History of Capitalism - Twenty-first Century

Twenty-first Century

By the beginning of the 21st century, capitalism had become a widely pervasive economic system worldwide. The near universality of capitalism resulted from the collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1991. The collapse weakened the principal alternative system, communism, considerably. The United States, in particular, has continued to push for the global adoption of capitalism, although not as aggressively as was done during the Cold War. Capitalism still faces rivalry, particularly with the rise of new socialist movements in Latin America, most notably Bolivarianism. These movements have also had ties to more traditional anti-capitalist movements, such as Bolivarian Venezuela's ties to communist Cuba. In many of the so-called emerging markets, the influence of banking and financial capital have come to increasingly shape national developmental strategies, leading some to argue we are in a new phase of financial capitalism. The financial crisis of 2007–2010 has also caused a reevaluation of economics, leading to more notable support for socialism or mixed economies.