Social State of the New Age

Theater and film artist Haluk Bilginer said, “I think people should only work until noon. In the afternoon, he should go to the riverside, paint, philosophize and discuss. This is how humanity evolves. Does a person work for 70 years to buy a house, brother…” he said. At first glance, I thought it was just a statement, but when I came into contact with current events, I took a different meaning from what he said. In fact, Bilginer summed up the congestion and burnout of today's people in a few sentences. He pointed out how the system turned people into modern slaves. This will be the subject of our article, why are people hopeless and unhappy in a world where everything is in the capitalist order?

Anyone who experienced the changes brought about by the progressive industrialization and increasing mass production in the early 20th century to their daily lives was full of hope for the future. However, the great economic crisis that followed the first great war at the beginning of the century was followed by the second great war. The first 50 years brought war, violence, pain, death and poverty. In the second half, when the industry that fed the giant war machines in the 50s and 60s changed lines and turned to mass production for human needs, signs of a welfare society began to be seen, especially in the West. However, in the 70s, the world faced an oil and energy crisis this time. On the other hand, regional wars in parallel with the economic crises in the bipolar world of the period were not missing at all. Whatever the reason, there were some economic reasons behind every conflict. In the 80s, the systems represented by the poles checked each other. Capitalism was represented by the Western world, and socialism, which had inexplicable differences between theory and practice, was represented by the Eastern bloc. The 90s were the beginning years of globalization, in which the capitalist West declared its absolute victory. In particular, the developments in communication and transportation technologies had begun to transform the world into a small village. It seemed inevitable that the 21st century would be the century of prosperity and freedom. However, the year is 2021 and the expected never happens.

The purpose of making this summary is to help us understand the spirit of time, as well as to remind human beings that comfortable conditions do not await human beings in the future. So what's wrong? Is it man himself, economic systems, ideologies, law, states or companies? Who can claim to live in a just world right now? The first dimension of our analysis will be on the economic system, namely capitalism, and its market application, liberalism. What is the foresight of capitalism? To pave the way for the freedom of enterprise of individuals on the basis of rights and freedoms, and to ensure that they get a share of the cake in the free market to the extent of their abilities and contributions. In this way, the way for progress and development would be opened, mass production would be started, the customs walls of the states would be lifted, goods and services would be opened to the use of the whole world without limits. In order to ensure market conditions, the influence of the state on the economy and financial systems would be zero. Markets with free dynamics in distortions and imbalances would correct themselves with the help of an "invisible hand". Theoretically, it is quite simple, understandable and applicable. It is an encouraging, selective system, whose sociological foundations are social Darwinism, and which gives their due to those who work and those who are talented. We can evaluate the economic crises experienced by the capitalist system in the beginning, in the 18th and 19th centuries, situationally. We can talk about scarce resources, non-massized production, lack of automation and expertise, but the reasons for the great economic depression of 1929 are discussed even today. The intertwined and spiral relations of production, consumption, finance, labor and market were deteriorated one after another. Of course, the consequences were painful for people. Where would the invisible hand step in and make the system work again? However, millions of people were suddenly in the grip of poverty. Bankruptcies and suicides were the most common and taken for granted news of those days. The first test of capitalism failed. The result was a new war. After the second war, capitalism was reinforced with rights and freedoms. Some of the winners, on the other hand, completely rejected the system and closed in on themselves. Between 1950 and 1990, the world was divided into two poles, ideologically and economically. The relationship between the poles also risked a new war and was not friendly. There were tense years. Despite the economic and political crises experienced in this period, the USA and the Western world, which are the representatives of capitalism, turned their production forces supported by free thought and free market into a competitive advantage.

The Western world had become the shining model of capitalism. Modern cities, homes, cars, airplanes, cultural advancement, technology, space studies, and educated society virtually proclaimed the triumph of the West. After 1990, it is possible to see the effects of globalization even in the most remote corners of the world. With the development of transportation facilities, goods and services can be delivered anywhere. Thanks to automation, production volumes have reached unprecedented dimensions.

However, today's people still have not reached the desired level of welfare. There are still people who are starving in different parts of the world. There are billions of people who cannot benefit enough from health and education services. There are housing problems. The number of people living under war conditions is not to be underestimated. Migration movements are frequently encountered. So why? There are dozens of reasons, but it is important to determine the root cause. When we evaluate it in terms of the system, we can understand from the above-mentioned historical process that it will not be enough to expect that the invisible hand will ensure order. Capitalism follows a bumpy course. It produces discrimination in itself. He often encounters crises. Of course, it is not possible to say that there are elements such as legal security, rights and freedoms, democracy and free enterprise, which are the sine qua non of the capitalist system throughout the world. There are different applications between states and even between continents. Here are the states in the second dimension. The interventions of the states, which are the biggest capitalists of the capitalist system, constitute the biggest obstacle to the formation of the conditions desired by the system. It is not clear whether it is good or bad, but especially during the pandemic period, the interventionist and protective approach of the states has increased even more.

What would be our recommendation in this case? States must take responsibility. States constitute the sharpest inter-communal compartment. They are the most institutionalized structures. Nor are they a joint stock company. It has social responsibilities parallel to its regulatory power.

For the welfare and peace of its society, each state must put into practice the following points, each of which is a universal value, whether it is stated in its Constitution or not.

Powers that come with elections and go with elections

An institutionalization where the separation of powers is practiced without exception

rule of law, equality before the law

Making public activities transparent and auditable

Free preventive health and basic education service

Prevention of public corruption

Ensuring an economic environment in which capital movements can be made freely

Tax security, profit-oriented taxation

Justice in income distribution

Sensitivity to environmental destruction and climate change

Protecting and securing the right to property

Ensuring food security and access to cheap food

Making cities livable

Providing public transportation and uninterrupted internet service at minimum cost

Protection of the right to unionize and organize

Preventing monopoly on media, ensuring freedom of communication

Protection of persons with disabilities and vulnerable segments of society

Equal opportunity for women

Each of the above-mentioned items is and should be in the program of a social democratic party, and they are the rightful demands of societies. Each item is the title of the manifesto of social democracy. In my opinion, states and societies are in a common place, and the policy of consensus should now be based on these truths. That common place is “human”. A person who produces, develops himself, reads, paints, speaks philosophy. As Üstün Bilginer says, it means working for 70 years to buy a house.