This interview project was very interesting to do. I enjoyed collecting all of the opinions from different age groups and seeing how they differed from one another, and there were definite differences between the generations that I interviewed. While interviewing my first two individuals I expected to hear similar answers to one another because they were in the same age group and generation. While they differed slightly, the main points were very similar. For my third interview I expected it to be different than my first two due to the difference in age group and events that happened in her life, (COVID-19, Graduate school, etc.)
My first interviewee explained how there are different perspectives of capitalism across generational lines when saying, “Well my parents grew up in a completely different world than I did but I believe that there was a different capitalistic society. I think that growing up in times of war shaped their views on capitalism. I came from a family of eight siblings so my parents had to support us all and money was very important.” I expected this answer knowing that capitalism evolves overtime and changes with the economy. This interviewee was also against other economic systems saying, “In my view capitalism is the best type of an economic system. Some people believe that capitalism ignores people’s needs and it results in wealth inequality. But that being said I think it is a far better system than socialism and communism,” This interviewee was sympathetic to the idea that capitalism creates wealth inequality but still continued to go on and say that capitalism was better than other economic systems that other countries have.
My second interviewee had a much different personality than my first interview but they both still mentioned essentially the same ideas but just in different words. One response that stuck with me while interviewing this individual was when I asked them their thoughts on other economic systems other than capitalism and in reply the individual said, ““I don’t think much about them, most are based on shared wealth, government control and dictatorships. Any country who had these economic systems did not last long; they do not stimulate ambition, inventiveness or creativity in an individual. If you like being told what to do in all aspects of your life then socialism, communism, or marxism is for you.” He was very against other economic systems, seeing them as a method of control, a lack of freedom, and a lack of choices for an individual. While also essentially saying that capitalism is the complete opposite, giving the individual control over decisions they can make.
My third interview was my most different. This interview brought up the idea that the difference between her parents generation and hers was that, “They had to conserve more and there were limited opportunities for the middle class and women during that time meanwhile now it kind of has done the opposite where women have more opportunities and we aren’t in fear of having to conserve money because there is potential for growth.” I thought her take on the inequality that women experienced in her parents’ generation was especially interesting. I think the event of COVID-19 largely impacted her view on capitalism and the way she views money when she said, “My role in capitalism is to make money and pay my taxes. During the pandemic as I was in graduate school, it taught me the value of a dollar and that needs are much more important than wants when looking to buy things.” So many people experienced hardships during the peak of the pandemic and it was interesting to hear this individual explain that it taught her how to handle her money correctly.
Looking back on this project I wished I would have incorporated more perspectives that are more current and from individuals who were different races. I think this project was very interesting to do and it showed that throughout different generations that events and other factors truly affect their perspectives on many things. Whether that be a pandemic, how many siblings they have, or where they grow up, each factor affects a person’s point of view and the difference in perspectives is what shows how capitalism has evolved and changed over time.
