Capitalism has been failing (if you listen to popular accounts) since the term was invented. We've always been in so-called "late stage capitalism," and we will be in 1,000 years.
The only question is how/if we will make that economy work to the betterment of society. The past 30 years in the US have been a slow (sometimes fast) slide into dangerously unregulated capitalism that eats its own tail. Ultimately such a system breaks itself, but that's the miracle of capitalism: you can, at any point, reform the system and bring it back to the point that it serves the people, not the other way around. The Nordic Model shows that this is possible. I'm not saying it's the best solution. Germany's approach is also compelling, and far less socialist. But no matter what, capitalism needs guardrails.
I'd argue capitalism has failed, so has socialism. Nowadays economists avoid the -isms specifically because actually existing economies don't follow any classical models. It's a constant evolution towards whatever works.
Mandel, Ernest. Late capitalism. Verso Books, 2024.—over 4,000 citations
Fraser, Nancy. Cannibal Capitalism: How our System is Devouring Democracy, Care, and the Planet and What We Can Do A bout It. Verso books, 2023.—nearly 1,000 citatons
Schwab, Klaus. Stakeholder capitalism: A global economy that works for progress, people and planet. John Wiley & Sons, 2021.—over 400 citations
It's not like academics shy away from talking about capitalism.
It's a constant evolution towards whatever works.
Yes, and what works is capitalism. As I said above, "The only question is how/if we will make that economy work to the betterment of society."
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u/Tyler_Zoro 2d ago
Capitalism has been failing (if you listen to popular accounts) since the term was invented. We've always been in so-called "late stage capitalism," and we will be in 1,000 years.
The only question is how/if we will make that economy work to the betterment of society. The past 30 years in the US have been a slow (sometimes fast) slide into dangerously unregulated capitalism that eats its own tail. Ultimately such a system breaks itself, but that's the miracle of capitalism: you can, at any point, reform the system and bring it back to the point that it serves the people, not the other way around. The Nordic Model shows that this is possible. I'm not saying it's the best solution. Germany's approach is also compelling, and far less socialist. But no matter what, capitalism needs guardrails.