My first interviewee is KL. She is a 24 year old college graduate who is now in a graduate program pursuing a physicians assistant degree. KL has taken some economic classes during her time in college but has no official background in the area. She graduated with a BS degree in Biology. However, her family is involved in the world of politics and government. She has some insight to capitalism and how it has affected herself and her life. Below are the questions I asked her along with her response.
The first question I asked was, how do you define capitalism? KL’s response was one I somewhat expected as someone who does not have background knowledge of the topic. Her response was, “I’m not exactly sure what capitalism is, but I believe it has to do with goods and products throughout the country being controlled by government or at least the government having some say in trade.” Her definition of capitalism was a basic conception of the idea. KL understand that capitalism is a mainly for individuals or businesses who own private goods in the economy. She was right when she said the government has some say in the matter of goods. It is a public market after all.
The second question was, do you think that capitalism impacts the economy? KL’s response was, “I think capitalism impacts the economy because with its control over such goods, services, and industry in general, there are strengths and weaknesses associated which does have an impact on individuals lives. For example, some products may be more expensive than others and because of that some people cannot afford the best products which is hard in our society considering the economic gap.” KL mentions great points to the impacts capitalism has on the economy. She brings up how many individuals are affected by the decisions made by private owners that are able to shift the prices on goods. It creates an impact that can be difficult to individuals who are not able to keep up with the fluctuation of prices. It is a very relevant concept that needs to have more focus on the matter so more individuals have the ability to actively partake in the economy.
For the third question I asked, how do you see yourself in a capitalist society? KL had an interesting perspective on the topic as an aspiring healthcare worker. “I guess coming from a healthcare standpoint I suppose it can be involved with capitalism. Healthcare is so expensive and often more expensive than people can afford, causing businesses to make a profit on people suffering, illnesses, tests, and/or any medical treatment needed.” KL mentions an issue that is really prominent and debilitating to many people. Healthcare in the United States is incredibly expensive and for those who do not have insurance or poor insurance suffer from the expenses even a checkup can cost. It seems as though healthcare is a business that thrives on taking peoples’ money. It is a perfect example of capitalism in our country as many healthcare centers are “private”.
The next question I asked was, do you find capitalism to be effective? KL responded with “Capitalism probably has positives and negatives towards the society. For businesses or agencies that need money to survive and can get money from society, then that’s a strength. But if there are others exploiting people for money unnecessarily then it leads to the vicious cycle of people getting more and more wealthy and others becoming more and more poor.” KL raised a good point how capitalism can be viewed from all different sides. There are definitely pros and cons to the affect on society. The bad being exploitations from private businesses and the good being businesses are able to survive during times of fluctuation int he economy.
The last question I asked KL was, how do you think your parents view capitalism in comparison to you? Her response was, “I think my parents and I see capitalism relatively the same because there are many faults in our society and capitalism can be seen as one of them. Especially during the pandemic, when the rich just get richer and more and more people are struggling to survive, these are issues that should be worked towards resolving because all the people suffering because of this disparity and abuse of power and money is scary seeing.” I really like KL’s point of view on this matter especially as she is an aspiring healthcare worker. As children of our parents we tend to share similarly on ideas regarding society and other matters as it is a result of our nurture. KL brought up an important point regarding the difficult time we are in now. The COVID-19 pandemic is truly scary. It has taken a toll worldwide with no exception to the United States. In this time of uncertainly people who have been able to thrive are those who have money and don’t need to work to get through this time. Those who are trying to survive are individuals who have to work for money. I agree with KL on the fact that our economy needs to work towards a better system of making sure everyone is helped as they should not be suffering during a time where a virus is currently still uncontrollable.
