Last week I read an article called, “Why there’s no ‘ethical consumption’ under capitalism.” The article discusses two main things: under the current capitalist system, it is impossible for everyone to make ethical buying choices due to economic limitations (as ethical products tend to be more expensive), and the desire for ethical consumption by consumers has, itself, been made into a profitable commodity, enabling corporations to continue production processes that facilitate economic inequality and environmental devastation. In other words, as long as we leave the structure and ideology of the neoliberal capitalist system (i.e a free and unregulated market) intact, ethical consumption (such as fair and sustainable trade) is, at best, treading water.
While I agreed with everything the article said, I wondered if it was reinforcing the idea that we, as a society, are too weak to change “the system.” I’ve been concerned lately about the alarming trend of people expressing hopelessness and becoming apathetic towards activism. Let’s be clear, people, this isn’t an excuse to just give up and keep shopping. On the contrary, it should make us angrier; it should make us want to take radical action and demand that something be done about a system that continually limits our freedom of choice and freedom to live how we want. No, there is no ethical consumption under (neoliberal) capitalism, and yes our economic system is a toxic, global, corporate machine, but it is not infallible. We can change it; but the more people become indifferent towards it, the stronger the machine grows. It thrives off of our apathy and depends on draining us of energy. Just criticizing it isn’t enough — we need to find ways forward.
In Richard Peet and Elaine Hartwick’s book, Theories of Development: Contentions, Arguments and Alternatives they state that “We need to be more actively aware of modernity as a form of capitalist practice guided by social relations rather than as a discursive formation. In other words, we should learn to live with modernity by criticizing and changing it!”
Activist burnout is a thing, a very real thing, but I know from experience that we thrive off each other’s energy. I would go so far as to say that we can amplify each other’s energy. Get a few people who are passionate about something in a room together: if each person goes in with a grain of sand, each will walk out with a beach. If you don’t believe me, try it. What’s important in your life right now? School, a future, your children, your significant other? What’s the point of all these things if our world continues as it is and few of us are able to live a decent and satisfying life? We need to stop tiptoeing around capitalism like we’re grounded children.
I had a friend recently say to me: “People need to stop acting like a Martin, and start acting like a Malcom.” The truth is, they go hand in hand, but our societal Malcom X needs a reawakening. We can be peaceful, but be peaceful with each other, not our government or economy. Stop fearing revolt. If we can, in the midst of all the chaos, remain peaceful towards each other, we could destroy what causes the chaos and create what we want to see. I was listening to the podcast, This Cultural Moment and pastor Mark Sayers said something that stood out to me: “Corporate renewal begins with personal renewal.” Destruction breeds creation; we need to hit the reset button on ourselves and our economy.
My advice to you is to get active: get friends together who are passionate about something and make change happen. Wake up, get angry, stay angry, channel that anger. Skip school, skip work, start a farm with friends, occupy corporate land — heck, move right onto corporate land and start a commune. Protest until all garment workers and coffee farmers are paid fair wages, until all soy and cattle are sustainably sourced, until we’re actually paid enough to support those goods that include the true, environmental, and human cost of production, until corporate charters are re-oriented to suit the best interest of society. Am I oversimplifying this? Maybe. So come up with something better, something impactful. Just do something. There are millions of us and a handful of them. How could we possibly think that we, as a unit, couldn’t impact change? That’s crazy talk; it’s illogical. Money is paper and we are blood, flesh, and bone. What power does a piece of paper really have if we don’t let it have power over us, all of us, as a whole? We either take back power or get accustomed to all sorts of extreme climate conditions and hope we survive, because that’s the reality we’re facing right now.
Illustration: Kayt Hine
Darien Johnsen is a UFV alumni who obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree with double extended minors in Global Development Studies and Sociology in 2020. She started writing for The Cascade in 2018, taking on the role of features editor shortly after.
She’s passionate about justice, sustainable development, and education.
