A Major Failure of Capitalism

If the opposition to a minimum wage (either its existence or increase) were drawn out to its logical extension, it would lead to the conclusion that capitalism is not the ideal economic system, contrary to what minimum wage opponents might say…

To make this argument, it is necessary to go into the meta-level questions about economics. An economy can be defined as all the exchanges of goods and services within some area. But why do those exchanges occur at all? In even the most dire of circumstances, such as refugee camps, people will organize and engage in some form of exchange of goods and services. Why is that? What purpose does it serve? Looking at it from the most basic level, people trade to get the things they need to survive. So under less dire circumstances, the developed world for example, economies exists to advance the survival, well-being and growth of all its participants. A good reason to be, at least to my mind.

So how does the minimum wage fit into this? It relates to the unwillingness of capitalists to pay their full time employees a living minimum wage. An economic system which is not willing to compensate full time workers sufficient wages to support themselves is not fulfilling its reason for existence and thus a full out failure. It is long past time to reconsider capitalism as an economic system.