Reverse Capitalism

Abstract

A rather strange end of history, in Fukuyama's terms (Fukuyama, 1992), is presented in the paper. Backed by the following six paradoxes, the entrepreneur and tycoon are beginning to return to the cozy lap of socialist ideology, while leaving behind their faithful worker, an unwilling prisoner of a cruel and alienated capitalistic ideology.

Entrepreneurs are living in a "No Risk Society", while faithful workers are prisoners of a "Full Risk Society" (Aharoni, 1981).

The six paradoxes, presented hereafter, are as follows:

1. “A negative correlation exists between the amount of time and energy devoted to an organization and the degree of ownership thereof”.
2. “A negative correlation exists between the degree of identification with, involvement in, commitment to and loyalty to an organization and the degree of ownership thereof”.
3. “Ownership of organizations is not acquired by one’s own means. Owners are not really owners in the traditional sense of making purchases using their own money”.
4. “The loss of the workplace is devastating for a worker, whereas the direct damage to the owners as a result of going out of business can sometimes be relatively marginal”.
5. “In times of affluence, valuations are made on the stock exchange itself, which puts a high value on the companies traded in it; in times of depression, valuations are commissioned from outsiders, and they too traditionally put a high figure on the value of the company ordering the valuation”.
6. “The price of a product is particularly high when sold up the hierarchy, from the private to the public company (upward generosity); the price of the same product is particularly low when sold down the hierarchy, from the public to the private company (downward stinginess)”.