This is Bryan Haskell’s submission for the HP Magic Giveaway. Feel free to leave comments for this article as you see fit – your feedback is certainly welcomed! If you’d like to submit your own how-to, what-is, or top-five list, you can send it to me. Views and opinions of this writer are not necessarily my own:

Capitalism is the world we live in. It’s the polluted air we breathe, the water we drink, the frozen dinners we eat, the computers we spend hours on, the rules we follow, the conflicts we face… all influenced by popular opinion and wrapped up into a big box covered in green paper made of lies, misconception, deception, and the idea that enough is never enough. Capitalism has a very pliable structure, one that can withstand abuse, change shape, and perhaps even be recycled when need be. In my opinion, there really is no straight definition of the term. Capitalism simply consumes us, and we consume it, too.

What I am trying to say is that capitalism is a subconscious state of being. Capitalism isn’t real. Capitalism is a utopia that we’ve created; a utopia filled with inhuman characteristics that are masked by the hopes and dreams to be a successful figure amongst your peers. Capitalism is an excuse to be unethical, to get away with doing improper things in order to gain self satisfaction. Capitalism forces you to abide by the holiness of items called money. I would not disagree with the suggestion that capitalism could be considered a mental disorder. After all, the single most important aspect to this thing called capitalism is the root of all evil, the reason for how people act, the reason why people commit crimes.

Throughout the history of man-kind, competition and the will to survive have always been the most important parts of life. So what exactly makes capitalism so important? Well, capitalism simply is just a name for our will to survive and compete, except that these preconceived notions are influenced by technological advancement. It is a known fact that human-beings throughout the history of their presence on earth will perform actions only if they have some motive or receive some sort of reward for doing it. Any other activity is really just a distraction. The wonderful thing about capitalism is that it motivates people to do many things they otherwise would not do. Capitalism preserves personal hopes and dreams and creates ambition. In turn, this allows substantial progress to be made technologically. All this is able to occur because of the level of importance capitalism has made money become.

Capitalism controls us. Everything we do, say, write about, and act on is because of capitalism. Capitalism can easily be referred to as “Big Brother”, a subconscious man overlooking our every motion. What is right necessarily isn’t always right and what is wrong necessarily isn’t always wrong. I think the movie “The Matrix” and the rest of the trilogy have depicted capitalism quite well. The world we live in is created by capitalism. Capitalism is a fantasy world created for the overall success of those in charge. The fact that people on the bottom of the ladder seek some sort of satisfaction through whatever means is great for those on top of the ladder. In capitalism, the only means of success is the acquisition of money. It is as simple as that.

Can we live without capitalism? Just go ahead and try to do something without a reward (even without personal satisfaction as a reward). I absolutely feel that capitalism is the end all to human ideology. Capitalism gives humans everything they want in an accepted fashion while allowing the freedom of life to mask a much larger picture that is progress and success. Even though there are those more successful than others, capitalism allows everyone to feel some sort of success; success of which benefits those above.

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