Essay Example on Capitalism: The Driving Force of Productivity?

Introduction

Evidently, the world as it is exists in an entirely capitalistic realm, a world once dreaded by Karl Marx. This trend or rather phenomenon, has dominated every aspect of human life, with most of its advantages and crises experiences in different dimensions, magnitudes, and domains. Even while opposing capitalism and endorsing communism, Marx and Engel in their manifesto outlined a few advantages of capitalism, as a force that would drive productivity through competition and thus move and rescue many populations from the comforts of their ideal rural lives to a more productive and active state (Frieden & Rogowski, 2013). As anticipated, those holding the production process, or the contemporary power holders stand to gain tremendously from this trend, while to the lowly in society, capitalism and the cyclic crises it causes holds a threat to their fortunes and livelihood. Contemporary capitalism is often tied with technological advancement, thus granting those owning these technologies a competitive advantage through an extraordinary production ability. The capitalistic aberrations that dystopia films predict have gradually become the world that exists today, and thus the conveniences, benefits, and crises presented by capitalism are best presented through these films (Christopher, 2015). Project Runway is a reality hit TV series that shows the concept of capitalism in a mind-blowing, creating a sense of human relations defined by an organizational principle primarily created via the predominance capitalistic society. It is thus critical to examine the different forms of the world's reality as presented in the film, the impacts it has on communities as well as the values it produces.

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The Genesis of a Capitalistic Crisis

The great depression was the first most critical display of capitalism at its weakest point. People lost their jobs, banks were closed, and the political structures of the American society moved frantically intending to salvage the situation through financing the financial institutions. Sadly, this might have the first significant backlash of capitalism and only a beginning to eras of failures and crises. As fisher stated, "it is easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of capitalism" (Fisher, 2009). Every aspect of human life has been commoditized, and this has lost the meaning of life. Quality is as easily countered by quantity, and with this trend, the world is only doomed to end. Artists have been gradually made content producers rather than art creators, and the aesthetic value of art quantified to monetary gains. This is the very aspect presented in the show Project Runway. The designers are art creators, but the nature of the show forces them to become content creators. This is an era characterized as crude post-modernism, where the value of only quantifies through the monetary attachments it attracts.

Capitalism in Project Runway

Unlike the regular dystopia films, Project Runway is a film that reflects the reality that is on the ground rather than a manipulation of digital filmmaking to create a depiction of the future. The reality of the contemporary world is that competition is the driving force of achievement. It is in such an era that time is directly equated to money, and thus speed tags along with the availability of resources, technology, and skills. For these contestants to have qualified to be featured in the film, they are undoubtedly exemplary and incredible. However, they are always put on task with certain limitations such as time and resources to gauge their ability to create. The Lexus USA general manager of product and consumer marketing, Brian Bolain describes the safety features of the cars as "Lexus safety system plus" (Holzman, 2017) The plus has come to define every aspect of production. Every individual, organization, company, and society aims at doing more than what has already been done. The financial, social, cultural and political dimension of the human life and relations demands more and more, to the point that it is not the value that matters anymore, but instead the competitive advantage as per the majority views. The sixteenth episode of the Project Runway has only six contestants, and this is the depiction of the detrimental impacts that capitalism has. Just like Darwin's theory of evolution, capitalism has introduced a similar concept of survival of the fittest, while those deemed as not fit eliminated from the race and kicked out of the picture.

The World Is a Runway

The word has been converted to a runway (pun intended) as everyone is always in a frantic move to finish first. Every aspect of human existence is timed, and a constant reminder of how fragile time is often making human being lose their track of time. There is less personal value to what one does. People are placed continuously under pressure to produce. Capitalism has thus failed to be the one system that works as it has proved to be inherently dysfunctional (Fisher, 2009). The cost of capitalism is quite high, as people have to pay it through the loss of their cultures, values, and personal growth. Creations are calibrated by the views of the world, rather than the autonomy displayed by an individual. From the unconventional challenge, one can depict that indeed, the world is no longer symmetrical or systematic, but is rather spontaneous. Resources are limited, yet the demand for commodities is always rising, typical of capitalism. Therefore, with the limited resources, producers have to turn materials that might seem completely useless to come up with value.

Dynamics of Capitalism

Capitalism does no lack its dynamics. Unlike the 19th century, modern capitalism has evolved where the quantity of input does not matter but rather the skillset of producers. Kenya seemed to be on the losing team due to the limited resources she had garnered, but the simplicity yet uniqueness of her outfit places her on the safe side. While Michael encourages the other contestants to believe in what they do rather than compare their work to that of others, the system has been designed in a way that one has to look around to see what is going on in comparison to what they have going on. This is a trend that has created a significant deviation from autonomy, as people tend to get out of their skillsets to outdo their competition. In the long run, they lose their purpose in production, and thus stick to only one issue, competition, and once thrown out, and they might lack the strength to move on or believe in themselves.

The Workplace Redefined

Teamwork is redefined with modern competition. The coordinator of the show refers to the contestants as a team, but there is very minimal teamwork taking place in the garage. It is every man for himself. The achievements of an individual are as personal as their commitment to their work. Kenya experiences a shortage in resources, while the rest of the contestant have hat might seem like a surplus. However, every contestant looks after their interest, and this limits the spirit of sharing. No one is in a position to risk for a shortage, and thus prefer to have a surplus instead. Capitalism has substantially eroded human character, and thus significantly reduced any chances of effective teamwork. The capitalistic human being has been termed as Homo economicus, a species that only calculate how to maximize self-interest (Bertram, 2001). Capitalism has also rendered the livelihoods of individuals a constant cause of insecurity, contrary to its previous depiction as a stable and predictable issue. Productivity is thus fueled more by the fear of tomorrow rather than by the motivations attained from today's accomplishments. Fear pushes people to invent, to create and to innovate things, as they are constantly reminded that the very position they have could be snatched from them and granted to other deserving individuals.

Manipulation and Devaluing Of Values

Technology has no doubt revolutionized capitalism. Tools, devices, and software are thus vastly employed to complement the human skills present in production. Technology has thus enhanced the manipulation of resources in an economical way. However, capitalism, as seen through these lenses, has also created a way to manipulate human virtues in a way that suits the expectations of the world. Teamwork, as earlier mentions, is but a temporary affair, designed to accomplish a task, and once this is done, every individual returns to their selfish interests (Bertram, 2001). Advertisement and salesmanship manipulate courtesy and humility as a tenet of their public relations strategy, whereby the individuals in such department are usually dressed in virtue amours that they get out once they are off duty. Virtue is also devalued as many employees might focus too much on their productivity, even if that means that they abandon their beliefs, and core values. The appreciation of a few individuals yet every member of a team or labor force has contributed to the attainment of an organization's goals similarly demotivates employees, and in many cases creates an environment dominated by unhealthy competition.

Conclusion

Productivity, technologic; advancement, innovation, improvement in skills, competition, and team are terms that dominate the modern capitalistic world. Some of these have been beneficial, while others are detrimental. Competition in any venture is a critical driving force towards productivity and development. It always forces individuals out of their comfort zones and motivates them to break through the obstacles they face. This, coupled with technological advancement, has revolutionized capitalism. However, when the competition is overemphasized, many individuals often tend to get past their goals and feed their ambitions with a need to do more and more and beat others while at it. Project Runway has been a mirror upon which contemporary society views its strengths and weaknesses. Competition has been appreciated more than autonomy, and this has led to individuals who operate the same way machines do. Productivity has increased, but the value of work at an individual level has been rendered a casual venture. Work has been turned from a predictable aspect to a constant source of insecurity, and this has thus caused many individuals to abandon their values, and do whatever they have to do to enable them to make the mark and emerge at the top of the feeding chain. However, with the limitation in resources, employment opportunities, and an increase in human consumption, perhaps capitalism is the only way out. This ends in a cyclic pattern that thus proves that capitalism is harder to end than it is to end the world.

References

Bertram E. (2001). Capitalism, work and character. The American Project. Retrieved from https://prospect.org/article/capitalism-work-and-character

Christopher D. (2015). The Capitalist and Cultural Work of Apocalypse and Dystopia Films. Cineaction. 95. Pp. 56-65. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/10714614/The_Capitalist_and_Cultural_Work_of_Apocalypse_and_Dystopia_Films

Fisher M. (2009). It's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. Capitalist realism. Pp. 1-11. London. Zero books.

Frieden J & Rogowki R. (2013). Modern capitalism: enthusiasts, opponents, and reformers. Pp. 384-425. Retrieved from https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/jfrieden/files/frieden_rogowski_page_proofs_0.pdf

Holzman E (2017). Project runway: driving miss unconventional. Season 1 episode 10. Lifetime.