by Marius Ndini

Created on: February 02, 2007   Last Updated: May 14, 2007

Origins of capitalism date as far back as the thirteenth century Europe. First established in Europe by merchants buying goods in one area and selling them for profit in another area. Capitalism in simple words is the use of wealth to create additional wealth. Wealth which was once attained through slaves, in today's society the rich call them "employees." In today's world an employer will hire an employee to perform a certain task to sell a product in which will ultimately make him wealthy if his business is successful enough to return profit.

Thirteenth century European merchants would use his money to purchase products and sell them for a profit in another area where people are able to buy them. This was a small capitalistic shift which shifted to people who owned markets would eventually become successful and cannot handle the work He was in need for an employee who he could pay for cheap and still increase his profits. Which may work well but what is better then cheap labor? That's right free labor, this began the movement and seizure of uncountable slaves from Africa.
As individual people begin gaining wealth and power which ultimately leads to counties as a whole becoming capitalistic. As Matthew Boulton and James Watts deliver their first steam engine the wealth of a nation is being diverted into a community and a country which would follow the rules of capitalism unintentionally. Since land was once the primary source of funds it was becoming increasingly noticeable that labor was producing a nation's wealth. Over time monopolies are created distorting the market and the people within them.
As we travel further into history into modern times slavery may have been abolished but it still lives amongst us in a different form. Whether you may be called an employee, worker or staff member, compared to the profit the worker provides for their boss is extraordinary. You may look at many companies which earn a profit and observe the exploitation of workers. For this example we will monitor a supermarket deli. Supermarkets may purchase a case of American cheese for roughly 15 dollars, pays the worker a little bit greater than minimum wage 8 dollars an hour. The worker could slice and package a block and a half in an hour. Each case contains six blocks and half from another case, the worker cuts nine blocks. The price average is $4.99 per pound; each block of American cheese is five pounds. When you multiply five by nine, the worker sliced down forty-five pounds of American cheese. When you multiply forty-five by five you acquire roughly $225 subtract the $8 the worker took to slice it down the supermarket earned $217 in pure profit pocket money. The worker would have to cut 2 cases of American cheese to earn his pay for a full week, which he can do in two hours. Meaning the worker has made his weekly salary in only two hours working the rest of the week for free, returning back to slavery and free labor.
With recent wars and terrorist threats our country faces hard times, but this is a problem which was never fixed and may never be fixed in the future. Capitalism may of began in early Europe but it seems to expand throughout the whole world today. We may have abolished slavery but not completely, and any form of slavery is a drain on society and the people who have to face it. Very few times do the bosses share any type of profit with the people who make them what they are, their workers and employees

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