Josie Rigridge, Capitalism by Josephine Rigridge

Capitalism

8177062 — 2024-04-17 17:09:20 UTC

8177062 — 2024-04-17 17:11:09 UTC

Capitalism is an economic system where individuals own and manage property according to their interests and where supply and demand determine market prices in a way that best serves society.

8177062 — 2024-04-17 17:21:37 UTC

King Leopold ll was a King of Belgium who seized the Congo territory in order to profit off of its rich ivory and rubber resources. During his reign, over 10,000,000 Congolese people were killed. Although Leopold was an overly acquisitive and corrupt man who often cared little for the damage he dealt to others in the pursuit of wealth, the main cause for the 21-year genocide was not his greed, it was the system of Capitalism

8177062 — 2024-04-18 16:58:31 UTC

Capitalism drove King Leopold to exploit the Congolese people to the extreme extent that he did so that Leopold could make the most profit while playing by the laws of supply and demand. Leopold needed the most rubber the fastest in order to make the most profit, so he made those quotas and encouraged the colonial administrators to injure, kill, kidnap and rip apart people and families.

8177062 — 2024-04-18 16:59:59 UTC

“This made King Leopold rush to produce as much rubber as he could in as short of time as possible.”

8177062 — 2024-04-18 17:02:53 UTC

Because Leopold rushed to make as much rubber in the shortest amount of time, he made quotas that the Congolese people had to fill.

8177062 — 2024-04-18 17:05:22 UTC

“Because supply of rubber around the world was so low, Europeans competed for this resource.”

8177062 — 2024-04-18 17:06:02 UTC

This shows how because of capitalism, which is based on the laws of supply and demand, Leopold needed to collect as much rubber as possible, and much more than was probably necessary in order to meet the demand and make a profit.

8177062 — 2024-04-18 17:07:48 UTC

“If there is a demand for a good or service, private individuals will realize that demand and find a way to make a profit.”

8177062 — 2024-04-18 17:08:59 UTC

This demonstrates how capitalism demands the idea of profit and how capitalism made Leopold greedy and was the motive for him to murder and kill thousands of Congolese people.

8177062 — 2024-04-18 17:11:38 UTC

Although Leopold ll was a greedy and corrupt man, he would have never committed the murderous atrocities that he did if he were not encouraged by capitalism. Therefore, Capitalism is responsible for the horrible events in the Congo.