A guide to hating capitalism

Dear reader, 

I have created the following pieces of writing in hopes of unveiling a perhaps overlooked system that is present in our society. It is a slippery thing that operates in the shadows of our everyday lives, prevalent in more ways than recognizable. Tied to other systems of oppression, such as patriarchy, white supremacy, and cisheteronormativity, capitalism is tied to and perpetuates them all. I have often heard from peers (usually studying commerce) that capitalism is merely a model used to create efficiency. A model that acts like a machine solving a puzzle, finding the best solution to problems and the best way to move forward. But this is simply not true. The following pieces of writing (hopefully) break down that understanding of capitalism. What is missing from that conceptualization of capitalism is that capitalism relies on oppression and inequality to be successful. Capitalism was enacted in tandem with systems of oppression. They are enmeshed together, unable to be separated. My aim in these pieces of writing is to reveal the truth about capitalism.

The bottom line is this: capitalism hurts and capitalism harms.

To begin these pieces of writing, I want to ground them in an understanding of intersectionality. This is crucial in understanding how capitalism is interlinked with other forms of oppression. I think there is sometimes a misunderstanding of intersectionality, that it is simply a way to describe compounding systems of oppression. Intersectionality is not simply a way to describe how different systems of oppression can be stacked onto a person’s identity. This understanding of intersectionality assumes that different systems of oppression work separately from one another. Rather, what I want to highlight is the way in which intersectionality is a tool that helps us understand how systems of oppression are intertwined and inform one another. Intersectionality helps us understand how different systems of oppression are inherently tied together, inseparable and enmeshed (Bohrer, 2018). For example, the racism I experience as a bi-racial person, and the sexism or misogyny I experience as a woman are not two different forms of oppression that I encounter. Instead, intersectionality helps us to understand that my identity as a woman influences the remarks I receive about my race and vice versa. They give power to one another. 

This entanglement is formed because systems of oppression often emerge together. Meaning, they rely on each other to function. For example, colonization not only relied on racial hierarchies to justify the displacement of Indigenous peoples, but it also relied on heterosexism to be successful (Bohrer, 2018, p. 67). Therefore, when we speak of decolonization, we must also examine our system of sex and gender. Decolonization cannot occur while our conception of sex and gender remains unchallenged because it is inherently colonial in nature. They used one another to be successful, and thus coloniality will always continue to persist through sex and gender, no matter how much we work to decolonize in other areas. We cannot look at systems of oppression independently. In order to change one of them, they must all be considered (Bohrer, 2018, p. 49). I bring this to the surface because the following pieces of writing focus on capitalism, but capitalism does not exist outside of other forms of oppression. My goal is to expose the violence of capitalism by revealing its ties to other forms of oppression, and intersectionality helps us to see how systems of oppression are all intertwined and related. 

Additionally, I think what intersectionality helps us do is move away from all-encompassing, binary ways of conceptualizing the world. In a world that loves to conceive of everything in two-dimensional ways, intersectionality helps us to understand that things are complex. Intersectionality requires an understanding of the world as messy and enmeshed. A whole area of grey, not black and white. It moves us away from clear-cut ways of thinking. The systems around us are interwoven and intersectionality allows for all that depth to come through. 

Clear-cut, binary ways of thinking are simply not sufficient when examining systems of oppression. An example of this can be seen in Marxist critiques that arise from feminists such as the Combahee River Collective, a group of Black lesbian feminists (Combahee River Collective, 1977, as cited in Bohrer, 2018, p. 49). By focusing on class as the singular defining axis of oppression, we become blind to the ways in which race, gender, sexuality, ability, etc., affect and are intertwined with class. Class cannot be the singular defining axis of oppression because the experience of a person in the working class who is a man will be different from that of a woman, and will be different from that of a woman of colour, and will be different from that of a queer person. Systems of oppression do not work separately and cannot be put into neat boxes. Using intersectionality as a framework allows us to move beyond fixed ways of thinking and towards a conceptualization of these systems as one extensive, tangled-up web.

I wanted to begin with a note on intersectionality to provide a foundation for these pieces of writing. Yes, I am writing about capitalism, but capitalism exists within systems of race, gender, sexuality, class, and ability. Changes in capitalism cannot be made independently but must be done collectively. 

 

References

Bohrer, A. (2018). Intersectionality and marxism: A critical historiography. Historical Materialism: Research in Critical Marxist Theory, 26(2), 46-74. https://doi.org/10.1163/1569206X-00001617

Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241-1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039

Collins, P. H. (1991). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Routledge.

Combahee River Collective (1977). The combahee river collective statement.

 

 

A founding principle of capitalism that must be revealed is the ways in which it is tied to colonialism. Capitalism emerged in tandem with colonial conquest and created racial hierarchies that fueled white supremacy. Under ideas of capitalism, colonial conquest was justified and led to the exploitation of Black bodies and the dispossession of indigenous land. By understanding how colonialism was enacted through capitalism, we can see how it is intertwined with white supremacy. 

Colonization emerged alongside ideas of capitalism. The entire reason for colonization was that European countries wanted to expand their accumulation of resources and wealth, which they did by colonizing ‘new’ territories that were ripe with natural resources. Colonization was not a peaceful process but entailed the control over a territory, the exploitation of resources, and the displacement of its original inhabitants (Palmer, 2024, p. 251). As Europeans ‘discovered’ North America and Africa, they used racist discourse and racial hierarchies as a way to justify the violence they were enacting on non-white groups to allow for the resources and labour they were stealing. For example, white perspectives used ‘scientific’ reasoning to prove the inherent inferiority of Black and Indigenous people (DiAngelo, 2018). This established a racial hierarchy wherein whiteness was ‘proved’ to be superior and naturalized the dehumanization and exploitation of non-white groups (Justins & Leroy, 2021). Compared to animals, their subordination was viewed as their natural place. Under the guise of scientific racism, it was acceptable to steal the resources and exploit the labour of non-white groups.

These notions were further entrenched through the Doctrine of Discovery. This notion ultimately stated that whatever land colonizers ‘discovered’ was empty and theirs to take. With no respect or recognition for Indigenous groups that were already present, Europeans claimed that they had rightful ownership over the land. This idea went hand in hand with the concept of terra nullius, which stated that land was unoccupied if it was not being used in a productive way. However, the land was deemed unproductive because Europeans refused to view indigenous ways of living as legitimate (Palmer, 2024, p. 257). This was merited through white supremacy and the understanding that non-white people were underdeveloped, inferior and uncivilized. Therefore, allowing for paternalistic sentiments that Indigenous peoples needed to be ruled to become civilized. The same justification was used for the transatlantic slave trade. The enslavement and exploitation of Black bodies were justified through the naturalization of racial hierarchies. These racial hierarchies enacted paternalistic sentiments that claimed Black people needed white leadership, since they were unable to govern themselves (Maynard 2017, p. 59). 

What I am revealing here is that capitalism needed white supremacy to thrive. Europe accumulated massive amounts of wealth from historical processes of colonialism and slavery, which would not have been possible without white supremacist notions (Maynard, 2017). Colonizing indigenous land gave European countries access to resource-rich land, allowing them to profit from resource extraction from stolen land (Maynard, 2017, 58). Additionally, the enslavement of Black bodies allowed for immense wealth accumulation from the exploitation of Black labour. The bottom line is, colonization, which emerged from capitalist ways of thinking, justified the exploitation and subordination of Black and Indigenous bodies by enacting white supremacy. The wealth that European countries gained was only possible along these lines.

These histories allowed for the normalization and entrenchment of racial hierarchies that continue to shape the present day. The racial hierarchies that were formed under capitalist justification were/continue to be transformed to naturalize the unequal distribution of resources, rights and privileges (Justins & Leroy, 2021). For example, the racial hierarchies that were enacted in this period continue to manifest in the present day through the enormous wealth disparities between white folks and non-white people that appear to be natural (Maynard 2017, p. 58). They are seen in policies that harm lower socio-economic classes, in the overrepresentation of Black and Indigenous people in prisons, the lack of adequate healthcare for non-white groups, and the overall racism that has been built into society. It is from capitalism and colonialism enacted together that these racial hierarchies were made possible. This is where our understanding of intersectionality is important. Capitalism relies upon white supremacy and coloniality to function. They give power to one another. Thus, when we examine white supremacy and colonization, we must also consider capitalism. Capitalism is entangled with racial hierarchies and rooted in white supremacy. 

 

References

DiAngelo, R. (2018). Racism and white supremacy. White fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism (pp. 15-38). Beacon Press.

Jenkins, D., & Leroy, J. (2021). Introduction: The old history of capitalism. In J. Leroy, & D. Jenkins (Eds.), Histories of racial capitalism (pp. 1-26). Columbia University Press. https://doi.org/10.7312/jenk19074-002 

Maynard, R. (2017). The black side of the mosaic. Policing black lives: State violence in Canada from Slavery to Present (pp. 50-82). Fernwood Publishing. 

Palmer, B. D. (2024). The past is before us: Capitalism, colonialism, and canada, 1500–2023. Labour, 93(93), 247-308. https://doi.org/10.52975/llt.2024v93.012

One of my goals here is to reveal how capitalism is so heavily blended into our lives and into society. Capitalism is not only present in the realm of economics, but affects and is deeply intertwined with our daily lives in ways that may go unnoticed. This is important because capitalism is not a neutral system, but a system that harms. It is not a system that simply prioritizes efficiency, but one that relies on the exploitation and subordination of marginalized groups of people. Thus, when it goes unnoticed in certain areas of our lives, it allows the harm it does to be invisible and normalized. In pointing out how capitalism works in sneaky ways, it makes the harm visible. 

One of the many ways this takes shape is through our family systems. This may come as a surprise to some since the state is supposed to work outside of our private lives. The separation of the public and private is supposed to exist, right? Well, that’s the thing about capitalism, it is sneaky. It infiltrates large structures like policy, government and, yes, the economy, but it also infiltrates the way we interact with others and manifests in our daily lives. Currently in North America, the nuclear family model is the norm. Composed of a husband, wife and their children, the nuclear family is encouraged and expected. However, the nuclear family system is not neutral. It is an intentional family system that benefits the state and stimulates economic growth. It favours capitalist development. 

Family is the first place we learn about the world. As children, we are socialized through our families, making the family a site of power and reproduction. Our first impression of race, gender, class, marriage, and culture all come from our families. It comes in the form of our caregivers, yes, but also through the toys we play with, the books we read, and the media we consume. This makes the family a political system. We learn these messages at such an early age that they easily become normalized, and the harm they enact becomes invisible. It allows us to become complicit in these systems of oppression. The gendered, racial and cisheteronormative lessons we learn through the nuclear family also have a capitalist dimension. Intertwined with one another, these lessons feed capitalism. As the norm in North America, these functions of the nuclear family have become well hidden. Let me break it down. 

 

1. The nuclear family is a capitalist unit at its core

It acts as a perfect model. A win-win situation if you will. The nuclear family creates both producers and consumers. The nuclear family model is based on a husband, wife and their children. Created at a time when men were the sole providers for their families, it was their responsibility to bring income. This means men are forced to become productive citizens by participating in the economy and becoming sites of production themselves. They generate income, fueling economic growth and development for the state. However, the nuclear family is also a site of consumption. Families need a house, food, transportation, education, and extra-curricular activities, among other things to be successful. The family thus becomes a unit that fuels the economy by consuming a large variety of goods. The nuclear family is a system that both produces and consumes. A win-win for capitalism, the nuclear family provides the two pieces of the puzzle that are necessary to keep the capitalist system functioning. 

In addition, capitalism has also found a way to ensure this system can reproduce itself in a perfect cycle. Through the expectation of children that exists in the nuclear family, parents raise the next generation of citizens to reproduce the same system. As I mentioned, the family is the first place we learn about the world. Through caregivers, books and media consumed, we model what we expect children to become. Children are raised with certain expectations that align with capitalist values. They are raised to embody all of the qualities of a ‘good citizen’. A good citizen is productive, family-oriented, and hard-working. They are raised having production and consumption modelled to them. Through constant messaging, this system not only becomes normalized but the end goal, allowing for their complicity. The nuclear family is a tight-knit capitalist unit that produces and reproduces the necessary pieces for capitalism to be successful. 

 

2. The nuclear family promotes individualism

The nuclear family is not inevitable or natural but has simply been normalized. Before the nuclear family was the dominant family system, families often lived in intergenerational and extended family homes. This meant living with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Living in these homes was extremely beneficial. There were deeply rooted systems of support. There were people to rely on during times of emergency. There were multiple role models for children to learn from, promoting rich places of growth and education (Brooks, 2020). As the nuclear family emerged as the prominent family system, these intergenerational and extended family homes were broken. Instead of staying with family, the new norm was for young adults to move away from their childhood homes (Brooks, 2020). Instead of sustaining a culture of reliance and community, it fostered a culture of individualism. Individualism is a key tenet of capitalism. Without the reliance on others, people become responsible for their own success and well-being. It fosters a culture of self-interest. Individuals are forced to become self-sufficient, encouraging high levels of work and the accumulation of wealth (in other words, production) to ensure their own survival. Without social bonds of support and community, neighbours become competitors rather than friends. 

It just so happens that this system of individuality is also harmful for the most vulnerable groups in society. Those with the most privilege and access to resources can manage individually. With access to wealth, the nuclear family system continues to provide them with opportunities to maximize their talents (Brooks, 2020). However, families that make up the low socio-economic classes do not have the same privileges. Without access to the same resources and opportunities, the working class is left to fend for themselves. The class inequalities that are perpetuated through the nuclear family are tied to other systems of power. It is often minority groups that make up the lower classes because of systemic barriers they face, such as racism, homophobia, misogyny, transphobia, etc. It is these families that are most harmed through the nuclear family system and that would benefit most from intergenerational and extended family homes (Brooks, 2020). Intergenerational and extended family homes help protect the most vulnerable by creating deep systems of support. By cultivating a family system that values individualism, the most privileged groups are able to expand their achievements, while the most vulnerable groups are left to struggle.

 

3. The nuclear family reproduces other systems of oppression

If you recall, one of the things I wished to do here is reveal how capitalism is enmeshed with other systems of oppression. This exists in the nuclear family through its entanglement with colonialism and patriarchy. One of the most prominent ways this shows up is through gender roles and the gendered division of labour. This is inherently patriarchal because gender roles rely on the subordination of women to men. The gendered division of labour emerged from colonial logic that equated characteristics (masculine and feminine) to biological sex (Matthaei, 1995, p. 138). In doing so, all feminine work (care work, domestic labour) was considered naturally suited for women, while masculine work (politics, market-based production) was considered men’s work. By relegating women to domestic work, their primary job becomes serving the interests of men. Domestic work such as cooking, cleaning, childbearing and rearing are all acts of service, thus reinforcing their submission and oppression. The nuclear family model follows this logic, making domestic labour the responsibility of women, thus tying it to patriarchy and coloniality.

The enforcement and naturalization of women in the domestic sphere is beneficial to capitalism. By claiming women’s work in the domestic sphere as inherently natural, it allows it to go unpaid. Women’s labour is thus exploited, providing an entire domain of work that capitalism can profit from. Additionally, all of the care and work that is considered feminine, such as housework and raising children (!!), is structurally necessary for capitalism to continue (Bohrer, 2018, p. 65). The work that is the responsibility of women, that relies on their subordination, that goes unpaid, is needed for the system to be successful. I do not think it could be any clearer. Capitalism relies on systems of oppression to function. This, of course, is still relevant today, even as women have access to the public sphere. The naturalization of gender roles is so prominent that domestic work is still largely assumed to be the responsibility of women (Brooks, 2020, p. 62). 

Additionally, the colonial ways of thinking that equated sex and gender produced cisheteronormativity. By assigning gender identity at birth, males and females are raised in alignment with masculinity and femininity (Matthaei, 1995, p. 139). Through respective socializations, which, as I mentioned above, we learn from family at a very early age, our sex is supposed to align with the associated characteristics. For example, men as masculine and strong, and women as caring, weak, and nurturing. Furthermore, the nuclear family also relies on heterosexuality to be successful. Constructed of a husband and wife, the nuclear family is reliant on both male and female counterparts in order to reproduce. It relies on heterosexuality to survive (Matthaei, 1995). This comes at the cost and oppression of queer folks who reside outside of the gender binary, as well as any partnering that resides outside heterosexuality. The gendered division of labour and the equation of sex and gender work in tandem to ensure women’s continued responsibility for domestic work, while ensuring the cycle can continue. 

 

Capitalism is a pervasive system that follows us throughout our daily lives. It influences us in ways we might not expect it to. Capitalism sneaks into our lives in different ways, making the harm it does invisible. The nuclear family is an example of this. It exists along colonial, patriarchal and cisheteronormative dimensions, and yet, it has managed to become invisible so we don’t even question it as a system that causes harm. 

 

References

Bohrer, A. (2018). Intersectionality and marxism: A critical historiography. Historical Materialism: Research in Critical Marxist Theory, 26(2), 46-74. https://doi.org/10.1163/1569206X-00001617 

Brooks, D. (2020). The NUCLEAR FAMILY was a MISTAKE. The Atlantic Monthly (1993), 325(2), 55-69.

Matthaei, J. (1995). The sexual division of labor, sexuality, and Lesbian/Gay liberation: Toward a marxist-feminist analysis of sexuality in U.S. capitalism. The Review of Radical Political Economics, 27(2), 1-37. https://doi.org/10.1177/048661349502700201

Sarkisian, N., & Gerstel, N. (2012). The widespread focus on nuclear families. Nuclear family values, extended family lives (1st ed., pp. 1-4). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203141977-1

I previously described the ways in which capitalism is reproduced through the family and how the family is a site of power and reproduction because it is the first place we are socialized. But there is another critical place where we learn the capitalist mode of being, where we are transformed to value capitalistic qualities. This happens through school and education. 

Education is political and is a site of power and reproduction (Giroux, 2015). In our education, we are taught through a capitalist model. From a young age, we are taught that our grades matter. We are taught that our grades inform our success. In secondary school, students feel pressure to excel in their classes because we are told that good grades are necessary to get accepted into a good university. A good university increases our likelihood of getting a good job with a good salary, and a good job is what determines our success. This is the path we must follow to be successful. Our success is equated with money. The path we are told will lead to success is one that requires production and consumption. All of the things necessary to be successful (attending post-secondary) require us to consume, while the outcome of this path leads us to be good, productive citizens contributing to the economy. Following a capitalist path is so heavily ingrained in our society that we do not notice the ways it influences education, even though it is oozing with capitalist values. We are not taught to be present in our learning, but to always be striving for our next achievements. What a wonderful way to hide the capitalist motives behind our learning. Always being told to think of the next step, to constantly be productive. Students are trained from a young age to be career-driven and learn how to be productive (Nikolakaki, 2020, p. 313). 

By constantly pushing the idea of success onto students (and success can only look like one thing), we are taught to be complacent in the system. The success students seek is only possible by following the status quo. All the ways we are taught are not accidental, but allow for the current systems to be reproduced. For example, a key tenet of capitalism that continues to surface is individualism. From a young age, we are taught that learning is individual (Giroux, 2015). Through our assignments and standardized tests, learning is not supposed to be collaborative, but individual. Even in group projects, our assessment is ultimately done on an individual basis, ensuring that each individual is responsible for the grade they receive. This kind of learning continues in higher education settings. Learning is not only individual but competitive. The successes of others somehow translate to a success robbed from us. This is not accidental. By making learning individual and competitive, it ensures our complacency. Students become more driven to succeed. If your wins equal my losses, I will become more competitive to ensure I gain the future of success that is constantly preached at me.

In addition, the ways in which we are taught prevent critical thinking and collaboration. We are taught in a hierarchical way wherein students listen to what the teacher has to say. Sponges, to absorb the information being thrown our way. We are not expected to question what we are taught and, in fact, are discouraged from doing so because oftentimes our grade depends on memorization and repetition. Regurgitating what we have heard from our teachers. This is what students must do to get good grades, and as I mentioned, there is nothing more important than that. Our grades are a measure of our success. I can feel it in my own education; getting good grades does not equate to learning the content. Rather, getting good grades is a matter of reproducing what our professors tell us. Students, myself included, are more concerned with ensuring our assignments reflect what professors want to hear, rather than thinking critically about material. Education has become about repetition and memorization (Giroux, 2015). I have spent many hours memorizing content that I have long since forgotten. It is through these ways of learning that we are raised to reproduce the system. We learn not to think critically, but to reproduce the knowledge given to us. The ways we are taught promote efficiency and productivity instead of critical thinking because critical thinking requires something we are told we cannot afford: time. 

Furthermore, we are taught in a manner that discourages critical thinking because critical thinking can be a tool in raising consciousness. It creates space for mutual recognition and understanding, for consciousness and allyship (Giroux, 2015). The turn away from this kind of learning and towards learning that is individual and competitive prevents any threat to the status quo from emerging. When capitalistic learning is encouraged, we are taught to be wary of our peers, to focus on ourselves and value our success above all else.

Education is political and a site of power and reproduction. The way we are taught is intentional, leading us to be complacent in a capitalist system, always focused on being productive and always focused on our own success. Capitalism is sneaky in this sense. Infiltrating aspects of our lives that we are not even aware of. This causes us to be concerned with ourselves as a way to prevent our focus from turning to the system. It is where the next generation is raised to be the perfect cog in the machine. A seamless transition from one generation to the next. 

 

References

Giroux, H. (2015, October 22). Where is the Outrage? Critical Pedagogy in Dark Times. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAxj87RRtsc&t=1740s 

Nikolakaki, M. (2020). The hope of critical pedagogy in the new dark ages of neoliberal globalization and imperialism. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 18(1), 299.

As you may be catching on to at this point, capitalism exists everywhere. It is inescapable. Hence, I would not be able to write about capitalism and its effects in our everyday lives without considering social media and technology. The emergence of social media is capitalism’s dream. The way it has invaded our lives and become inescapable is the perfect conduit for capitalism because of its ties to broader systems of power, such as globalization and neoliberalism.

Now, globalization and neoliberalism feed each other. They thrive off of one another. Globalization, on one hand, describes the increasing flow of goods, communication, people, services, and technology (Ginsburg, 2004, p. 161). All the ways in which the world is becoming more and more interconnected. Neoliberalism, on the other hand, is an ideology that values the reduction of state intervention, the free market and the promotion of individualism (Navarro, 2007). In order for globalization to be successful, the flow of goods and trade needs neoliberal ideals to allow for that to happen. We live at a time dominated by globalization, which means it is also dominated by neoliberalism. To make things very clear, neoliberalism is rooted in a very capitalistic mindset. It promotes individualism and consumerism. The way in which it values minimal state intervention results in the cutting of social services and the privatization of services (Navarro, 2007, p. 15). This promotes an ‘every man for himself’ kind of living, wherein there is no support provided for the most vulnerable groups. This, of course, has racialized, gendered, classist and colonial implications, as it is people who exist on the axis of these lines who are hurt the most. As Navarro (2007) states, “neoliberalism is the ideology and practice of the dominant classes (p. 14). At its heart, neoliberalism values the market and free trade. At its heart, neoliberalism prioritizes profit. 

Social media, and media in general, is globalization at its peak. The constant flow of communication is exactly what globalization is. We are able to access information from everywhere around the world immediately and constantly, allowing for a non-stop exchange. The world has never been so interconnected. The neoliberal impacts of this have manifested in an insane need to consume that has resulted from social media and the rise of social media influencers. We are constantly subjected to different products that we are told we need. It does not just emerge from brand deals and advertisements, but it happens anytime influencers post something using or suggesting a product. We are constantly subjected to new products and encouraged to consume. 

Furthermore, trends are coming and going at a faster pace than ever. There is always a new microtrend that requires consumption. For example, the trendiest water bottle or knickknack. Fueled by globalization and our increasing interconnectedness, new trends go viral globally, encouraging nonstop consumption from viewers. Viewers are constantly shown snapshots of a perfect life that only seem achievable by consuming and purchasing the same products. This pattern has created mass consumption and massive amounts of profit for large corporations. This consumption aligns with neoliberal ideals, such as the free market and the minimizing of state intervention. Power is increasingly being given to corporations, rather than states. This out-of-control consumption that has arisen from social media is capitalism’s dream. 

Social media is capitalism’s dream not only because of the senseless consumption but because it has created a sense of immediacy that did not exist before. Now, through social media and technology at large, as well as our increasing interconnectedness, we are accustomed to getting things immediately. Through luxuries like online shopping, we can purchase things at any time of the day, through dating apps and even texting and FaceTime, we can talk to people immediately. It has forced us to become impatient. We have been shoved into a system of extreme efficiency that has caused us to produce and consume at a very fast pace. Nearly anything we want is merely a few clicks away. 

Social media and technology have also made us complacent. We have become so addicted to social media and technology that we cannot live without it, even though we know it is bad for us. Our increasing interconnectedness has become so profound that it feels impossible to detach yourself from online spaces. This addiction, our inability to detach, makes us complacent in a system that is founded in capitalist consumption and neoliberalism. Furthermore, this passiveness has led to our isolation and individualization. We have become increasingly interested in our own status and the curation of our perfect life, and we have become more selfish and isolated. This increasing individualism, which is also a key tenet of neoliberalism, I might add, keeps us ingrained in this system. Social media has become a new outlet for capitalism to infest. It expands and reproduces neoliberalism and globalization on a mass scale that has led to endless consumption, efficiency on a whole new level and a passiveness in our behaviour that we do not care about the harm we are producing. 

 

References

Ginsburg, N. (2004). Globalization and racism.  In V. George & R. M. Page (Eds.), Global social problems (pp. 160- 176). Polity. 

Navarro, V. (2007). Neoliberalism as a class ideology; or, the political causes of the growth of inequalities. International Journal of Health Services, 37(1), 47-62. https://doi.org/10.2190/AP65-X154-4513-R520

There is a piece of this web that I would like to return to for a moment. A lot of what I have written gives an impression of hopelessness. Capitalism has seeped into everything, normalized and invisible-ized, unable to be dismantled without dismantling all other forms of oppression. This is not a realistic task. I have provided the reality of capitalism as sneaky and as a system that gains power from our current institutions. As a GRSJ major, I am all too familiar with this feeling of hopelessness, and thus I want to return to the role of critical thinking and collaboration that I touched on. I have claimed that social media is capitalism’s dream. A black hole that sucks its consumers in, making us complacent. If that is capitalism’s dream, then critical thinking and collaboration are its ruin. It has all the tenets of what capitalism detests. It will allow us to forge bonds and ruin our complacency. It uses up our time in ways that do not involve production. This solution may seem obvious. It may seem silly and unspecific. But it is a way of resisting that I must consider. 

Critical thinking is the opposite of complacency. It is questioning the status quo and the power systems in place. It is unravelling and making visible all the systems of oppression that seek to be invisible. It is understanding intersectionality and the ways in which our realities are not two-dimensional. Our world loves binaries. If one thing is considered to be right, all else must be wrong. But more than one thing can be true at the same time. Knowledge is not definitive or absolute. Taking away critical thinking is exactly what capitalism wants. If we have a clear understanding of what is right and what is wrong, we waste no time imagining or being creative. If one thing is right and everything else is wrong, our current system will not be questioned. Capitalism has been so normalized that we perceive it as the only right way of living. We must be complacent in the current system to attain a good life. There is a correct way to live, determined by the salary we make, thus making other paths unnatural, abnormal, or wrong. By categorizing things as right and wrong, capitalism will not be questioned. Critical thinking allows for this questioning to take place. It allows for the complexities and nuances to come into view. 

Collaboration is the opposite of isolation. When we collaborate, we create networks of support. We no longer have to rely solely on ourselves, but we are able to trust those around us and rely on them for help. Capitalism wants us to be isolated. When we are isolated and individualized, we become selfish. It is this selfishness that pushes us to accumulate and consume. The wealth that we so greedily seek is driven by our selfishness and individualism. When we are placed in competition with others, everything that someone else gains seems to be directly taken from us. Our individualism drives one another to continue to consume and accumulate. Collaboration and connections dismantle this. It encourages community and sharing of the commons. The effects of collaboration were present in family systems before the nuclear family. Intergenerational and extended family homes were networks of support and resiliency. They were places of shared learning from one another (Brooks, 2020). Collaboration allows for community.

What is interesting (but not coincidental) is how critical thinking and collaboration often happen together. Critical thinking does not push for isolation but conversing and collaborating. Critical thinking promotes allyship and solidarity. Collaboration promotes critical thinking. Conversing with others is often what leads to meaningful conversations, differing opinions and raising consciousness. Critical thinking and collaboration provide space to relate to one another. It provides space to move away from binary ways of thinking and instead reveals the complexities and nuances that exist and shape the world. Critical thinking and collaboration allow us to see the multitude of different perspectives and experiences that exist, all of which are right and can happen simultaneously. It is no coincidence that critical thinking and collaboration have been pushed aside. Thinking becomes dangerous when it holds power accountable (Giroux, 2020). 

Critical thinking and collaboration are more important than ever as we live through the emergence of AI. It has infiltrated so many aspects of our lives in such a short time. It is a tool of maximum efficiency, making it so we no longer have to work for anything. I see it taking place in education in frightening ways. It is no longer being used as a tool. Students use it to write their assignments, to summarize their readings, and to do any basic task rather than using their brains to do it themselves. It is making us more impatient than ever. Why use any brain power when you could have a computer do things for you? I am afraid of the takeover AI has had. A new tool that embodies capitalist values, one that allows us to trade in our skills for complacency. AI is a tool that disintegrates our critical thinking skills.

I am afraid of the collaboration we will miss when we can turn to AI for conversing and for answers to our questions. Critical thinking and collaboration are more important than ever. They are tools of resistance at a time when we seek efficiency in everything. Even better, they are tools that everyone has access to. Critical thinking and collaboration are so threatening to capitalism because everyone is able to hold critical conversations with one another at no cost. It is a free method of resistance, and thus, I urge you not to forget what exists in your toolbelt. 

 

 

 

 

References

Bohrer, A. (2018). Intersectionality and marxism: A critical historiography. Historical Materialism : Research in Critical Marxist Theory, 26(2), 46-74. https://doi.org/10.1163/1569206X-00001617 

Giroux, H. (2015, October 22). Where is the Outrage? Critical Pedagogy in Dark Times. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAxj87RRtsc&t=1740s 

I want to end this by giving perhaps a smidge of hope. I have written plenty about critical thinking and collaboration. A way for us to stimulate our brains, form connections and bonds. I had a conversation with my mother recently. She is a principal of an elementary school, and she got her doctorate recently in leadership in education. A central piece of her practice is moving away from traditional ways of learning and towards a decolonial, collaborative way of learning. To me, she is an example of critical thinking and collaboration in practice. She values play-based, experiential, land-based learning environments. I see her embody anti-capitalist ways of educating in her everyday life. But more importantly, through these methods of learning, she embodies an intersectional approach to education. By valuing and highlighting critical thinking and collaboration, she is simultaneously resisting colonial, patriarchal, capitalist ways of learning. Her value of critical thinking and collaboration has allowed her to grow and learn, and become conscious of the ways in which power is enacted. It is because of her critical thinking and collaboration that she has learned about these systems of oppression and how they inform the world around her. It is because of an intersectional lens that she is able to understand how these systems of power are related to one another. She is a walking example of why critical thinking and collaboration are so important and the resistance they bring about. To me, my mother represents people who are full of light and full of hope. My mother is very aware of the skills in her toolbelt. 

The aim of these pieces of writing was to reveal the inner workings of capitalism and its sneaky ways of infiltrating our lives. It is a system that profits from our complacency, and one that will continue to try to isolate us. It profits from the status quo, benefitting those with power, coming at the cost of the most vulnerable. I think that is the message I am most ardent about. Capitalism is not a system to maximize efficiency and allow people to make profit. It is a system that depends on the oppression of others, and it is not able to exist without that. It is inherently tied to colonization, racism, white supremacy, cis heteronormativity and patriarchy. It needs these systems of oppression to survive. 

Capitalism thrives on complacency because it thrives on the status quo. We continue to live in a world that is founded on colonization, patriarchy, cisheteronormativity and white supremacy. That is the status quo and how capitalism manages to thrive.

Finally, I want to end by giving a huge thanks to Alifa Bandali for her guidance and support, as these posts would not have been possible without her. Dr. Bandali gives me hope in academia for her value of critical thinking and collaboration, which comes through in the way she leads her classes; it was a class taken with her that sparked many of these ideas.