A Tale of Two Systems

Here’s something I’ve been struggling with: We live in a time where two systems of political economy have failed: socialism and capitalism. Socialism has failed a fairly long time ago, and spectacularly so. Capitalism has failed more recently, and there is no consensus on that failing (yet?), but the failure is clearly visible and spreading fast. Both are, I would argue, 19th century systems of political economy that peaked in the 20th century, but only one imploded with such simultaneity across a large part of the globe that it has — kinda, sorta — a clear end point around 1990. Yes, I know, very broad brush strokes, but bear with me. For a while, it seemed capitalism had won, especially in the tag team of that time, capitalism + democracy. The End of History, etc. etc.: The long arc of history clearly pointed towards democracy underpinned by a capitalist system. For a generation or two, at least in the richer Western countries, capitalism had generated real wealth and improved…