Will capitalism die? Reflections on the Capitalism of the Past, Present and Future

Abstract

In the article, the authors pose and consider in detail the extremely topical question of whether capitalism has a future or will it be replaced by some new system. And if there is a future, then what kind of future is it? These are not new questions, but in the last few years they have acquired exceptional importance, since not only the left, but also representatives of the largest financial capital have started talking about the end of capitalism. The article deals with the following questions: what is capitalism as a way of life and as a system; what was the evolution of capitalism; what are his potentialities. In addition, various scenarios are considered and forecasts are given for the next 50–100 years. It is assumed that in the next few decades the development of capitalism may proceed differently in developed and developing countries, resulting in a complex continuum of types, transitions, combinations and forms of capitalism. The authors believe that capitalism will be inevitably transformed to one degree or another, but the degree of such transformation can vary greatly. Various scenarios for the future of capitalism are considered: from maintaining its leading role to reducing capitalism to one of a few socio-economic subsystems.

Keywords

• capitalism
• socialism
• system
• subsystem
• profit
• inequality
• developing countries
• developed countries
• remote work
• zero-sum game
• forecasts