The interviewee here is a young male high school drop out with a GED. They have worked several part-time jobs, live at home, and are currently attempting to find long-term employment. The most relevant section of each response has been quoted below.
Question 1: How do you define capitalism?
“What I think it is, is the system in place where money gets you further, if that makes any sense. The more you work the more you’ll earn, the better you’ll be, etc. In reality it’s much more complicated. Lots of ins and outs. But that’s the basis. Working will get you where you need to be and you have to do it yourself.”
Question 2: What role does capitalism play in your daily life?
“Well I do try to make money and get a job. Which I think capitalism is. I do frivolous spending which have no real meaning but scratch an itch. The standard. Everyone spends what they can when they can.”
Question 3: What differentiates capitalism from other modes of production.
“The rich get richer easier, under the guise of having done it themselves. In reality it’s being born into it and what not. Capitalism is more self-serving.
Question 4: Do you believe capitalism is inherent to society.
“No, not at all. There are other places that have been more successful that big capitalist America that operated under different systems. So no, not at all.”
Question 5: How do you think capitalism has evolved over the years, if at all?
“More corrupt now. It’s like I said earlier, the rich are getting richer, the cost of everything is increasing and the wage is not. Capitalism here at least is becoming worse.”
Analysis
The interviewee understands capitalism to be, at its core, a system where work returns money. The more work one puts in, the more money one gets. It is a very natural part of life, everyone gets a job and spends on things they like when they can, but they can imagine alternatives. Beyond that, they think there is historical precedent for these systems.
However, there is a sense that this system, which is not inherently distasteful, has become corrupt over time. The interviewee could not articulate why this happened. To them capitalism has a central nature independent from the actions of its participants, but certain participants abridge this, namely the rich.
The interviewee’s understanding of capitalism is decently national. While they acknowledge and understand that capitalism exists other places, they seem to think it is different or that American capitalism. This could root from only being familiar or being most familiar with capitalism close to home, or it could indicate an understanding of the U.S. as capitalist at heart. Unique in that inherent-ness, even if capitalism isn’t natural.
The overall view of capitalism by the interviewee is interesting as it demonstrates how one can understand contradictions or flaws in capitalism by lived experiences even if one does not have a solid definition per se.
