The Terror of Consumption: Why Capitalism Gets Blamed for Everything

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

59% : Also, there are various studies showing that environmental standards are much better in capitalist than in non-capitalist countries -- and there are the facts cited above about the extent to which capitalism has reduced hunger and poverty.
57% : Author Eula Biss is widely celebrated for her novels and begins her book on possession, capitalism, and the value of things, Having and Being Had (2020), with this anecdote:
56% : And most remarkably: In recent decades, since the end of communism in China and other countries, the decline in poverty has accelerated to a pace unmatched in any previous period of human history.
54% : In both the United States and Canada, 47 percent agreed with this critical assessment of capitalism.
50% : Before the emergence of capitalism, a majority of the global population was living in extreme poverty.
49% : What does it say about capitalism, John asks, that we have money and want to spend it
45% : The Edelman Trust Barometer 2020, a survey that is conducted in twenty-eight countries, concludes that, on average, 56 percent of respondents believe that "Capitalism as it exists today does more harm than good in the world.
45% : And numerous scientific studies on "capitalist peace" have shown that free trade and capitalism reduce the likelihood of military conflicts.
44% : Wars were more frequent in pre-capitalist times than in the period since capitalism came into being.
42% : Later in the book, the author recounts a conversation with her mother, who asks her if she thinks capitalism is good or bad.
39% : Despite these facts, most people do not like capitalism.
38% : In the political religion of anti-capitalism, capitalism assumes the role of evil incarnate.
37% : If there are too few goods, then capitalism is to blame.
37% : Accordingly, capitalism is not only responsible for all of the evils in society, but also for everyone's personal problems.
37% : If there are too few goods, then capitalism is to blame.
35% : People blame capitalism for hunger, poverty, inequality, climate change, pollution, war, alienation, fascism, racism, gender inequality, slavery, colonialism, corruption, crime, mental illness and cultural decay.
35% : And even when a person goes shopping and can't find the goods they are looking for, capitalism is to blame.

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.