Drakulic’s view of the limits of capitalism

The limits of capitalism are shown vividly in Slavenka Drakulic’s book, How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed. She points out that there is so much waste in the west, while the amount of poor, beggars, and homeless happens to be very high.

Drakulic’s trip to New York shows the difference between a capitalist society and a communist society. When she sees “a whole big, brown muffin, nicely wrapped in plastic” just lying on the subway steps she goes to reach for it but stops herself.[1] Then as she passes the exit she noticed a trash can full of half eaten food, and cartons. This picture that she paints in her book shows the wastefulness of a capitalist society. She was not used to seeing this as people ruled by communism do not have the excesses in life, and are not able to throw away half eaten food because of the poverty level.

Another site she sees on her trip to New York is the amount of poor, beggars, and homeless all around the city. She sees “a man sleeping in the doorway with cardboard underneath him, instead of sheets- a homeless person.”[2] Again this is something that she was not used to seeing because beggars are seen as non-existent, minus the Gypsies.

These two observations Drakulic makes about her trip to New York really stand out when we look at how great capitalism is compared to communism. Yes, for the majority of the people it does work because people have more free will, and opportunities that communism puts down, but what we forget is there are those that are affected by this system or forgotten. We need to recognize that capitalism is limited just like communism, in the sense that not everyone can be or gets the help that they need.

Images: http://healthlivingyoga.com/128/capitalism-vs-communism/

http://www.thenewecologist.com/2010/08/8-smart-tips-to-reduce-the-food-waste/

http://thyblackman.com/2012/09/12/has-america-become-insensitive-to-the-plight-of-the-poor/