OPINION: By Dr. Sawraj Singh

          There is a general perception among the intellectuals, including Marxists, that capitalism has played a role in the development of society and human beings. However, if we closely follow the history of capitalism from its inception to the present time, then one thing becomes clear: in spite of the scientific and technological development in this period and the comforts and the conveniences provided by capitalism, it has only led to misery and suffering for the vast majority of the people. In the beginning, capitalism gave us physical filth which we never saw before, and toward its end, it has led to mental suffering, the extent of that has never been seen in the history of mankind.                                                                

                If we look at the evolution of capitalism, then it becomes clear that Europe is the birthplace of capitalism. Even though capitalism started in the sixteenth century, yet it is the eighteenth century when it became the dominant mode of production in the developed western European countries like England and Germany. There was a very large scale migration of people from the rural areas to the big cities in search of employment in the factories that were mushrooming in these cities. The population in these cities increased many fold. However, there were no housing facilities, toilet facilities and no sewerage systems.                                                                                                                                                                                          

                Most of these people lived in the streets and used them for urination and defecation. This resulted in filth and stench that was never witnessed before. If we read the eye witness accounts of European cities in that time, we cannot even imagine that European cities can look or smell like that. We can take the example of London and Cologne. There were streams of urine and feces flowing in the streets of London, and nobody could walk without soiling their shoes with those. You could smell the stench of London spread over many miles. It is ironical that the conditions in Cologne whose name is synonymous  with perfume (Eau de cologne), were no different than London. One eye witness wondered why were people carrying umbrellas when there was no rain or sun. He found out that they tried to protect themselves from being soiled by the contents of the commodes that people were dumping on the streets.                                                 

                In the nineteenth century, the condition of the cities started to improve and in the twentieth century, the cities became much cleaner. However, while the physical conditions improved, the mental conditions started deteriorating rapidly. People felt alienated like never before. They were alienated from nature, society, family and self. People scaled new heights of individualism, selfishness, arrogance and greed. Human relations lost warmth, closeness, dependability and reliability. The degeneration of human relations and disintegration of family led to extreme isolation of the individuals. This led to increased incidence of fear, anxiety, and insecurity. These problems tremendously increased stress and that led to problems like insomnia and depression. The increased stress also increased in a big way the incidence of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. Increased stress and inactivity has also led to a massive increase in the incidence of obesity.                                                                                                                          

                We have never seen such a large percentage of unhealthy population in any society before the capitalist society. About 70% of the population in many capitalist countries is overweight. The amount of sedatives, hypnotics (sleep medications), anti anxiety and anti depression medications is ever climbing  and is setting all time records in the western capitalist countries. Similarly, the portion of population taking medication for high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease is setting new records in the western capitalist countries, particularly in America. It is estimated that 4.38 billion retail prescriptions were filled in America in the year 2019.                                                                                                            

                The only goal for most of the people seems to make maximum money in minimum time, and then buy comforts and conveniences with that money. Human relations and cultural, ethical and moral values can be sacrificed for attaining this goal. For all practical purposes, the spiritual aspect of life has been abandoned and life has been limited to the material aspect alone. Because of this, people have lost their balance and equipoise. The linear, materialist approach is responsible for the imbalance in the lives of the people.     

                The increased mental stress is also affecting the fertility rate. Stress can lead to low sperm count and impotence that leads to low fertility rate. We have always been talking about the uncontrolled rise in world population. However, the reality is that most of the capitalist countries are facing the problem of falling fertility rate and have to bring immigrants from the third world countries to maintain the population needed for running their systems. Canada is one such country that desperately needs immigrants. Toward the middle of the century, most of the world, except Africa, will have falling fertility rate and negative population growth. Toward the end of the century, even Africa will face the same situation. Therefore, if the capitalists do not destroy the world by a most destructive Third World War, then the falling fertility rate can lead mankind and the world toward extinction.                                                      

                One way or the other, the capitalist model of development is going to destroy the world. We have to find an alternate model of development. This can be done by fusing the best elements of the eastern and the western civilizations. Sri Guru Granth Sahib has one such model that is based upon the concepts of universal concern and universal welfare. Unlike capitalism, that sees economics divorced from ethics, Sikhism, like Christianity, sees economics and ethics in an integrated manner.   

Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at sawrajsingh@hotmail.com.