Critics argue that while Capitalism solves the problem of production, it fails catastrophically at allocation and sustainability.
Inequality: This is the most common critique. Capitalism naturally concentrates capital. Money begets money. Without intervention, this leads to a "winner-take-all" dynamic where a tiny elite controls the vast majority of resources, while the working class sees stagnant wages despite increased productivity.
Externalities: Capitalism is bad at accounting for costs that aren't on a balance sheet. Pollution and climate change are classic "market failures." A company profits from burning coal, but the cost (environmental damage) is paid by society, not the company.
Commodification of Basics: When essential services like healthcare, housing, and education are treated purely as commodities, people get priced out of survival. Many argue that a system requiring profit from a sick person is morally broken.
Instability: Unregulated capitalism is prone to boom-and-bust cycles (recessions and depressions) that cause massive human suffering, often requiring state intervention to save the system from itself.
