There was a time when dominant capitalism had an industrial, productive nature and to some extent rooted in family and national values. It was a capitalism that was built around the factory, the production of tangible goods, the creation of sustained wealth in human labor and the development of local communities. It was not, of course, a system -free system of conflicts or injustices, but there was a certain sense of social responsibility, even if motivated, often for pragmatic interests. This industrial model sought to preserve the health and stability of its workers, not by pure philanthropy, but because it recognized in them an essential resource for business continuity. The welfare of the workforce was therefore an investment in future productivity. Companies such as CUF – Companhia União Fabril – Founded by Alfredo da Silva in Portugal, are an example of this paternalistic capitalism: they created workers’ neighborhoods, provided medical care, invested in education, and promoted a certain idea of social cohesion within the manufacturing universe.
At the same time, it was a capitalism in which, in the relationship between the respective agents, there was a certain respect for ethical principles today largely lost. It was sometimes enough, the word given, accompanied by a handshake so that a business would close and each party to respect it, otherwise it is fired on who to his word was missing the social stigma of dishonor. Admittedly, this informal ethics was not always fulfilled and sometimes limited to specific social circles, leaving out many workers and small economic agents. Still, the mere fact that it exists as a recognized norm worked as a symbolic brake on certain abuses, reflecting a conception of economic relations in which trust and reputation had real weight.
Jurist
Em vez de investir na coesão social ou no bem-estar dos trabalhadores, este novo capitalismo transfere para o Estado as responsabilidades sociais que antes, ainda que parcialmente, assumia
However, this productive capitalism has progressively gave way to a new form of accumulation, now hegemonic: financial and speculative capitalism. This new paradigm has no face or homeland. Organized in the form of large anonymous corporations, it acts on the global scale, guiding not by creating long-term value, but for quick, often cool profits from any productive activity.
With globalization, capital has become even more mobile, moving agility to the contexts where the tax is more favorable, the milder regulation and the cheapest labor. Instead of investing in social cohesion or workers’ welfare, this new capitalism transfers to the state the social responsibilities that before, even partially, assumed. Housing, health, education and social security have become public charges (for now, as increasingly limited), while profits are privatized and often channeled for tax havens.
Even more serious: this financial capitalism often operates based on a rampant risk logic and devoid of sustainable economic rationality. The incessant search for immediate returns leads to speculative practices that feed bubbles and systemic instabilities. The 2008 financial crisis, caused by the proliferation of mortgages subprime And by opaque financial instruments, it is a striking example of the consequences of this predatory logic. A capitalism where a contract, even reduced to writing and with signatures of the parties recognized by the notary, is often ceased to be fulfilled.
It is in this world – where capital has stopped producing real wealth to feed on itself – which we live today. A world in which great economic decisions are made by invisible actors, often indifferent to the social and environmental consequences of their actions. A world, finally, where capitalism is no longer a productive system to becoming often a zero -sum game in which few win and many lose.
It remains for us, as a society, to question if this is the only possible model. Is it inevitable that capital emancipates any ethics? Or can we collectively imagine a system that will put the economy back to the service of human life, lucid construction of a fairer, more supportive and sustainable future?
After the written:
Bad graded the censorship decreed by the EU to the Russian channel RT, we were able, however, to have access to the following news given by it in its Brazilian edition:
Russia began Enteromix’s first clinical tests, an experimental vaccine against cancer based on the use of viruses that directly attack tumor cells.
According to the chief oncologist at the Russian Ministry of Health, Andrei Kaprin, the first results indicate that the drug has a toxic effect “very light”.
The announcement was made during the 28th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Kaprin, who is also director of the National Center for Radiological Research (NMRRC), explained that the institute was assigned to conduct a phase 1 clinical trial, open and in a single center, involving 48 volunteers.
Tests include men and women aged 18 to 75, all with confirmed diagnosis of solid tumors who did not respond to surgeries or conventional treatments. The selection of patients was announced late last year.
The vaccine uses cancer viruses – in this case, enteroviruses – genetically modified not to affect healthy, but selectively acting against malignant cells. “In our usual language, these viruses feed on cancer cells,” said Kaprin.
According to information By NMRRC, the immunizer is composed of a combination of four non -pathogenic viruses capable of destroying tumor cells and at the same time stimulating the immune response against cancer. ”The antitumor effect can range from the slowdown of tumor growth to its complete destruction”, the center on its official website.
In addition to Enteromix, other Russian initiatives are under development. The University of Science and Technology of Sirius, in partnership with the National Center for Research of Epidemiology and Microbiology of Gamaleya and specialists of large cancer centers in the country, is developing a vMRNA technology based acin.
This type of vaccine aims to train the immune system to recognize and eliminate cancer cells and, for now, is under preclinical testing, being evaluated on animal models.
Can a vaccine unite people that wars separate? Will we still see Russian scientists working together with Portuguese scientists at the Algarve cancer center!
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