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You work for me.
We're gonna make a lot of money today.
We're gonna make you some money today.
If you guys don't, you're fired.
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
NARRATOR: The School of Life is sending
some of YouTube's most popular creators
on a series of field trips
to explore some philosophy's most intriguing ideas.
This time, good friends
Hannah Stocking and Anwar Jibawi
two LA-based content creators
best known for their comedy skits
and with a fan base
of over ten million subscribers between them,
asked, "If capitalism has reached
the end of the road,
and, if it's broken, what kind of system might replace it?"
Anwar, what do you know about capitalism?
Capitalism, well, here's the thing.
Capitalism is um...
NARRATOR: A 60-second guide to capitalism.
For thousands of years, the rich were rich
because they owned land
and the poor were poor because they didn't.
With no opportunities to change their circumstances,
nobody questioned their place
or hatched elaborate schemes to get rich quick.
But, in the 1500s, a scientific and technological
revolution swept through Europe.
Over the next 500 years,
fortunes were made from a new capitalist system,
based on the spiraling profits that could be reaped
from an ever growing cycle of production and consumption.
But capitalism also created a new moral choice,
because as the wealth of the few grew,
so, too, did the suffering of the poor,
as they labored in the new factories in cities
they flocked to looking for work.
We could either be rich or virtuous.
Profit relied on exploiting workers
and selling people things they didn't need.
While being thrifty and honest meant a life of poverty.
The choice between profit and purpose
is more urgent now than ever.
As a soaring population
consumes increasingly scarce resources,
provoking a striking new question.
Could the future of capitalism look a lot like socialism?
We asked Hannah and Anwar to investigate
some of the pluses and minuses of capitalism and socialism,
by running rival cake stalls
according to the principles of each
at the Grand Central Market at downtown Los Angeles.
Hannah's stall is driven by key capitalist principles,
an overwhelming concern for profit,
prioritizing the needs of consumers
over those of the workers,
and clever marketing to stimulate desire.
HANNAH: If somebody's gonna buy a cupcake,
they're gonna want edible sparkles and gold flakes on it.
And deliciousness.
Anybody want some cupcakes, five dollars only.
NARRATOR: Anwar's cake stall
is governed by key socialist principles.
Because profit seems to rest upon exploitation,
the only goal is to break even,
prioritizing the needs of the workers
over those of consumers,
providing customers with only the basics.
Our cupcakes are three dollars.
ANWAR: Cool. Agreed?
-ANWAR: Cool. Awesome. -Works for me.
NARRATOR: A long standing argument
between capitalism and socialism
hangs on a heated disagreement over three key concepts.
Profit, competition and happiness.
In capitalism, people use their money
to start businesses, or lend their money to others
expecting to make a return on it.
Socialists say that the search for profit
inevitably exploits the workers,
by not paying them decently
or by making them work too hard.
We're gonna make you some money today.
You guys don't, you're fired.
You gotta work hard enough to get rewarded.
Why do you think parents give you chores
and then money at the end of the day?
You have to work for the money.
That makes sense. But there's a limit.
We're not trying to rip anyone off.
What if we don't sell?
Don't worry, you'll still get paid. Yeah.
NARRATOR: But capitalists say
that in the drive to make money,
they become focused on customer satisfaction,
in a way that socialists rarely are.
We have four flavors. All of them are $5 each.
Five bucks? That's so much money.
-It's probably the best cupcake you'll ever have. -Okay.
NARRATOR: This is the paradox that capitalism's earliest analyst, Adam Smith,
called the invisible hand of the market,
whereby capitalism forces the most selfish people
to think about the needs of others.
Not because they're kind,
but in order to drive up profits.
Out of selfishness, business will be super-attentive
and, in a way, kind to customers.
Thank you guys, so much, for your business.
NARRATOR: In a deep sense, greed is good,
or at least it may do good.
Capitalists believe that humans are lazy, risk-averse creatures
who naturally take the easy road,
and won't invent or invest unless forced to
by the threat of someone else grabbing their profits.
We're gonna go get something to eat.
Can you watch my stand, please?
-What? -Yeah, is that cool. Thank you.
ANWAR: Let's go.
NARRATOR: A so-called free market
is essential because only competition
creates an incentive for people to innovate
and make their products and services better.
HANNAH: People are just naturally drawn to ours,
which is gold, balloons, signs, boys yelling.
And over there...
NARRATOR: Socialists will say that the free market
leads to further exploitation of workers
as firms undercut each other on price
by pushing down wages and conditions.
Arman,
I don't know if I could afford to keep you here any longer,
so we're gonna need to send you home early.
You want me to go home, right now?
HANNAH: Right now. Yeah.
NARRATOR: Socialists prefer
the opposite of the free market.
A monopoly: one cake stand for everyone.
Which is the very thing that capitalists say leads to stagnation
and the failure to provide value for customers.
My workers obviously love me way more than they loved you.
Yeah. You're a popular boss,
but you're not gonna be popular when you run out of business.
NARRATOR: Socialists argue that profit relies
on selling people things
that they desire but don't need.
Things like exotic fruits, expensive wines and cupcakes.
Socialists prefer a simple economy
based on needs, not desires.
We've got red velvet, chocolate, double chocolate.
-Guys, you want some cupcakes? -[GIRLS SCREAMING]
She's profiting off everyone here.
ANWAR: And she's ripping everyone off.
NARRATOR: Capitalists would say that in a basic economy,
where people only buy what they really need,
most businesses would quickly go bust
and tax revenues would collapse.
Everyone would suffer, especially the most vulnerable.
Capitalists don't think we desperately need fancy cupcakes.
But the surplus generated
from this kind of unnecessary expenditure
is what creates the wealth
which pays for things like schools and old people's homes.
It seems we face a choice.
A free market economy driven by profit,
which strives to please customers but exploits workers,
or the workers who do well can be richly rewarded...
So, here's your wages and here's your bonus.
Thank you so much, boss.
Thank you for making me money.
NARRATOR: ...or a tightly controlled economy
focused on satisfying basic needs,
where workers are put ahead of customers,
but where a lack of competition
means that there's never enough profit
to escape from poverty or innovate properly.
-This is for you. -Thank you.
-This is for you. -Thank you.
This is for me. Cheers.
WOMAN: Cheers. [LAUGHS]
NARRATOR: Part of the problem
is that the capitalism versus socialism debate
is often presented as an "either-or."
I think both are good in their own ways.
I just think that if we get little parts from each system,
there's a good way of finding, like, a middle ground, you know.
Think you're onto something, Anwar.
Yeah.
NARRATOR: Perhaps both sides
need to steal each other's best lines.
From socialism, capitalism should steal...
And from capitalism, socialism should steal...
What else might each side learn from the other?
Tell us in the comments below.
I hope you guys enjoyed watching this film.
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