From dawn to decadence : saving capitalism through cohesiveness

In this essay, I attempt to remedy capitalism’s decline into decadence (stagnation of growth in wealth). In order to jumpstart the growth in material freedom, I argue that capitalism needs to restore individual practical freedom by instilling cohesiveness in society. I show that, contrary to the ide...

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Main Author: Foo, Sarah Rui Ern
Other Authors: Dimitris Apostolopoulos
Format: Final Year Project (FYP)
Language:English
Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/137449
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author Foo, Sarah Rui Ern
author2 Dimitris Apostolopoulos
author_facet Dimitris Apostolopoulos
Foo, Sarah Rui Ern
author_sort Foo, Sarah Rui Ern
collection NTU
description In this essay, I attempt to remedy capitalism’s decline into decadence (stagnation of growth in wealth). In order to jumpstart the growth in material freedom, I argue that capitalism needs to restore individual practical freedom by instilling cohesiveness in society. I show that, contrary to the idea that group constraints limit freedom, individual practical freedom can actually flourish under a cohesive social order that guides individuals towards a common cause. To outline my argument, I first discuss how under decadence, capitalism cannot be justified as a social model because the benefits of material freedom no longer outweigh the disadvantages brought about by its suppression of individual practical freedom. Subsequently, this essay synthesizes Marxism and Sartre’s Existentialism to explain why individual practical freedom is crucial to humanity. Following that, I argue that instead of using scarcity as a tool to condition society and suppress individual practical freedom, capitalism should use cohesiveness to maintain social order and promote individual practical freedom. I conclude by proposing that capitalism enforces cohesiveness through two methods—establishing the organized group structure and fostering culture.
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spelling ntu-10356/1374492020-03-26T06:14:52Z From dawn to decadence : saving capitalism through cohesiveness Foo, Sarah Rui Ern Dimitris Apostolopoulos School of Humanities d.apostolopoulos@ntu.edu.sg Humanities::Philosophy In this essay, I attempt to remedy capitalism’s decline into decadence (stagnation of growth in wealth). In order to jumpstart the growth in material freedom, I argue that capitalism needs to restore individual practical freedom by instilling cohesiveness in society. I show that, contrary to the idea that group constraints limit freedom, individual practical freedom can actually flourish under a cohesive social order that guides individuals towards a common cause. To outline my argument, I first discuss how under decadence, capitalism cannot be justified as a social model because the benefits of material freedom no longer outweigh the disadvantages brought about by its suppression of individual practical freedom. Subsequently, this essay synthesizes Marxism and Sartre’s Existentialism to explain why individual practical freedom is crucial to humanity. Following that, I argue that instead of using scarcity as a tool to condition society and suppress individual practical freedom, capitalism should use cohesiveness to maintain social order and promote individual practical freedom. I conclude by proposing that capitalism enforces cohesiveness through two methods—establishing the organized group structure and fostering culture. Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy 2020-03-26T06:14:52Z 2020-03-26T06:14:52Z 2020 Final Year Project (FYP) https://hdl.handle.net/10356/137449 en application/pdf Nanyang Technological University
spellingShingle Humanities::Philosophy
Foo, Sarah Rui Ern
From dawn to decadence : saving capitalism through cohesiveness
title From dawn to decadence : saving capitalism through cohesiveness
title_full From dawn to decadence : saving capitalism through cohesiveness
title_fullStr From dawn to decadence : saving capitalism through cohesiveness
title_full_unstemmed From dawn to decadence : saving capitalism through cohesiveness
title_short From dawn to decadence : saving capitalism through cohesiveness
title_sort from dawn to decadence saving capitalism through cohesiveness
topic Humanities::Philosophy
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/137449
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