In an astounding display of candor, three very prominent professors from Harvard University have broken ranks by publishing a study in the Harvard Business Review, describing a study they say they’ve undertaken that shows that because of the huge income disparities inherent in the traditional capitalist model, its ultimate demise is likely.
Joseph L. Bower, Herman Leonard and Lynn Sharp Paine, all business professors at Harvard, all agree that while recent events such as the Occupy movement have highlighted the widening gap between rich and poor in capitalistic societies, it’s the model itself that is need of reshaping.
Because of their positions, and place of employment, the study brings great weight to problems already being addressed around the world by less credentialed human rights leaders. Capitalism, by its very nature, they say, favors those who know how to make money, and punishes those who do not. Unfortunately, as it’s turning it, there are far fewer who know how to make money than there needs to be to support such a system, resulting in too few rich, and far too many poor. The result, as has been seen in other social systems, will likely lead to revolt as the have-nots seek to gain what they cannot otherwise obtain though the rules put in place by those in power.
The trio are not ready as yet to say when the revolution might come about, but, by the words they choose, it becomes clear that they see trouble on the horizon in today’s distressed world. In addition to the Occupy movement, there is a growing concern that the middle class that is supposed to hold a capitalist system together is beginning to falter. Unemployment, that bugaboo of any country seeking to afford its citizens a reasonably high standard of living, has ticked higher and higher in virtually every capitalistic society in existence today. The result is a lower and lower standard of living for the majority of the population; certainly a sign of impeding change if ever there was one.
The group also notes that capitalism, because of its extreme focus on the almighty dollar, appears to work great when countries are just starting to embrace it. It’s only after years of it being in place that its weaknesses come into play. Thus the rise of the East, as many call the great gains made in Asia, are little more than a temporary illusion. With time, they too will find that their great middle class, rising now, will soon fall back as has been seen in Europe and the United States.
Unfortunately, the team is not able to offer any solution, insisting history will bear them out, likely, shortly after they are gone.