Capitalism is amazing—but only if we fight it
The real reasons (some) people love to hate capitalism
1: Capitalism kills magic by design (and it’s getting faster)
Capitalism is designed to root out inefficiency until everything is “priced in”. When everything is priced in, there are no surprises, which are the essence of a “magical” experience. Most businesses that fail to extract full value will eventually be outcompeted by those that do. So when a business creates something really special, the clock starts ticking—Moloch is coming. And social media has accelerated the “magic discovery process”, so the unexpected becomes expected faster than ever.
There is a deeper claim here: that beating expectations is a precondition for joy, and that capitalism, left to its own devices, is therefore anti-joy. Capitalism is excellent at meeting people’s needs, but it cannot go the last mile—it’s up to us, in our ongoing resistance, to put the magical icing on the capitalist cake.
2: Capitalism is eating our days
In the 1950s, you might have gotten through a weekend without making many consumer choices. You would probably eat a big family dinner and watch one of the free TV networks while your kids played outside. Maybe you would go to church on Sunday and play some pick-up sports.
Now, it feels like capitalism is eating our days. Algorithms are constantly trying to capitalize on your attention, you pay subscriptions for everything you watch, ads are everywhere, and other people are too busy for impromptu free fun. Technology allows us to disaggregate costs—it is more efficient to pay for exactly what you want exactly when you want it, but that also means a relentless onslaught of choice. It feels like we are losing control--are we the chooser or the chosen?
3: GDP loves a waste and hates trust
Individual businesses are not inherently wasteful—they have an incentive to minimize costs. But the system is, through systemic incentives if not direct, conscious action. The system “wants” you to buy and discard as many thingummies as possible. It “wants” you to distrust your neighbors, or, even better, not have a relationship with them at all. That way, it is hard to share widgets and hard to collaborate on childcare, carpooling and hanging out. Again, I don’t think anyone is out there working as Chief Distrust Officer, but incentives matter.
So, here is a call to arms: make capitalism great again by fighting it! Start community events. Start new businesses. Resist the profit maximizing urge when you can. Make everything more beautiful than it needs to be. Learn to make and repair. Take back boredom and be available for free fun.