According to this article ofThe Economist(2012), the author debates about belief possessed by both policymakers as well as economists who link mechanical breakdown as the main cause which shattered the rich western economies. The article further argues that for the economy to thrive positively, workable monetary, fiscal and regulatory policies need to be put in place. It is assumedly clear that the author of the article dismisses the aforementioned mechanical failure to be related to the main cause of economy breakdown but rather implicates the moral capabilities of the westerners who possess such moral dissatisfaction as love for money, shopping and other material matter as a whole.
The article further cites two books, which have a consistent view about the matter at hand. These booksHow Much Is EnoughandWhat Money Can’t Buyput forth the argument that the developed countries will resolve the existing economic breakdown in due time. Especially that in developed countries it is expected that the citizens will averagely be at least four times richer. In addition citizens from rich countries will only work for a minimum of 15 hours a week. However, according toThe Economist(2012), the aforementioned argument is unrealistic, since it is only expected that pay of workers will increase while working hours remain constant. This debate stipulates the fact that the rich will still accumulate more wealth at the expense of the average workers. Such facets as living standards, as well as fair social amenities, will be improved as a whole. The article moves on to extrapolate on the matter at hand: “Moral love for money and material wealth”. It attributes this issue to the higher gross domestic product that facilitates the spirit of ignorance, which comes from living well in the midst of plenty as compared to surviving as a result of scarcity.
The article further notes that such facets as capitalism has made good improvements desired for the multiplication of material matter by the rich fraternity. It also argues against capitalism since it fosters human avidity in the sense that it increases the rate, at which citizens monetizes the economy as a whole. In the case of markets and shopping, the author implicates that the functionality of markets has vastly spread to the extent of downplaying the essence of morality of living.
The widespread desire to access and possess more money than citizens need is attributed to the fact that human beings have ceased appreciating the abundance of nature. They rather dwell on humiliating the poor so that poverty takes the order of the day. The article also stipulates that the spread of markets has led to such factor as inequality. As a result, money possesses the ability to purchase, which makes the most of the world’s economy. This means that the lack of money is unbearable and average citizens are, therefore, not expected to live without its abundance. Another facet included in the aforementioned argument is corruption which is the root of misperception among the average-living citizens. In order to curb this social injustice among the poor, the article postulates that the policymakers formulate certain policies, These policies aim at promoting endless growth of the economy. Consequently, without discrimination all citizens get access to such factors as basic income, tax imposition on consumption rather than on income as well as cutting the deductions made to companies whenever they take to advertising. Therefore, the economies will promote equality among the citizens of a country as they will take to save by reducing the amount of their respective consumptions.
All in all, it is fair to indicate that two articles have successfully tackled the issue brought forth by malfunctioning economies of western countries, as well as the United States. The analysis also has provided solutions to the challenges experienced by the aforementioned economies so that issues of inequality, corruption and capitalism are overlooked in times of growth and development.