Is a Capitalist Reformation Possible?

In the last two years we've had corporate tax evasion; we've had expenses scandals; we've had students become the next generation of designated debt-bearers as universities embrace business models, tripling fees; we've had the threat of the privatisation of the NHS; we've had the banking crisis, where tax payers bail out banks that print money and keep it in their own vaults, crippling growth; we've had massive cuts across the public sector in order to prop up a flailing financial market, thrashing in the history of its own excesses; but, more important than all this, we've had a movement determined to repeatedly highlight all these disturbing truths, to connect them and emphasise them, to make meaning from them. Thanks in large part to the occupy movement capitalism is currently under the spotlight, surgically pinned in stark vivisection.

The question arises, then, as we gawp at capitalism close up, its guts on show for all to see: can such an organism provide for society in general, or is it by nature designed to provide for the few, by robbing the many?

Clearly, capitalism has become something monstrous, destructive, but for some, it hasn't always been this way.

For some, like Richard Branson, capitalism used to be benevolent:

"I truly believe that capitalism was created to help people live better lives, but sadly over the years it has lost its way a bit. The short-term focus on profit has driven most businesses to forget about the important long-term role they have in taking care of people and the planet."

Richard Branson believes that it is possible for capitalism to once again work for the people, but can we believe such a statement? Has capitalism lost our trust? Can capitalism reform itself? If it can, how? And if it can't, what then? Are there even any other viable options? Have we created a monster that now seeks to destroy society? Have we lost control? Or can we rein in this beast, domesticate it, so that it serves all of us, and not just the few?

The occupy movement, it seems to me, is quite understandably split on this issue. Some are angry that the movement has been repeatedly addressed as an "anti-capitalist movement" when in fact no such consensus has been reached; many seek to merely regulate capitalism, as opposed to seeking its total dismantlement. What it's total dismantlement would look like, as a working model, remains to be adequately detailed. For sure, the occupy movement is experiencing its own dialectic on this issue. For others to expect unity here is not only unrealistic, it's unhelpful. The question needs to be explored thoroughly. 

The question "can capitalism be reformed?" is an incredibly important question, because if the answer is yes, then perhaps we could start from there and seek to regulate, or better still, convince businesses to freely, willingly think beyond mere profit. If Richard Branson is being genuine and not just indulging the "ethical" market, like the Co-Operative Bank has done, then perhaps there is hope for capitalism. Perhaps it can find its soul; but that remains to be seen. And if the answer is no, if it becomes apparent that capitalism cannot be reformed, what then? Can it be dismantled? Can it be replaced? And if so, replaced by what, and by what means? Government policy? Revolution?

These questions and more are what now fills the minds of the many, as we collectively peer into the pulsing innards of this beast called capitalism, lying splayed in vivisection upon the operating table. Standing around this creature, studying it, we are faced with the question: what kind of animal is capitalism? Can it be tamed, and if not, can it be terminated?