Don’t Be Scared About The End Of Capitalism–Be Excited To Build What Comes Next

Instead of fixating on a fight between capitalism and socialism, imagine innovating a future economy that transcends old binaries.

By Jason Hickel and Martin Kirk

This story reflects the views of these authors, but not necessarily the editorial position of Fast Company.

When have we humans ever accepted the idea that change for the better is a thing of the past? [Image: Ket4up/iStock]

These are fast-changing times. Old certainties are collapsing around us and people are scrambling for new ways of being in the world. As we pointed out in a recent article, 51% of young people in the United States no longer support the system of capitalism. And a solid 55% of Americans of all ages believe that capitalism is fundamentally unfair.

But question capitalism in public and you’re likely to get some angry responses. People immediately assume that you want to see socialism or communism instead. They tell you to go and live in Venezuela, the current flogging-horse for socialism, or they hit you with dreary images of Soviet Russia with all its violence, dysfunction, and gray conformity. They don’t consider that you might want something beyond caricatures and old dogmas.

These old “isms” lurk in the shadows of any discussion on capitalism. The cyber-punk…