Veteran business leader says capitalism not immune to crises; World awaiting a new, just economic system
The demise of communism has unmasked the real face and intensions of capitalism which has pushed the world into great turmoil necessitating the need for a new and just economic system, Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders (ICST) Patron Shahid Rasheed Butt said on Monday.
Big businesses are exploiting the weaknesses of capitalism to amass more wealth which is leading to exploitation of masses, Butt said.
He said that capitalism has led to the concentration of capital, employment and power, resulting in destruction of economic freedom of the majority of the global human population. Globalisation has not reduced poverty. It has instead only worsened the problem by throwing world into acute developmental crisis.
International crises are being engineered to deprive masses of their wealth as the evidence shows that number of billionaires increases after every global crisis, he said.
The ICST patron said that improved quality of goods at reduced prices by promoting competition, bridging gap between rich and poor and saving people from colonisation, eradicating modern-day slavery by influential multinationals have remained attractive but empty slogans. Free market economy has increased number of billionaires in almost all the countries while it has been hurting the poor and destroying the environment and natural resources. He said that 20 per cent rich now control 86 percent of the world’s resources.
The veteran business leader said that free market has triggered exploitation of labour, increased incidence of child labour, human trafficking, tax frauds, money laundering and social inequality. The world must fix capitalism or find a new, more just economic system. Withouth it, coming generations will have no future.
