Acceptance on capitalism

I used to feel so sad thinking about the state of the world. People chasing more and more money, never being satisfied. Every good initiative slowly turned into a superficial business. Where profit always has to continually grow each year for it to be considered ‘successful’.

It felt horrible. Seeing honest innovators and creatives change into a mass sellable product. I considered myself more and more a hippie, wanting to shy away from the world and live out the remainder of my days somewhere with no people around.

But a couple months ago something changed. How can I condemn people for simply living and using the societal systems in which we live to their advantage? Sure, people who intentionally do bad things to others should be shunned and condemned. But the average Joe or Joette? They are also just doing the best they can with the society in which we live.

We live in a capitalistic society, unfortunately. In such a society earning money is the only way to survive. And in most cases, it’s even the only way to be able to experience any form of freedom or a carefree night’s rest. 

Most of us live in financial hardship or paycheck to paycheck. If you’re lucky, the country you call home installed some measurements in case you get sick or lose your job, so you’re not completely on your own. But being broke can happen to any of us. And in our society, being broke means you can’t get basic necessities, like food or housing. Let alone anything or any time to feed your soul.

Most of us profit in some way from living in capitalism. Who doesn’t enjoy shopping online, delivery times being shorter and shorter? Food being convenient for when you can’t be bothered. Themed parties, video games, higher education or learning new things quickly. Internet, electricity?

I wish I could leave all of society behind me, but damn, I do enjoy being able to travel often. Just jumping on a train and seeing a new place. Going out for coffee or dinner. Being able to work from home. 

I wish I could hate the capitalist society we have to endure, and I sometimes still do. But I don’t blame people for enjoying their successes in it. I often think about how I would react if I started earning serious money by profiting off of capitalism. The amount of good I could do for the world. But also, the rest and ease I would feel without having to worry as much about my spending. 

Part of me wishes I never experience it, so I will never have to worry about staying true to my ethics. But then there’s another small part of me..