Crisis of Capitalism?

You know what always puzzles me about capitalism? The fact that so many people who profess to be in favour of it start squealing very loudly when they actually see it in operation. Take this recession, for instance. The more companies which go to the wall, the more the Tories shout about how terrible it is and blame the government for not doing anything. Now, as I understand it, this is surely just the normal operation f the market - firms which can no longer compete, whether that's due to poor management, lack of flexibility or poor financing, will inevitably fail or be swallowed up by competitors. If they want to survive they need to diversify, secure better financing or cut costs. According to classical economic theory, which underpins the concept of capitalism, the state has no business intervening in this process. Market forces must be allowed to operate freely.

It's the same with all those Little Englanders and members of the Blue Rinse Brigade who bemoan the passing of the village shop and wring their hands in despair at the advent of those evil supermarkets and their out-of-town developments which have killed local commerce. The fact is that this is simply capitalism in action. Those tinpot village shops with their crappy selection of goods and over-inflated prices, just couldn't complete with the low prices, huge range of goods and sheer convenience of the superstores. Once again, it is the market in operation. Those horrible supermarkets are able to satisfy the needs of consumers far more effectively than those little shps ever could. They are more competitive. Now, surely that's what these true blue Britons want, isn't it? After all, they inevitably vote Tory, the party of free-market capitalism. But of course, when it comes to the crunch, they don't like the operation of the market anymore than us socialists do - particularly when it operates against their most cherished institutions.

Then there are all those company directors who want unregulated markets, less legal protection for employees and a smaller public sector, so as to maximise their profits. As soon as the market turns against them, they're queueing up for hand outs of public money and crying for government intervention to save them. Tough. This is capitalism guys. This is what you wanted. Hell, you know what they say - if you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. Capitalism means that there always has to be a 'loser' - it's not much fun when it turns out to be you! So there you have it - it isn't so much a crisis of capitalism we're experiencing, as a crisis of confidence in capitalism on the part of its practitioners and supporters. What they can't seem to grasp is that this recession is simply a normal part of the system. If you can't accept that, then stop whingeing and break out the red flag!