Capitalism and Natural resources Mathematics & Economics Essay (Essay Sample)

Capitalism and Natural Resources
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Introduction
Capitalism is an economic system grounded on private possession and operation of production means. Capitalism is distinguishable through its aspect of wage labor, private ownership of property, capital accumulation, competitive markets, voluntary exchange, and a pricing system (Schumpeter, 2006). Natural resources exist without human intervention and occur spread in different variations through geographic locations. Natural resources exist in non-renewable and renewable forms; renewable resources can be used continuously without depletion, such as wind energy, while non-renewable resources get depleted with use. This paper takes the position that capitalism and natural resources can't co-exist and provides justifications for the reasoning.
Why Capitalism and Natural Resources Cannot co-exist
Capitalism has its grounds on profit maximization; the system prides itself on its massive potential for growth and productivity rates. The incentive for profit induces consumers to focus on the production of services and goods that they can most effectively produce on a large scale while introducing advanced technologies to make the production process more efficient and remain abreast of the competition. By creating efficiency in production, capitalism also creates a bigger market for its products, thereby making its production process dependent on market demand. This process creates a vicious circle where production increases the size of the market, and the market size leads to an increase in production. The vicious circle shows that capitalism needs an endless growth rate for production to ensure that it remains stable. The production utilizes natural resources as raw materials to produce finished goods, as production grows exponentially fueled by capitalism, more resources are used to satisfy the market that it creates. Most of these natural resources are non-renewable while the renewable resources renew themselves at a rate too slow to keep up with the growth rate of production levels, thereby proving that the co-existence of capitalism and natural resources is impossible.