For a long time now capitalistic systems have worked well for progress and creating wealth but not spreading it around. For that we relied on government. However governments tend to be bureaucratic, inefficient and even corrupt especially when they are really controlled by corporations not people. What we have now is this illusion that capitalism is a panacea. It will solve all our problems when everyone becomes an independent business owner.

Here in the U.S. the push for everyone to have their own 401k retirement plans and medical insurance has been a big part of the problem in my view. The company you worked for used to take care of that so you could work with some peace of mind. The burden of all that has been shifted to the individual who usually has no time or expertise to navigate all the complexities of investing and insurance all the while benefiting corporations.

What we really have is a system that pools money at the top and it is expected to “trickle-down” wealth to everyone else through the magic of benevolence and job creation. Unchecked capitalism can be as bad as any other tyranny if its only purpose is to create wealth. There needs to be some mechanism to redistribute wealth fairly and equitability and UBI may be the answer.