Capitalismo contemporaneo, desigualdades sociais e a crise de 2008

Capitalism is an economic system inherently contradictory and unstable, with variations that take place in time and space. After the collapse of socialism, the capital assumed an even wider civilizing mission, spreading its gains and contradictions globally. This article aims to explain the changes in contemporary capitalism from Fordism to the crisis of 2008, relating them to the social and economic inequalities. The recent crisis - which originated in the real estate industry (subprime) in the United States and spread to the world financial markets, plunging the world into another wave of recession - seems to point to a pessimistic scenario in the future. However, some mechanisms present in modern democracies led to a varied set of motions, challenging the current economic and social order on a global scale - suggesting the possibility of alternative scenarios.