Discover the Wealth of Knowledge: Top 7 Fun Facts About Capitalism You Didn't Know!

1. Imelda Marcos' Shoe Obsession

If the shoe fits, you must collect it: Imelda Marcos, former First Lady of the Philippines with a penchant for fabulous footwear, amassed a collection rumored to include a whopping 720 pairs, now housed in the Marikina Shoe Museum in Metro Manila. Her notable stash, with soles from high-fashion labels like Christian Dior and Gucci, grew at an impressive pace of 10 pairs per week gifted from local craftsmen during her reign. Sadly, a significant portion of her prized possessions succumbed to the ravages of time, termites, and mold. While the shoe infatuation seems intriguing, it pales in comparison to the more sobering focus on the Marcos family's extensive corruption during Ferdinand Marcos' 21-year rule.
Source => vice.com

2. Fur Trade Frenzy

Talk about having a bad hare day: the fur trade wreaked havoc on ecosystems, forever altering relationships between American Indians and Europeans, introducing new technologies and goods to indigenous cultures, and causing tribal conflicts while painting the continent's geopolitical landscape with an air of cutthroat competition.
Source => billofrightsinstitute.org

Did you know pigs could symbolize the betrayal of socialist values? Discover how Orwell used them in Animal Farm to expose totalitarianism!

=> Fun Facts about Socialism

3. Pirates: Capitalism's Dark Side

Ahoy, mateys! Before ye sign up thinking a pirate's life is a capitalist's dream: pirates weren't successful capitalists nor did they contribute to the emergence of free-market economies; instead, they thrived on violence and dispossession, showcasing capitalism's dark underbelly and the blurry line between capital, sovereignty, violence, and freedom.
Source => journals.sagepub.com

4. China's Economic Turnaround

They say laughter is the best medicine, but China seemed to think "Reform and Opening-up" was just what the doctor ordered: Following these economic reforms in the late 20th century, China's GDP per capita grew at an average rate of 2.9% per year, leading to agricultural decentralization, foreign investment, privatized industry, and a private sector that accounted for 70% of the country's GDP by 2005.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

5. Monopoly's Taxation Twist

Who'd have thought, Monopoly's real estate tycoon Uncle Pennybags originally strutted around "Taxation Town" before gliding down "Capitalism Chute" like an exuberant skateboarder: The board game was actually created by Elizabeth Magie to promote land value tax, which proposed taxing land and not the buildings on it, in order to address land ownership inequality and dampen the monopolistic power of wealthy individuals. But once Parker Brothers transformed it into "Monopoly," the original message got bulldozed like a tiny plastic hotel on an overbuilt property, leaving us with the amusingly ironic capitalist icon we know and love today.
Source => bbc.com

6. Adam Smith's Cousin: The Money Manager

Behind every great man, there's a woman rolling her eyes, and in Adam Smith's case, counting his pennies too: His financial affairs and daily dealings were managed by none other than his cousin, allowing the great economist to focus on shaping the world's understanding of capitalism.
Source => workingnation.com

7. Materialistic Media Mania

Beware the Too-Much-Tube: According to a study from the London School of Economics and Political Science, watching materialistic media like luxury ads or wealth-flaunting celebrities for just a minute can stimulate anti-welfare attitudes, and regular viewers of shows like "The Apprentice" hold similar views—yet, as we consume and encourage this media, we ironically suffer from increased stress, dissatisfaction, and anxiety.
Source => bigthink.com