Corporate Capitalism vs. Individual Capitalism

Two women were chatting about their businesses on the bus. They were asking each other if they finished selling everything in their bags today. One said, "It's hard to make money. I don't make much. Some of my customers tell me to come sell in the market tomorrow, but I'm not going to. I'm too old now. I can't work that hard anymore. I'm just doing this for fun."

Most women selling vegetables and ready-to-eat foods in the "farmers/day market" (市場) are at least in their 60s, but probably more in their 70s, some are in their 80s. Men seem to range from in their 50s to 60s. Watching these women makes me wonder how long they have been working hard. They carry large bags of goodies, load them onto and off the bus to get to the market. Once off the bus, they carry them with quick and steady steps toward where they sell. I believe some continue to sell and work hard everyday for survival, but some do it "for fun."

Most of these women over the age of 70 had been working hard all their lives. They worked hard caring for their children and bringing money into the household. From my interviews conducted thus far, many of them had done various jobs to make money, including hand-washing other people's laundry, making tailored clothes for people, cleaning people's houses, nursing/breastfeeding other people's children. To be able to open a business of selling vegetable or ready-made-food was a big deal. it signals entrepreneurship in Taiwanese society. Taiwanese people considered running a business, no matter how small, to be a task that required creativity, smarts, and capital. This was in contrast to the "simplicity" of farming.

Jason pointed out, "Taiwan is a very capitalistic society." I had not thought about Taiwan in this way. The U.S. is capitalistic in terms of domination by corporate businesses, in contrast to Taiwan being dominated by small vendors. I asked him which system he prefers, or which one is a "better" capitalism. He did not made a decision. Because of the increasing income gap (refer to Gini coefficient) in the U.S., I prefer Taiwan's capitalism. But Taiwan's income gap is also increasing, and the country has become an import country. Without knowing much, I wonder if small vendors are struggling to just make a living as they compete with big vendors/businesses.

Will Taiwan's "individual capitalism" disappear and will "corporate capitalism" (supermarket chains) take over the fresh produce sector? If the sale of fresh produce in Taiwan is dominated by older female vendors, I wonder who will take their place after they are gone. In addition to this issue, the issue of farmers is also important. Farmers remaining in Taiwan today are of the older generation, mostly in their 60s and 70s. Once they are gone, who will grow foods for the Taiwanese? Will Taiwan become a complete import country? Farmers in Taiwan are also facing problems from the government who tries to buy their land for housing and other developments. Taiwan's farm land is decreasing in size too.