Mafanikio au kushindwa kwa mfumo wa kiuchumi kunapaswa kupimwa kwa athari yake ya moja kwa moja katika maisha ya watu wanaoishi chini ya mfumo huo wa kiuchumi. Vipimo vya ukuaji wa uchumi, upanuzi wa utajiri, na utulivu wa kifedha vinapaswa kuhusishwa na hali ngumu za watu katika jamii. Athari ya mfumo wa kiuchumi, katika kesi hii ubepari, inapaswa kupimwa kwa kiwango cha usalama na kuridhika kinachotolewa kwa watu. Usalama na kuridhika hupimwa zaidi kwa suala la usalama wa chakula, usalama wa elimu, usalama wa afya, na usalama wa kimwili. Kipimo kingine cha utulivu wa mfumo ni imani thabiti ya kimaadili, kimaadili na kiitikadi, pamoja na uaminifu katika msingi wa kiuchumi.

The success or failure of an economic system should be measured by the direct impact it has on the life of the people who live under that economic system. Measures of economic growth, wealth expansion, and financial stability should be correlated to the plights of people in the society. The impact of the economic system, in this case capitalism, should be measured by the level of security and satisfaction provided to the people. The security and satisfaction are further measured in terms of food security, education security, health security, and physical security. Another measure of the stability of the system is the moral, ethical, and ideological conviction and trust in the economic foundation.

Mifumo miwili mikuu imetawala uwanja wa dunia katika miaka mia moja iliyopita, nayo ni ubepari na ujamaa. Ujamaa uliporomoka kabla ya mwisho wa karne ya ishirini kwa kushindwa kabisa, na hivyo hautajadiliwa katika kitabu hiki isipokuwa pale unapohitajika kufafanua dhana fulani.

Two major systems have dominated the world arena in the last one hundred years, namely, capitalism and socialism. Socialism collapsed before the end of the twentieth century with a complete failure and hence will not be discussed in this book except where it is needed to clarify a concept.

Baada ya kuanguka kwa ujamaa, ubepari ulienea kutawala dunia nzima; aina mbalimbali za ubepari zipo katika sehemu tofauti za dunia. Hata China ya kijamaa imepitisha aina yake ya ubepari wa kijamaa. Baada ya kuanguka kwa ujamaa wa Kileninisti wa Kisovieti, ubepari uliingia katika zama za uchumi wa dunia, unaojulikana zaidi rasmi kama utandawazi. Utandawazi ulipanua athari na ushawishi wa ubepari hadi karibu kila kona ya dunia. Mgogoro wa kifedha wa hivi karibuni, ulioanzia Marekani, ulienea hadi Ulaya, Japani, China, Mashariki ya Kati na Afrika. Utafiti wa athari za ubepari hauzuiliwi katika taifa fulani; badala yake, athari zake zinaonekana duniani kote.

After the collapse of socialism, capitalism proceeded to dominate the entire globe; different flavors of capitalism exist in different parts of the world. Even socialist China has adopted a cocialist brand of capitalism. After the collapse of Soviet Leninist socialism, capitalism had entered the era of global economy, more officially known as globalization. Globalization extended the impact and influence of capitalism to almost every corner of the world. The most recent financial crisis, which started in the United States, rippled through Europe, Japan, China, the Middle East, and Africa. The study of the impact of capitalism is not constrained to a particular nation; rather its impact is observed globally.

Wajibu wa ubepari kwa hali ya kiuchumi ya dunia kwa ujumla ni jambo linalokubalika. Utandawazi umefanya ubepari wa dunia kuwa mfumo wa kiuchumi wa dunia kwa vitendo. Shughuli za Benki ya Dunia na Shirika la Fedha la Kimataifa (IMF), vyombo viwili vikuu vya ulimwengu wa kibepari, vinawajibika moja kwa moja na kwa njia isiyo ya moja kwa moja kwa hali za kiuchumi katika nchi zinazoendelea.

The responsibility of capitalism to the economic situation of the world at large is an acknowledged fact. Globalization has made world capitalism the de facto economic system of the world. The activities of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the two main instruments of the capitalist world, are directly and indirectly responsible for the economic conditions in the developing world.

Uhusiano kati ya umaskini duniani kote na chombo cha kibepari, Shirika la Fedha la Kimataifa (IMF), unaonekana katika visa na hadithi nyingi. Mojawapo ya visa hivyo ni wazi katika mgogoro wa hivi karibuni wa mchele nchini Haiti. Mgogoro wa mchele wa Haiti unasimuliwa katika makala ya kugusa moyo, iliyochapishwa na Inter Press Service (IPS), taasisi ya mawasiliano inayolenga maendeleo na utandawazi katika Kusini mwa dunia62.

The relation between poverty in the world at large and the capitalist instrument, the IMF is reflected in numerous cases and stories. One of such cases stands clear in the recent Haiti rice crisis. The Haiti rice crisis is narrated in a moving article, published by Inter Press Service (IPS), a communication institution with focus on development and globalization in the south62.

Makala inaripoti kuhusu mwanamke mwenye watoto watatu ambaye anasema kwamba hawezi tena kumudu kununua mchele wa kuwalisha watoto wake watatu katika nchi ambayo wakati mmoja ilikuwa mojawapo ya wazalishaji wakubwa wa mchele duniani. Mama wa watoto watatu anaeleza tatizo lake: kopo dogo tu la mchele linagharimu senti sitini na tano, mafuta ni senti ishirini na tano, na mkaa ni senti ishirini na tano. Kwa dola moja na senti ishirini na tano (mstari wa umaskini kamili uliowekwa na Umoja wa Mataifa), huwezi hata kuandaa mlo wa mchele kwa mtoto mmoja. Haiti, nchi maskini zaidi katika ulimwengu wa magharibi, inaagiza kutoka nje chakula kingi inachotumia; hii ni matokeo ya sera za soko huria zilizodhoofisha uzalishaji wa ndani. Rais wa Haiti René Préval alitambua kwamba "mchele wa bei nafuu ulioagizwa kutoka nje uliharibu mchele uliozalishwa nchini." Miaka thelathini iliyopita, Haiti ilizalisha karibu mchele wote iliyokuwa ikitumia. Lakini mwishoni mwa miaka ya 1980, mchele wa bei nafuu kutoka Marekani ulimiminika nchini baada ya serikali ya kijeshi kuanza kuruhusu uchumi kuwa huru, kwa msaada wa Shirika la Fedha la Kimataifa (IMF).

The article reports on a woman with three children who says that she can no longer afford to purchase rice to feed her three children in a country which once was one of the largest rice producers in the world. The mother of three explains the dilemma: a little can of rice alone costs sixty-five cents, oil is twenty-five cents, and charcoal is twenty-five cents. With dollar twenty-five cents (the absolute poverty line set by the UN), you can’t even make a rice meal for one child. Haiti, the hemisphere’s poorest country, imports most of the food it consumes; this is the result of free-market policies that have undermined national production. The president of Haiti René Préval recognized that “cheap imported rice destroyed nationally grown rice”62. Thirty years ago, Haiti produced nearly all the rice it consumed. But in the late 1980s, cheap imported US rice flooded the country after a military junta began liberalizing the economy with support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Shehena za kwanza za mchele uliotoka nje ziliandamana na misafara iliyolindwa na wanajeshi wenye silaha. Wakulima wa mpunga walichukulia mchele wa Marekani uliokuwa ukiingizwa kutoka nje kuwa tishio kwa uzalishaji wao na kwa maisha yao. Ilidhihirika baadaye kwamba wasiwasi wao ulikuwa na msingi. Mwaka 1994, mpango ulioungwa mkono na IMF ulipunguza ushuru wa mchele unaoingizwa kutoka nje kutoka asilimia 35 hadi asilimia 3, kiwango cha chini kabisa katika kanda hiyo. Ndani ya mwaka mmoja, kiasi cha mchele kilichoingizwa kutoka nje kiliongezeka maradufu.

The first batches of imported rice were escorted by armed convoys. Rice farmers regarded the imported US rice as a threat to their production and livelihoods. As it turned out, their concerns were justified. In 1994, an IMF-sponsored plan cut tariffs on imported rice from 35% to 3%, the lowest in the region. In one year, the amount of rice imports doubled.

Wakati serikali ya Marekani inawapa ruzuku wakulima wake wa mpunga, wenzao wa Haiti walizuiwa kufanya hivyo chini ya masharti ya makubaliano yao na IMF. Katika miaka ishirini iliyopita, uzalishaji wa mpunga nchini Haiti umepungua kwa nusu, huku uagizaji kutoka nje ukitawala soko. Kwa watu wengi nchini Haiti, utapiamlo na njaa ndizo chaguo pekee lililobaki.

While the US government subsidizes its own rice farmers, its Haitian counterpart was prohibited from doing so under the terms of their agreement with the IMF. Over the last twenty years, rice production in Haiti has been cut in half, while imports now dominate the market. For many people in Haiti, undernutrition and starvation is the only remaining option.

Kufikia mwishoni mwa karne ya ishirini, inakadiriwa watu milioni ishirini hadi thelathini duniani kote walikuwa wamepoteza ardhi yao kutokana na athari za kuondolewa kwa vikwazo vya biashara na kilimo cha mauzo ya nje.63 Mpango wa msaada wa chakula wa kimataifa wa Marekani, uliorasimishwa mwaka 1954 kama Sheria ya Umma 480, ulitawala mazingira ya biashara ya chakula katika miongo miwili iliyofuata. Ziada ya chakula iliyosimamiwa na Marekani iligawiwa kwa nchi zilizochukuliwa kuwa wateja wa baadaye. Mfumo huu wa usafirishaji wa chakula kwa kweli uliidhoofisha kilimo cha wakulima wa ndani kwa kutumia vyakula vikuu vilivyouzwa kwa bei ya chini.64

By the end of the twentieth century, twenty to thirty million people around the world were estimated to have lost their land under the impact of trade liberalization and export agriculture63. The US international food aid program, formalized in 1954 as Public Law 480, dominated the food trade landscape over the next two decades. US-managed food surpluses were distributed to states regarded as future customers. This food export regime indeed undermined local farmers with low-priced staple foods64.

Taasisi kuu zilizoathiri uchumi wa nchi mbalimbali duniani ni Benki ya Dunia na Shirika la Fedha la Kimataifa (IMF), kupitia yale yanayojulikana kama Mipango ya Marekebisho ya Kimuundo (SAPs). Mipango hii ilitungwa kama masharti ya mikopo, na ilihitaji mabadiliko ya sera za uchumi mkuu ambayo yaliziwajibisha nchi zilizopokea mikopo kuachilia sera zao za biashara na uwekezaji. Matokeo yake, serikali zilipunguza ushuru wa bidhaa zinazoingizwa kutoka nje, ziliondoa ruzuku kwa bidhaa za ndani, hasa chakula, zilihamisha maeneo makubwa ya ardhi kutoka kilimo kwenda uchimbaji madini na utafutaji wa mafuta, na nchi hizo zikaingia katika matatizo ya kulipa madeni. Matokeo ya mwisho ni utegemezi wa vyakula na bidhaa zinazoagizwa kutoka nje, unaozitegemea mashirika makubwa ya kibepari.

The main instruments of influencing the local economies worldwide have been the World Bank and the IMF through what is known as the Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs). Formulated as loan conditions, SAPs mandated macroeconomic policy changes that obligate recipient nations to liberalize their trade and investment policies. As a result, governments reduced tariffs on imported goods, lifted subsidies on local products, particularly food, moved large acreage land from farming into mining and oil exploration, and plunged the nations into difficulty to repay loans. The end result is dependence on imported foods and supplies by giant capitalist corporations.

Utawala wa ubepari duniani na athari zake katika hali za kiuchumi za dunia unaonekana katika umaskini ulioenea, njaa, magonjwa ya mlipuko, na mengine mengi.

The dominance of capitalism in the world and its impact on world economic conditions are observed in prevalent poverty, hunger, health epidemics, and much more.

Majadiliano kuhusu kanuni za msingi za ubepari na uchumi wake wa kisiasa yamefichua kasoro na udhaifu kadhaa katika msingi wa mfumo huu, hasa kanuni za uhaba, thamani, bei, na umiliki binafsi. Utekelezaji wa mfumo wenye kasoro kubwa unatarajiwa kuzalisha kwa muda mrefu mikengeuko mingi, migogoro, na mitego katika maisha ya watu wanaoishi chini ya mfumo huo. Hitimisho hili linafuata kutoka kwenye modeli ya kasoro-kosa-kushindwa iliyojadiliwa katika sehemu ya 2. Pia linaungwa mkono na uchunguzi, takwimu na data za maisha halisi.

The discussion of the basic principles of capitalism and its political economy revealed several defects and flaws at the core of the system, particularly the principles of scarcity, value, price, and private ownership. The implementation of a system with major flaws is expected to produce over time several anomalies, crises, and pitfalls in the life of people living under such system. This conclusion follows from the fault-error-failure model discussed in section.2. It is also supported by observations and real-life statistics and data.

Katika sehemu zifuatazo, tutachunguza data halisi kutoka hali za dunia ya kisasa chini ya mfumo wa uchumi wa kibepari. Data inaonyesha kwamba kasoro za kinadharia za kanuni kuu za kiuchumi zimesababisha makosa makubwa ambayo yanaendelea kuleta athari kubwa za kuangamiza kwa sehemu kubwa sana ya idadi ya watu duniani. Jitihada zinazoendelea na uingiliaji wa lazima kupitia misaada ya kifedha na ununuzi wa serikali wa taasisi za kiuchumi zinazoporomoka zinatafutwa ili kudhibiti athari za mgogoro huo, kwa matumaini ya kuzuia kuanguka kabisa na kushindwa kwa mfumo mzima wa ubepari.

In the next sections, we will examine actual data from the contemporary world conditions under capitalist economic system. The data shows that the theoretical flaws of the major economic principles have led to serious errors that continue to cause huge catastrophic effects on very large segment of the population in the world. Continuous attempts and forced intervention through bailouts and government buyout of failing economic entities are sought to contain the impact of the crisis, hoping to prevent a complete collapse and failure of the entire system of capitalism.