The Poor Professor

He walked into the lecture hall with a shabby coat and a worn-out bag. He looked around and saw the faces of his students, some curious, some bored, some disdainful. He cleared his throat and began to speak.

“Good morning, class. I am Professor Ahmed, and this is Introduction to Economics. Today, we will talk about capitalism, the dominant economic system in the world. What is capitalism? How does it work? What are its benefits and drawbacks? These are some of the questions we will explore in this course.”

He paused and looked at his notes. He had prepared a PowerPoint presentation, but the projector was broken. He had no laptop, no tablet, no smartphone. He had only a chalkboard and a piece of chalk.

He continued, “Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. In other words, capitalism is a system where people own things and use them to make money. For example, if you own a factory, you can produce goods and sell them to customers. If you own a farm, you can grow crops and sell them to markets. If you own a shop, you can buy products and sell them to consumers. And so on.”

He wrote the word “capitalism” on the board and underlined it. He then wrote “private ownership” and “profit” next to it.

He said, “Capitalism is also characterized by free markets, where buyers and sellers can freely exchange goods and services without much interference from the government or other authorities. Free markets are supposed to create competition, innovation, efficiency, and growth. For example, if you want to buy a smartphone, you can choose from many different brands and models, each offering different features and prices. You can compare them and decide which one suits your needs and budget best. The sellers, on the other hand, have to compete with each other to attract customers by improving their products and lowering their costs. This way, both buyers and sellers benefit from the market mechanism.”

He wrote “free markets” on the board and drew an arrow pointing to “competition”, “innovation”, “efficiency”, and “growth”.

He said, “However, capitalism is not perfect. It also has some serious problems and challenges that we need to address. One of them is inequality. Capitalism tends to create a gap between the rich and the poor, between the haves and the have-nots. Those who own more capital have more power and influence over the economy and society. They can accumulate more wealth and resources, while those who own less or nothing have to struggle to survive. For example, according to a recent report by Oxfam, the richest 1% of the world’s population owns more than twice as much wealth as 6.9 billion people. That means that one out of every 100 people has more money than almost 7 out of every 10 people combined. How fair is that?”

He wrote “inequality” on the board and drew an arrow pointing to “gap”, “power”, “wealth”, and “struggle”.

He said, “Another problem is exploitation. Capitalism often exploits workers, consumers, and the environment for the sake of profit. Workers are paid low wages, work long hours, face unsafe conditions, and have no rights or benefits. Consumers are deceived by false advertising, manipulated by psychological tricks, and exposed to harmful products. The environment is polluted by industrial waste, depleted by overconsumption, and threatened by climate change. For example, according to a recent report by Amnesty International, more than 40 million people are trapped in modern slavery around the world. That means that one out of every 200 people is forced to work against their will for little or no pay. How humane is that?”

He wrote “exploitation” on the board and drew an arrow pointing to “workers”, “consumers”, “environment”, and “profit”.

He said, “These are some of the issues that we will discuss in this course. We will also look at some of the alternatives to capitalism, such as socialism, communism, anarchism, etc., as well as some of the reforms and regulations that can improve capitalism, such as democracy, human rights, social justice, etc. We will also learn how to think critically about economics and society, how to question assumptions and challenge arguments, how to analyze data and evidence, how to communicate effectively and persuasively.”

He smiled and said,

“I hope you will enjoy this course as much as I do. I know I am not the most qualified or experienced professor in this university. I know I don’t have fancy credentials or publications. I know I don’t have a lot of money or resources. But I do have something that money can’t buy: passion. Passion for learning, passion for teaching, passion for change. And I hope to share that passion with you.”

He looked at his students and saw some of them nodding, some of them smiling, some of them clapping. He felt a surge of hope and excitement.

He said, “Thank you for your attention. Are there any questions?”