’t know; I don’t know them, and I haven’t looked into this particular issue all that much. But from a theoretical perspective, I think wealth and resources (and other tangible things) can be shared much more equitably than it is, right now. Things can be much more balanced and just in overall society, more so than they are now. *And I’m still learning about these things, of course.

I just think that the very wealthy companies have probably ruined the image of free enterprise, somehow. A greater level of wealth equity and social responsibility on the part of these enterprises would probably fix the negative image by a lot, as aforementioned. *Overall, I think that if I would develop a stronger sense of class consciousness, that that would be best. I’ve recently been reminded that all of the cultural and personal differences between us are trivial, and that an actually important similarity is that most of us have to work for a living. This is an important similarity, it’s an important sociological feature of life.

But my consciousness of working class struggles sort of fizzled out as I grew older, as I finished up undergrad and semi-began my work journey, and entered a more contemplative phase of my life. I’m in my late twenties, now. I don’t know if the trope “you get more conservative as you grow older” is true of everyone, but I myself did learn a bit more about conservative ideology as I grew older, and I have to say: much of it makes good sense to me. *I don’t want to let go of the “class consciousness” I had when I was younger, though. I feel like an interest in working-class struggles can possibly meet the self-help and self-improvement (and personal growth) that I am now interested in. Maybe it’s possible to see both perspectives as good and true; maybe both are correct. | Also; I noticed that I sometimes tend to think in black and white regarding issues like capitalism and socialism (or social welfare). *I’ve recently gotten acquainted with the idea of social capitalism, or social-welfare- driven capitalism. I like to think of this as a form of capitalism that encapsulates high levels of social welfare and societal wellbeing; equity and fairness. I think this stance might be the solution to my questions and concerns. I was always a little bit flabbergasted by the lack of nuance that these topics have. I think that a middle ground between the two concepts (of capitalism and socialism) is likely something close to the genuine answer. It has to be something that honors and respects everyone’s contributions and efforts; it has to see things from all angles; and it has to be fair and just, above all. And so I think “social capitalism” (or something like it; something that takes the best of what both capitalism and socialism have to offer, and that disregards the questionable tendencies/aspects of both systems) is probably the ‘best’ system, the optimal system. But I’m still learning about these kinds of issues, of course.

https://www.socialcapitalresearch.com/what-is-social-capitalism-2/