Tangu kuanzishwa kwake, ubepari na kanuni zake kuu zimekuwa chini ya uchunguzi, ukosoaji, na mashambulizi. Miongoni mwa mashambulizi makali zaidi ni yale yaliyotoka kwa wanafalsafa wa kisoshalisti na kikomunisti kama Marx, Engels, na Lenin. Baadhi ya wanafikra wa Kiislamu walitoa ukosoaji kutoka mtazamo tofauti.

Since its inception, capitalism and its main principles have been under scrutiny, criticism, and attack. Among the most serious attacks are those that came from socialist and communist philosophers such as Marx, Engels, and Lenin. Some Islamic thinkers provided criticism from a different perspective.

Lakini ni Marx aliyetoa mojawapo ya uchambuzi wa kina zaidi wa kanuni za msingi za ubepari. Marx, katika maelezo yake kuhusu ubepari, alijikita katika ufafanuzi wa "thamani", na alidhani kuwa amegundua kasoro kubwa na ya msingi katika nadharia ya ubepari. Marx alifafanua upya "thamani" na kutumia ufafanuzi wake mwenyewe wa "thamani" kushambulia dhana kuu za ubepari. Marx alifafanua thamani kuwa "kiasi cha kazi kilichowekezwa katika mchakato wa kuzalisha bidhaa." Anadai kwamba faida yoyote ambayo bidhaa inayo ni matokeo ya moja kwa moja ya kazi iliyowekezwa na mfanyakazi. Hili linahusu bidhaa za ardhi zinazozalishwa na wakulima pamoja na bidhaa za viwanda zinazozalishwa na wafanyakazi. Marx alifafanua "thamani ya ziada" kuwa kiasi cha kazi (au thamani yake kwa fedha) kinachobakizwa na mtaji baada ya bidhaa kutumika. Thamani hii ya ziada, Marx anashikilia, ni wizi wa moja kwa moja wa kazi ya wafanyakazi unaofanywa na wale wanaomiliki njia za uzalishaji (ardhi au kiwanda). Marx alitabiri kwamba thamani ya ziada itasababisha mkusanyiko mkubwa wa utajiri mikononi mwa wamiliki wa njia za uzalishaji, kwa gharama ya wale wanaotoa juhudi zao za kazi ili kuzalisha thamani hiyo hapo mwanzo. Hatimaye, mchakato huu ungepaswa kusababisha mgongano kati ya tabaka la wafanyakazi wanaozalisha thamani na tabaka la mabepari wanaojibakizia thamani hiyo.

But it was Marx who provided one of the most thorough criticisms of the basic principles of capitalism. Marx, in his account of capitalism, focused on the definition of “value” and thought to have found a major and fundamental defect in the theory of capitalism. Marx redefined the “value” and used his own definition of “value” to attack the core ideas of capitalism. Marx defined value as “the amount of labor invested in the process of producing a product.” He claims that whatever benefit a product has is a direct result of the labor invested by a laborer. This applies to products of lands made by farmers as well as products of industry made by workers. Marx defined the “surplus value” to be the amount of labor (or its monetary equivalent) retained by the capitalist after the consumption of the product. This surplus value, Marx maintains, is a direct theft of the labor of workers by the ones who own the means of production (the land or factory). Marx predicted that the surplus value will result in a massive accumulation of wealth in the hands of the owners of the means of production at the expense of those who exert their labors to produce the value in the first place. Eventually, this process should lead to a clash between the class of laborers who produce the value and the class of capitalists who retain the value to themselves32.

Mchango mkuu wa Marx ni ukweli kwamba alielekeza ukosoaji wake kwenye misingi mikuu ya ubepari, yaani thamani na bei ya bidhaa. Uchambuzi wa Marx una kasoro ya asili. Kosa lake kubwa ni kwamba alijengea mjadala na uchambuzi wake juu ya tafsiri yake mwenyewe ya thamani. Dhana ya "thamani ya ziada" ndiyo nguvu na udhaifu wa nadharia ya Marx ya kupinga ubepari kwa wakati mmoja; katika hili inafanana na kisigino cha Akilles. Inatosha kueleza kwamba mkulima anaweza kulima na kupanda mashamba mawili yanayopakana kwa mazao ya aina moja, kwa kutumia zana zilezile, na bado akapata matokeo mawili tofauti kwa mazao yake. Ni wazi kwamba thamani ya mazao, ambayo yanaweza kutofautiana kwa wingi na ubora, haiwezi kuwa sawa na kazi ya mkulima ambayo ni ileile katika visa vyote viwili. Mifano mingi ya aina hii inaweza kutajwa kuonyesha kutokuwa sahihi na kasoro ya dhana ya thamani ya ziada.

The main contribution of Marx is the fact that he directed his criticism to the core principles of capitalism, namely, the value and the price of goods. Marx’s analysis is inherently flawed. His major error is that he based his discussion and analysis on his own definition of the value. The “surplus value” concept is at once the point of strength and the point of weakness in Marx’s theory of anti-capitalism; in this respect it resembles the Achilles’ heel. It is sufficient to point out that the farmer may cultivate and farm two pieces of adjacent lands with the same type of crops, using the same tools, and still receive two different results for his products. Obviously, the value of the products, which may be different in quantity and quality, cannot be equal to the labor of the farmer which is the same in both cases. Many examples of the like can be cited to show the inaccuracy and flaw of the surplus value concept.

Hivi karibuni, Sorin Cucerai anatoa maoni yafuatayo kuhusu ubepari katika makala yake "The Fear of Capitalism and One of Its Sources"39:

More recently, Sorin Cucerai makes the following comments on capitalism in his article “The Fear of Capitalism and One of Its Sources”39:

Kwa kushangaza, "uhuru na ustawi wa ubepari" unawezekana tu kwa kuwanyima watu upatikanaji wa moja kwa moja wa chakula na makazi. Ili kuwa na uhuru huu wa kibepari, lazima tujitenge na asili yetu wenyewe. Kila mtu anayeishi katika mfumo wa kibepari ni kiumbe dhaifu kimsingi, mwenye udhaifu mkubwa.

Paradoxically, the “freedom and prosperity of capitalism” are possible only by denying people direct access to food and shelter. In order to have this capitalist freedom, we must be alienated from our own nature. Any individual that lives in the capitalist order is a fundamentally precarious being, of a radical frailty.

Ukosoaji mkuu uliotolewa na wasomi ndani ya mfumo wa ubepari ulilenga kiwango cha uingiliaji wa serikali katika masuala ya kiuchumi ya jamii. Aina safi kabisa ya ubepari hutaka uingiliaji mdogo kabisa wa serikali, ambapo usawa hupatikana kupitia utaratibu wa bei; huu ni ubepari wa laissez-faire (uliotafsiriwa kama “iachwe iwe”). Ubepari wa laissez-faire hushambuliwa vikali na kukosolewa wakati wa migogoro ya kifedha na kiuchumi, kudorora kwa uchumi, na mdororo mkubwa. Tovuti ya jarida la mtandaoni la Forbes.com ilichapisha makala tarehe 19 Februari 2009, yenye kichwa “Laissez-Faire Capitalism Has Failed” (Ubepari wa Laissez-Faire Umeshindwa), iliyoandikwa na Nouriel Roubini, ambapo anaandika: “Sasa kuna hatari inayoongezeka kwamba mgogoro huu utageuka kuwa stag-deflation ya aina ya Kijapani, yenye umbo la herufi L, ya miaka mingi, mbaya zaidi (mchanganyiko hatari wa kudumaa, mdororo na kushuka kwa bei).” Ukosoaji mkubwa na mzito wa misingi ya msingi ya ubepari ulitolewa na wanafikra mashuhuri wa Kiislamu, yaani, Taqiuddin al-Nabhani na Mohammad Baqir Al-Sadr. Al-Nabhani alieleza kwa kina ukosoaji wake wa ubepari katika kitabu chake The Economic System in Islam41. Al-Sadr alitoa maelezo ya kina kuhusu makosa ya ubepari katika kitabu chake Our Economy—Iqtisaduna42. Al-Nabhani alilenga kanuni tatu za ubepari (uhaba wa jamaa, thamani, na utaratibu wa bei). Lengo kuu la Al-Sadr lilikuwa juu ya umiliki binafsi na umiliki wa mali.

The main criticism that came from scholars within the framework of capitalism focused on the level of government intervention in the economics affairs of a society. The purest form of capitalism calls for the least government involvement where equilibrium is achieved through the price mechanism; this is the laissez-faire capitalism (translated to “leave it to be”). Laissez-faire capitalism comes under severe attack and criticism during financial and economic crisis, recessions, and depressions. The Forbes.com online magazine published an article on Feb 19, 2009, under the title “Laissez-Faire capitalism Has Failed” authored by Nouriel Roubini, where he writes, “There is now a rising risk that this crisis will turn into an uglier, multiyear, L-shaped, Japanese-style stag-deflation (a deadly combination of stagnation, recession and deflation.” Serious and significant criticisms of the fundamental principles of capitalism were made by prominent Islamic thinkers, namely, Taqiuddin al-Nabhani and Mohammad Baqir Al-Sadr. Al-Nabhani detailed his critique of capitalism in his book The Economic System in Islam41. Al-Sadr provided a detailed account of the errors of capitalism in his book Our Economy—Iqtisaduna42. Al-Nabhani focused on the three principles of capitalism (relative scarcity, value, and price mechanism). Al-Sadr’s main focus was on the private property and ownership.

Katika sehemu zinazofuata, tutachunguza baadhi ya kasoro kubwa zilizomo ndani ya ubepari, kisha tutaonyesha jinsi kasoro hizi zilivyosababisha kuzaliwa kwa tabia zenye makosa katika kipindi chote cha utekelezaji wa ubepari. Kasoro hizi zimebaki kama hitilafu zilizolala, na zimesababisha makosa makubwa mara kwa mara. Uingiliaji wa serikali umetumika kudhibiti athari za kasoro hizi na makosa haya, na umejaribu kuzuia kuanguka kabisa kwa mifumo hiyo. Katika kauli aliyoitoa kwa kamati ya Bunge la Marekani tarehe 3 Aprili 2008, mkuu wa Benki Kuu ya Marekani (Fed), Bernanke, alisema kwamba "kama Bear Stearns ingeruhusiwa kufilisika, athari mbaya ya kufilisika huko isingebaki kwenye mfumo wa fedha pekee, bali ingehisiwa kwa upana katika uchumi halisi kupitia athari zake kwa thamani za mali na upatikanaji wa mikopo"47.

In the following sections, we will investigate some of the major flaws within capitalism and then show how these flaws have led to the creation of erroneous behavior over the years of capitalism application. These flaws have remained as dormant faults and have caused serious errors time and time again. Government intervention had been utilized to contain the impact of these flaws and errors and have attempted to prevent a complete failure of the systems. In a statement made to a congressional committee on April 3, 2008, the Fed Reserve chief Bernanke said that “if Bear Stearns had been allowed to fail, the adverse impact of a default would not have been confined to the financial system but would have been felt broadly in the real economy through its effects on asset values and credit availability”47.

Kasoro kuu na mapungufu yaliyomo ndani ya ubepari yamo ndani ya kanuni zake kuu, ambazo ziliandaliwa na Adam Smith na David Ricardo (34, 35). Kanuni hizi ni "uhaba wa jamaa," "thamani ya bidhaa," na "utaratibu wa bei." Katika sehemu zifuatazo tutajadili kila moja ya kanuni hizi pamoja na kasoro zilizomo ndani yake.

The main flaws and defects within capitalism are embedded within its main principles, which were developed by Adam Smith and David Ricardo (34, 35). These principles are the “relative scarcity,” the “value of a product,” and the “price mechanism.” We will discuss each one of these principles and the flaws within them in the following sections.