Different countries have different systems of running their governments and economies.
Some are equitable and fair, many are not.
We call each country's system a Political Economic System.
Communism, Socialism, Fascism and Capitalism are all examples of political economic systems.
These systems each have their own distinct characteristics.
The United States uses a Capitalist system, a system which has historically fostered inequity.
In this course we explore how Capitalism results in class oppression, and is a root cause of health inequity.
Under Capitalism corporations and private individuals own the means of production and the distribution of goods and services.
The market is allowed to determine pricing and production levels. Supply and demand.
Theoretically Capitalism values individual freedom and competition but practically,
that freedom gives businesses and corporations great leeway in determining wages and working and operating conditions.
It also allows them to control access to public goods and services,
as well as control over what those goods and services cost.
For example, healthcare: with minimal to no input from workers or the general public,
these goods and services become subject to the will of private corporations.
These corporate practices then create injustice and adverse health outcomes throughout society.
Capitalism functions on continual growth at the expense of workers rights and environmental sustainability.
Corporations determine wages and working conditions often with little regard to how they treat the environment.
In order to compete and make a profit, there is a race to the bottom for worker pay and treatment.
Corporations exist to make vast profits for investors,
and so exploit workers by paying them as little as possible, thus creating a vast underclass.
Power, wealth and decision making, while seemingly spread equally throughout society,
is actually concentrated in the hands of a few corporations and politicians.
Capitalism is an unjust Political Economic System.
Capitalism has been at the root of massive economic crisis,
such as the Great Depression of the 1930s or the Great Recession of 2008.
Further deepening inequality, and more crucially exacerbating health inequity.
Capitalism and its associated inequities have been in place since America was founded.
In fact America's economy was built on the exploitation of cheap labor
in the form of chattle slavery and the dispossession of Indigenous people in their lands.
These legacies of exploitation continue today today, to create a particular brand of Capitalism, Racial Capitalism.
In this course we will examine the origins of American Capitalism
and the various processes used to exploit workers and build power.
We will also examine how these processes have created long-standing historic inequities that affect our society today.
Most importantly we will see how these historic inequities built into the system since its inception,
foster vast differences in public health across groups.
Class and Capitalism are a root cause of health inequity.
From unsafe working environments to inadequate, unaffordable housing.
As well as unequal access to affordable health care.
We will learn how Capitalism hinders public health, and sets up very different circumstances for different classes.
Since it is built on concentrating wealth and unchecked power, Capitalism by nature, is undemocratic.
Dig deep into this course to learn more about how and why and what we can do to make change.