Capitalism and consumption

Capitalism today is best represented by the sprawling retail malls and extravagant restaurants we see the world over, and by online shopping giants such as Amazon which guarantee complete customer satisfaction at the expense of the livelihoods of millions of workers. Underpinning this opulence is a culture of consumption that permeates today’s capitalist world and drives this oppressive system.

Consumption is in fact essential to the efficient workings of capitalism. On the surface level, consumption in the form of accumulation ensures that the capitalist machine keeps working. Consumers accumulate in the form of commodities. Producers accumulate capital which they invest to accumulate more profit. This incessant cycle of accumulation and production results in the proliferation of goods and services, and in the economic downturns – which are in fact a product of capitalism’s penchant for over-production – that we see today.

Capitalism and consumption, however, have a far more visceral and sinister relationship as well. This relationship is evident in how capitalism shapes the psyche of its subjects and alters the way individuals desire things. Academic Todd McGowan makes this argument in his book ‘Capitalism and Desire’, where he argues that capitalism – through its emphasis on uninterrupted accumulation – forces individuals in a state where they constantly desire and seek something new.

This desire, in turn, stems from the fact that capitalism attaches a value to commodities that cannot be satisfied by their use alone. A good or commodity under capitalism, therefore, becomes something more than what its inherent purpose is. Clothes, for instance, become symbols of status and of belonging. A house, instead of serving as a place of shelter, depicts one’s wealth and prestige. Consumption under capitalism therefore seeks to satisfy desires that exist beyond what a commodity has to offer.

Consumers in a capitalist system thus face two significant challenges. The first challenge emerges when we realise that basic commodities cannot satisfy the desires we come to associate with them. A house can provide us prestige and status, but bigger houses provided a more powerful status, which gives birth to a vicious cycle of accumulation and hence to a desire for more.

Another drawback of this paradigm – and this is where capitalism’s guilt is evident – is that our desires are products of the desires of those around us and can thus easily be manipulated. This is exactly how advertising works, convincing us that society desires a particular product, and that to have a position in that society, we too must desire that product.

We can, for instance, increase our physical appeal and attract the opposite gender by using a particular brand of deodorant. The deodorant – by serving as a conduit to increase our appeal to the opposite gender – thus gains a purpose and significance that extends beyond its basic purpose of preventing bad odour. Hence, we desire the deodorant not simply for fighting bad odour but to enhance our physical appeal as well. Capitalism, by shaping the way we desire things, forces us to accumulate and thus fall into the oppressive cycle of consumption that characterizes capitalism today.

This need to accumulate and to satisfy our desires, however, has significant ramifications for society and for individuals. Since capitalism attributes to commodities a desire that can never truly be accomplished – will any deodorant guarantee the opposite gender’s attention towards an individual? – and since this desire always fluctuates (today’s clothes might not be fashionable tomorrow), an individual is in an endless race to fulfil his/her desires, which they sadly cannot.

This failure to realize our desires in turn gives birth to a deep-rooted dissatisfaction and frustration that has become all too common in today’s capitalist societies. Under capitalism, however, we are unable to mitigate this dissatisfaction since we are unable to identify the mechanism that gives birth to this dissatisfaction.

This dissatisfaction which emerges from our patterns of consumption percolates into all segments of our existence. Romantic love becomes commodified as we aim for grand marriages, wedding receptions, and ostentatious proposals, all to satisfy our desire – and the desire of others – for the grandiose.

Similarly, this lack of contentment breeds intense competition as well, where workers seek to outdo others and themselves in the job market. This is in fact exactly why we see so many overqualified candidates, with multiple degrees and a vast skill set applying for basic jobs. Workers desire the ‘perfect’ resume for themselves, but as has already been discussed, the definition of this perfect resumes changes under the forces of capitalism. We are thus never truly satisfied with ourselves and continue to strive for more, giving birth to even more accumulation and to mental health issues.

It thus becomes absolutely essential that we scrutinize capitalism not simply as an economic system, but as a paradigm that governs every decision of our lives. Capitalism is a pernicious force which exploits our basic desires and hence moulds us according to its needs. We must avidly pursue an alternative that guarantees individual health and the health of our environment.

The writer holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and History from Cornell University.