--- title: "Economist Warns That Capitalism May Be Ending" description: "If we can't find a way to cap what this economist calls Greedflation? Capitalism, he says, might have just about run its course." date: "2023-04-07" modified: "2023-04-07" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/economist-capitalism-ending" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "capitalism" - "economy" - "the digest" --- # Economist Warns That Capitalism May Be Ending ![If we can't find a way to cap what this economist calls Greedflation? Capitalism, he says, might have just about run its course.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Closing Time The world is changing, and it's getting more expensive — while wages, as most working people have witnessed in their own lives, have failed to keep up with the rising cost of pretty much everything. According to Albert Edwards, a global strategist at the 159-year-old bank Société Générale, this phenomenon is the result of what he calls "greedflation." And if we can't find a way to cap that greedflation? Capitalism might have just about run its course, he says. "After working in finance for over 40 years I had felt there wasn't much that could surprise me. Yet I find the unprecedented levels of corporate greedflation in this economic cycle astonishing," the strategist wrote in a note, [as reported by *The Financial Times*](). "The latest release of US whole economy profits data delivered another shock to my weakening confidence that the capitalist system is working as it should," the note continues. "Companies have used first the pandemic and then the war in Ukraine to 'profiteer.'" In other words, in Edwards' eyes, the fact that Fortune 500 companies are raking in normal — if not record-breaking — profits in the wake of pandemic and war-induced geopolitical and economic stress, while [price-gouging]() consumers as working-class wages stay the same, isn't exactly a sustainable way for people to live. ## Sunny Side Down Edwards has a point. After all, look at the price of eggs, a staple fridge item that households have historically been able to count on as a reliably cheap protein. Back in December, the price of eggs in the US [absolutely skyrocketed](), a change that egg producers chalked up to an Avian flu that ripped through American chicken populations in addition to rising prices and economic stress overall. At the same time, however, Cal-Maine Foods, America's largest egg producer, watched its revenue climb by a staggering [718 percent]() in the first quarter of this year alone, a finding that prompted a wave of criticism and price-gouging accusations. But the dangers of inflation, according to the economist, go far beyond pricey eggs. This degree of economic stress in an already divided, socially fraught environment will only sow more distress — and ultimately, might just be the straw that breaks the proverbial camel's back. "At a time when social cohesion is already fraying at the edges, I think the sight of companies generating super-normal profit margins in a crisis can only inflame social unrest," the strategist's note continued, [according to *Fortune*](). "The end of greedflation must surely come," he added. "Otherwise, we may be looking at the end of capitalism." **READ MORE:** [*'We may be looking at the end of capitalism': One of the world's oldest and largest investment banks warns 'Greedflation' has gone too far*]() \[*Fortune*\] **More on breaking capitalism:** [*OpenAI CEO Says His Tech Is Poised to "Break Capitalism"*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()