Author: Tvrtko-Matija Å ercar

Abstract: The promising project of proving the influence of capitalism as a cause of depressive disorders, including suicide, will be morally, legally and politically compromised if it is not theoretically and methodologically carried out at the level of the possibilities of modern science in the field of psychiatry, (industrial) psychology and philosophy of existence. Pre-industrial society was based on the passive possession of land, industrial society on the active exploitation of capital. Modern professional society is based on human intellectual capital, which is created by the affinity, talent and education of the individual. The basis of capitalism is a class society, and this socio-economic formation is a "terminal patient" also according to this line, since the class structure has been replaced by a "professional society" and in this way capitalism is losing ground under its feet. In developed countries, already half of the GDP refers to the part of the social fabric that, in addition to capitalism, is occupied by the professional society. The biggest shortcoming of scientists dealing with the connections between capitalism and depression, including suicide, is that they have not yet recognized it. In a professional society, "capitalists" by profession should also be "entrepreneurs" in a vertical business hierarchy with appropriate competencies (attitudes, knowledge, skills), but not members of the ruling class horizontally! The main theoretical-methodological problem for any empirical scientific research is to define the variables in a way that enables operational procedures of the given study, including measurements.

Keywords: capitalism, depressive disorder, professional society, psychology

Article Info: Received: 15 Mar 2024; Received in revised form: 29 Apr 2024; Accepted: 08 May 2024; Available online: 14 May, 2024

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.93.10