As a student of A.P. Physics and Honors U.S. History, I’ve learned to recognize discrete patterns. After learning about economical history around the world from school and countless youtube videos, I’ve noticed a pattern of Capitalism.
All emerging countries striving for independence follow a specific pattern. They disagree with the capitalist ideals of the country they're a part of. They fight for their independance. At first they follow their ideals, and after a while the newly founded nation fall into the idea of capitalism. Then the cycle starts all over again.
For example, China. China has been a nation for centuries, but recently there has been a change in leadership to Mao Zedong. Mao envisioned a communist nation that offered an alternative to the capitalist nation he was living in. With great popularity, Mao successfully overthrew the Qing dynasty. To this day China is considered as a “Communist” country, but in reality it’s the furthest from that.
China is heavily reliant on money and practices laissez faire capitalism. The Chinese Government enforces little to none laws that protects workers, not to mention the lack of a minimum wage. While workers struggle to make 1 U.S. dollar a day, managers of these factories drive Porsches, BMWs, and Mercedes. In fact China’s rich population has grown so much that the people in China with assets higher than 1 million dollars has grown by 18% in the past year. This certainly does not seem like communism.
Another great example is right under our noses, the United States. As many of us know, The United States used to be a colony of Great Britain. However, due to the enforcement of high taxes and tariffs on America by England for the sole purpose to exploit the American riches, America declared its independence in 1776. After winning the long fought war with Great Britain, Thomas Jefferson was planning on building a nation without a strong central bank to resist the movement of industrialism. However, with Alexander Hamilton, the National Bank of United States was created and another capitalism based country was born.
So why does every country seem to practice capitalism? the answer is simple, pure socialism just does not work. Take Cuba as an example. Cuba is one of the only communist country left. Establishing a communist country in the midst of a world heavily revolving around trust based currency and trade is near impossible. Because Cuba does not have a strong GDP, their economy just does not work. Their citizens are supposed to be offered amazing federal benefits like healthcare, education, life insurance, and many more, but they’re not, because the Cuban government cannot afford it. So you may be asking yourself, why doesn Cuba just raise its GDP? Well, to have a high GDP like many developed capitalist countries, you need motivated workers producing goods for other countries and that’s where salaries come in play. The problem with communism is that without varying salaries there is low incentive to go to school for another 10 years to earn a degree to become a doctor or lawyer.
If a country doesn't want to become bankrupt like Cuba, there’s one simple solution ­ a capitalist based socialist type economy like the United States and many European Countries. With a strong capitalist foundation, a country can generate enough money to provide their citizens with federal benefits. Earlier I stated that this is a simple solution, but I lied, it’s not. With any capitalist country there is going to be a separation of the rich and the poor. Another drawback of a capitalist country is the culture of materialism and conformism. These days, a word frequently thrown around is “Basic B****.” This term is the pure product of consumerism. the definition of a “Basic B****” is someone that is completely the same as anyone person. Some example of “Basic B****” acts are taking “selfies” on the new iPhone 6, drinking Starbucks, or wearing Lululemon brand yoga pants. As you can see the “Basic B****” consumes brand named products resulting in conformism. The “Basic B****” is a perfect symbol for the negatives that come with a capitalist based economy.
So you may be asking, why not decrease the capitalist aspect of the economy and increase the socialist aspect? Believe it or not, even with the high taxes on income, utility, sales, and more, the United States Government is not making enough money to cover both federal benefits and government bond interests. To pay for the domestic and foreign interests on bonds, the United States gives out more bonds digging our economy into a deeper and deeper debt. So becoming a more socialist country isn’t necessarily a smart option.
Creating a economical system that makes everyone is nearly impossible. If you believe in utilitarianism, the most efficient way to keep as many people happy is by finding the perfect balance between capitalism and socialism. Too capitalistic, and a vast majority of the government becomes unhappy, and to socialist, and the economy crashes. This balancing act of the perfect economy was all started with the first paper bill. The dependance and system that we created for trade has put us into a trap that is nearly impossible to get out of.
So what’s the solution to our debt? Well, the solution would be raising taxes and cut government spending. Sounds simple, but it isn’t. First of all, no one likes taxes, they’re the worst. If you think, “Hey I’m a kid, i don’t pay taxes,” you’re wrong you pay 9% on every purchase for sales tax. Second, cutting government spending is a horrible plan. For all of those who don’t understand what that entails, it means less money for schools, less welfare, and a lot less benefits. By spending more than we can afford and keeping on lending out bonds have put us into a catch 22, and the first step to getting out is by educating the public about basic economy. To really make a positive change in the economy, the whole world needs to redefine the whole concept of money, because now, every country owes money to each other, and frankly things loaning money for interest system makes doesn’t mathematically make sense.

In a nation with an economy revolving around capitalist ideas, like the United States, the culture of money has a large presence. In the United States, especially in Los Angeles, we frequently see porsches, mercedes, teslas, and BMWs zooming down the street. What people don’t realize is that in other countries this isn’t necessarily the case. From my visit to Japan, back in 2012, I rarely saw any luxury cars. It’s not like Japan is a poor country, it actually has the 3rd richest economy according to Forbes. Not only that, but only a miniscule 16% of Japan’s citizens live under the poverty line. So why are there so many people driving luxury cars in America, China, Brazil, and India? The answer is simple; It’s the culture that surrounds wealth and money in these countries. The culture of money in these countries have molded their citizens into having an unconsciously materialistic belief, creating an inexplicit competition as to who can be the most flashy with their wealth.
So how did this culture come to be? To answer this question, we need to take a deeper look into the subjects of public media and psychology.
Bill Gates, A$AP Rocky, Drake, Paris Hilton, and Kim Kardashian, these are people that are known for having a substantial amount of money and ability to live in a lavish lifestyle. Sure, Bill Gates created Microsoft, but the main reason Bill Gates is so famous is because of his wealth. When the average person hears the name Bill Gates, they’re going to think of the world’s richest human being, not the visionary that revolutionized the whole concept of the computer. The same goes for A$AP Rocky and Drake. When most people hear their names they think of A$AP Rocky’s golden teeth, or Drake’s music video about him making it to the top (i.e., From being a average teenager in Toronto to a multi millionaire living the American dream.) The fact that the most well known figures in our country is seen as successful because of the amount of money they have perfectly explains the materialism and consumerism in America. For example, Nikola Tesla was a physicist that completely revolutionized the world, making way for AC electricity, but his arch rival, Thomas Edison is far more known by the public, because he took advantage of his patents and generated a multi billion dollar industry. The publicity that comes with wealth is exactly what causes the current materialistic culture that is present in the United States.
The original definition of successful is someone that completed their goals, society has molded the public interpretation of success as the person with the most money. According to Men's Health, the most successful people are, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Goldman Sachs. One thing is common among every single one of these people, they're all billionaires. The race competition of the American Dream has completely redefined the word successful into someone who won in the game of capitalism. This new definition of success has amplified the competition to reach the top of the monetary mountain. We, as a society has created a culture that recognizes the rich instead of the more humble and high achieving citizens that have made a huge impact on society. In addition to our society, Money magazine, Forbes magazine, and Fortune magazine are all part of the public news outlets that publicize the rich. Instead of recognizing the rich as much as we do, we need to spread the fame to the equally deserving politicians, scientists, and revolutionists. for example, Tom Steyer is an environmental activist that has heavily influenced the current political setting. I’m completely certain that a majority of people in the United states have never heard of his name, and that is the problem. By moving publicity away from the wealthy to the more deserving, the public definition of success will be reverted. By reverting the definition of success, the people in the United States will strive to make an impact on the world to be remembered rather than making as much money as possible to be remembered.
When asking a elementary school student what they want, their answer is usually something physically valuable like money, gold, diamonds, cars, or a mansion. The reason behind these materialistic dreams is a product of the discipline and rewarding systems implemented by parents in America. One example would be the whole concept behind the modern Christmas. From a young age, kids are told that if they’re “good kids” Santa rewards them with a christmas present, and if they’re “bad kids” then Santa punishes them by stuffing their stockings with worthless coal. Parents are unconsciously planting the plant of materialism into these young children's’ minds.
Humans are biologically created to compete and better each other, and materialism is just outlet for this natural competitive mindset. When I was still in elementary school, there was a huge trend for Fooey brand school supplies. One day, a kid named Tony brought a Fooey brand eraser, and soon enough my classmates started to purchase Fooey pencils, rulers, and eventually a twenty dollar sharpener. Although I didn’t realize it back then, no one really needed any of those school supplies, it was just a competition for owning the coolest and most expensive fooey product, and everyone was participating in it unconsciously.
As much as people conform, a driving force behind materialism is the strive for individuality. Everyone wants to standout, and to do so people believe making money and purchasing lavish objects that the average person can’t buy is the way to go. For example, Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla owns four Teslas, a hummer, and a helicopter. Elon has no need to have 6 different vehicles, he only needs one, but can anyone else say that they have four Teslas? No, that’s why he spends money for a product he doesn’t need. In the United States today, people are purchasing items not because they need them, but as a flashy trophy to outwardly express their wealth. People naturally want others to recognize their success and hard work, and the method used is desperately showing off wealth in the hopes for praise.

In no way am I opposing Capitalism, in fact I believe capitalism is essential for a government to effectively serve their
citizens. However, the system in which Capitalism has developed across the globe has increasingly gotten unfair to the poor and uneducated. Far left liberals protest today to raise taxes on the rich, but it really isn’t that simple. Up till now, the United States economy has grown in a way that taking money away from the rich will eventually end with an economical collapse.
Believe it or not, the rich pay a large amount of tax. It’s a common misconception that the government enforces only a small percentage of income tax onto the rich, but they actually pay substantially more than the average citizen. So even with the higher income tax how does the rich stay rich? To put it simply, higher income tax doesn’t affect a rich person. The reason is that most rich people make money off of investments. They invest money into stocks and bonds, and since there is a totally different tax code for investments, their money is almost untouched. So you may be asking why not increase tax on investments? Implementing a higher tax on investments would discourage investors investing in government issued bonds and from investing in start up companies. This would ultimately end up with the government not being able to cover for government spending, and new businesses would be stunted, stagnating the economy from growth. Since the rich has possessed power in politics since the creation of the United States, the economy has been established to make sure the rich don’t lose money.
Since the beginning of mankind, the rich has had a huge presence in politics and ultimately the economy of their respective societies. The reason money has such a presence in politics is, because of the whole concept and how the system of money has been created. Money was a concept used to purchase objects. With the invention of such a powerful numerical system that could buy any object, with the ownership of money came power. It’s only human nature to want more objects that make our lives easier and interesting, and with more money, more objects could be bought. Ultimately money started to become a system used to increase happiness and the quality of life. This is why the current influence of money came to be. Resulting from the system that has developed to become a device used improve life, with money, power could now be bought. With the power that comes with being wealthy, the rich was now held great influence in politics. With this new found position of political power, a society benefiting purely the rich has been developed. Moreover, the rich has created a world wide economical system that is impossible to revert without collapsing the economy.
A phrase frequently used by economists is “Too big to fail.” In 2009, the Detroit based Automobile giant, “GM” went bankrupt. However, the United States government gave “GM” 50 billion dollars of our tax money to bail them out. Why did the United States spend such a large portion of their federal reserve to save a company from bankruptcy, how is this a good idea? The reason was, “GM” is “too big to fail.” By losing a major company to bankruptcy, The american economy would lose a huge asset and our GDP would decrease by a substantial amount. With such a decrease in GDP, government issued benefits would be out of reach and the economy would plummet. Since “GM” has such a huge influence on our economy, even when they went under, money had to be payed to save our economy. This is yet another example of how the rich cannot get poorer, yet the poor cannot get richer.
The United States is known at the “land of opportunity,” which is true to some extent, however, these opportunities are a lot harder to be grasped by the poorer half of the population. A quote that perfectly sums up the availability of the AMerican Dream is “The rich have to be dumb to get poorer, but the poor have to be smart to become rich. Sure, there have been a lot of people that have created their own economic empire by themselves, but there’s also a larger portion of people that has inherited money had maintains the wealth by investing. In the American economy, once someone becomes rich, they have incentive to keep working hard and contribute to society, because the economy has been created to sustain their wealth with minimal effort. However, for the poor, this is a completely different story. To rise in the socioeconomic hierarchy in America, a citizen must work extremely hard. For example, Ralph Lauren, Oprah Winfrey and Larry Ellison, we all once living on welfare, but to get to their multi billion dollar net worth, the work they had to put in is unthinkable. On the other hand, Warren Buffett, Forrest Mars Jr., and Mitt Romney all started off with a substantial amount of capital that they invested in businesses, property, and stocks to build their multi billion dollar empire. The amount of work needed to rise to the top and maintain the wealth at the top is insanely
different, and that is a major flaw in the American economic system today. Moving from poor to rich should be a lot less challenging and maintaining wealth should be a lot harder than it currently is.

In less developed areas in the United States, the culture of money has greatly affected the quality of life for the people living in these area. With the little money circulating areas of low affluence, people cannot afford education and in turn can only obtain minimum wage paying jobs. With the low minimum wage of 7 dollars in California many people cannot afford the necessities to live a comfortable life. Many people in poorer areas depend heavily on food stamps and welfare while the rich basically waste money in order to maintain their black card status.
Kendrick Lamar, a rapper raised in Compton, California, describes the average life of a black girl living in the ghetto in his song “Keisha's Song.” Keisha is a teenager forced to become a prostitute out of economic desperation. By the end of the song, Keisha is raped and killed. Kendrick Lamar's discrimination of the average black girl living in a poor area perfectly portrays the condition of the opposite end of the capitalist spectrum. With the lack of education and the presence of sex, violence, and drugs in poorer areas of America, young adults have no where else to turn to make sufficient money to live the “American Dream.” The capitalistic economy of America offers a wide array of opportunities, but the culture surrounding money in the ghetto masks these opportunities with the illusion of having nowhere else to turn. Kids in Compton, Detroit, Inglewood, and Oakland are led to believe that the only way to make money is by illegal transactions. This is why education in the poorer areas are important. These kids need to understand the importance of utilizing capitalism to their advantage. As a result of utilizing capitalism correctly, these poor communities can slowly be enriched by increasing income for families.
It's not the amount of money being spent on education that is the problem it's the approach to poorer students teachers take that is the problem. The worse the school is (i.e., education, athletics, and electives) the more money they're awarded. Similarly the higher a school's average standardized test scores are the more money they're granted. The problem here is that government officials believe throwing cash at schools in poor communities will solve the problem, and to some extent that is true. However, to really permanently impact a community for the good, special teaching approaches need to be implemented. For students to successfully escape the poverty loop, they need to be motivated to earn money in a legal and safe way.
To people living in relatively affluent areas, our role models are usually political figures, scientists, entrepreneurs, sports stars, or actors/actresses. However, kids and teens living in areas with lower incomes tend to look up to rappers as a role model. Rappers aren't necessarily bad people, I personally love Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Jay­Z, and others, but the culture surrounding these influential figures heavily contribute to the problem of poverty in these areas. A large portion of rappers were raised in similar conditions which fuels the appeal they have to the younger population of poorer communities. One common these shared among most rappers is the theme of money. Rappers usually seem to talk about “stacking millions” and driving Maybachs, instilling the idea of materialism into these teenagers' minds. Another common theme shared among rappers is the oppression of women, abuse of drugs, and violence. With the combination of materialism, female objectification, drug use, and violence being surrounding the teens of today, the culture of illegal money making is created.

From objects to humans everything in this world is measured in money. Money has such a huge presence in our lives, so much so that everything needs to be valued with money so people can understand it’s value. The whole concept of value is weird. What makes gold more valuable than iron or steel? Most people would think rarity determines the value of something. But, just because gold is harder to obtain doesn't’ make it more useful or aesthetically pleasing than glass or steel so why does rarity determine value? It’s the culture of “standing out” and “having something others don't have” that give rare items a higher price.
“Flipping J’s” would be a perfect example of this. Lately there has been a trend of buying limited edition nike brand Air Jordans for $250 just to resell them the next day for $500 to $10,000. 5,000 Kanye West’s Red October’s were sold for $250 on February of 2014, and because of it’s exclusivity people are now buying shoes that costed $15 to make for $15,000. This whole market of sneakers are based on exploiting the inner thrive to stand out. These sneakers are made from materials that are abundant to this word and the process used to make these shoes aren’t that cutting edge. If anyone was invested enough they could create a perfect replica, but no one will buy them for more than $100, why is that? People say these replicas are unauthentic, but why does that matter? They’re the same shoes! The only conclusion I can come up with is that people just want to impress people. People with real Red Octobers can brag to people that their shoes are worth $15,000 without lying. However, wearing fake shoes and bragging wouldn’t hurt anyone and it would yield the same impression, but the only difference is, you’d be lying to yourself, so obviously bragging isn’t the full reason. People buy extravagant items not only to impress others, but to impress themselves.