Capitalism: A brutal ally or a necessary fiend?
FEATURE
Capitalism as we know it today may not be merely an ideal system marred by greed, but intrinsically individualistic, competitive and materialistic in its valuation of life and ecology. Debbie YM Loh chatted with Christian academician Chris Chong over coffee for his views on capitalism and pens down her resulting reflections.
In the Chronicles of Narnia, the Pevensies’ troubled cousin, Eustace, while escaping from his cousins, stumbles into a dragon’s lair alone. Being enchanted by all the gold and precious stones he finds, he slips a bracelet around his arm, and imagines how he would carry off as much as he could all by himself. In time, he falls into a deep sleep. Ensnared by the bracelet, Eustace morphs into a dragon. Immediately, he feels alone and isolated from his human friends, longing to be with them again. However, upon contact, none of his human friends could return his humanity back and it seemed that his fate was sealed. He spends the rest of his dragon existence helping his friends in a symbiotic relationship.
There is an increasingly dominant view that the economic system of today is causing more harm than good. I would like to personify it using the dragon-Eustace created by C.S. Lewis. Powerful, monstrous, capable of good, but essentially unhuman and most of all, unable to be cured and too involved in our lives to be destroyed. “And poor (dragon-)Eustace realised more and more that since the first day he came on board he had been an unmitigated nuisance and that he was now a greater nuisance than before.”
Such is the sentiment on capitalism being shared increasingly across the globe by significant sections of the clergy, politicians, theologians, businesses and recently, Goldman Sachs.
The question is, can our allegorical dragon-Eustace be completely descaled and returned to a more humane state? That would be trying to force heaven onto earth and in Christian academician Dr. Christopher Chong’s words – and a spoiler to what eventually happens to Lewis’ dragon-Eustace – that is something only God can do.
The tides are turning on capitalism
The memory of the modern reaction to capitalism can be traced to the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm and the book, Limits to Growth. For the first time, the implications of unbridled economic activity were confronted at the global level, putting a red flag on how unmanaged economic growth would drain out the earth’s resources.
Global consciousness on the dire effects of capitalism escalated in the late 2000’s with the exposes on sweatshops and following that the exploitative nature of manufacturing, agriculture and even mining industries, particularly in developing countries as initiated by developed nations. Human trafficking or modern slavery was exposed. Human rights activists began to rise like the unpopular prophets of the Old Testament, pointing out the sins of governments, political leaders and corporates against humanity and ecology.
Things came to a head coming in the mid-2010’s. In 2013, Richard Branson and a team of CEO’s including Arianna Huffington founded The B Team, a global non-profit initiative dedicated to centre business on the triple bottom line – people, planet and profit. In 2014, Prince Charles called for capitalism to be reformed to save the planet, calling the concept “inclusive capitalism”.
But what probably took the world by storm was when Jorge Mario Bergoglio ascended to the papacy as Pope Francis in 2013. What was distinctive about his leadership was his commitment to the poor and in his second encyclical Laudato Si, his commitment to the environment. Some of his strongest criticisms were against capitalism as it stands today.
The recently launched 17 global goals based on sustainable development by the United Nations is a testament of where world leaders are recognising – the need for a new form of development that takes heed not merely of profit, but people, planet, prosperity, and peace, in partnership with one another.
What in the world is capitalism?
But what in the world is capitalism and what is it that makes it such a conflicted subject? Isn’t it all just human greed making a good system go bad?
I asked Christian academician Dr Christopher Chong to shed some light on this matter. Chris as he prefers to be called is an Associate Professor in UTAR teaching Political Communications, and is involved in the Malaysian civil society circles through Aliran, a reform movement. More of his work here.
Economic value the measure of man and nature
His first peeve against capitalism is that it has come to define the world through the lens of economic and material value – that economic value has become the measure of man and nature.
“Capitalism’s fundamental premise is the need for profit. We can see that everything derives from the question: ‘what is the economic value involved?’ ‘Will I profit from this?’ The problem occurs when economic value as measure moves out from the economic sphere to all other areas in life, such as human relationships. When we see people today we ask ‘Who,’ or ‘what are you’, it is asked in terms of an economic value. If you are a worker, we ask what kind of worker are you. If you are a doctor, you have a higher social status, and this status depends on how much you earn. If I see a stranger the question is asked whether this stranger might benefit me economically. We don’t see that person as a person first, but with a conditional question of ‘can I benefit from this relationship?’
“Another example is ecology. If our focus is on economic value alone, what then is a tree? A tree is evaluated in terms of what economic returns it can generate for us, such as this table over here. So you don’t see it as the tree playing a role in the ecology, but as an object that brings material profit. This is the thing about capitalism. Profit overrides all other values.’
It is chilling to realise how the values and assumptions of this economic system has crept into our everyday lives, yes even our thoughts! How do conversations turn when we discover a gift or talent in friends who can bake or sew or play the piano? We say, start a business! Self-interest playing out in individualism and competition
It would not be an overstatement to say that capitalism comes with an individualistic system, and that such a system hardly exists in certain societies, particularly indigenous, native and even traditional ethnic communities.
“Look, self-interest is pervasive. But there is also group-interest,” says Chris. “You can see the contrast between urban and rural communities. Urban communities are driven by the capitalist value where to derive profit, I must win, and someone else must lose. It becomes a zero-sum game.”
“The system is based on competition, not only in terms of economic organisation or companies but competition even among individuals.” Pitting people and teams against each other to the achievement of goals, I might add.
Chris agrees that capitalist values are in conflict with those held by more communal societies such as the orang asli or native people. Whilst the basis of individualism is competition and self-sufficiency, the basis of communalism is sharing and mutual dependency. For the one, man is measured by his ability to win and gain the most compared to others, and for the other, man is expected to share what he has gained with his community.
Socialism today
Recent research in the United States has shown an aversion to capitalism and the rising popularity of socialism, even among millennials today. An understanding of socialism and capitalism necessitates an understanding of its thought leader, Karl Marx.
“It is a misunderstanding to assume that Christians are suspicious of Karl Marx,” says Chris. “Sure, he may have been an atheist, but his sharp observation of what capitalism was during his time is useful for us. I am not saying that Christians should accept all that he has to say, I am saying that we should consider his views.”
“We should definitely rethink socialism, because capitalism carries with it too much costs than benefits,” he says. “Socialism’s old model is dead, and that’s a fact. At this point in the literature on socialism, there are a lot of debates happening. We just need to see what comes out of it. Capitalism started somewhere and took root in the 16th century and it has spread all around the world. By the same token, we cannot have socialism overnight. We will need to wait and see how it will develop.”
He is also quick to say, with a glint in his eye, that “it likelier for the world to end than for capitalism to die.” Capitalism, he says, as the dominant global economic system continues to make its way into the fringes of the world, and is here to stay.
Caught in this reality, I asked Chris, could a person practice socialist values in daily living? His response takes the cake.
“As a Christian, whether I practice socialist or capitalist values is immaterial. The question we should be asking is – how does my life and actions stand against the two royal laws of God, loving God and loving neighbour? When our lives are measured by these two commandments, other things are merely labels. Christians have a responsibility of loving our neighbours. If I were a businessman who exploits migrant workers, am I doing God wants me to do? Am I making the world a bit better with the decisions I make in my sphere, just by those two commandments? We don’t need to be socialist or capitalist to answer that.”
Brilliant, yet humbling. Where do we go from here?
By the end of this interview, I am introspective. Have I allowed capitalist values to permeate my thinking and my value system? Am I really making judgements of others based on the earnings they make, and how much benefit they can bring to me? Am I essentially individualistic and competitive in my orientation in order to realise my self-interest for profit? Has the system blinded me from truly knowing and loving my neighbour?
Do I view God as an instrument for my own self-interest? Is my salvation so individualistic that I cannot grasp His redemption plan for communities and nations? God forbid that I approach God merely as a means for my own profit and personal delight – God in the context of me.
Do I view myself as a mere object for someone else’s profit? Do I value myself as being of good profitable use, or based on how much income I earn? Do I know who I truly am, without having to do anything especially productive to feel a sense of identity? Or am I in my element only when I have performed a standard better than others?
And so our dragon-Eustace stands. And maybe, we are dragon-Eustace, in need of true repentance and the final act of redemption. Readers of the Voyage of the Dawn Treader know that dragon-Eustace encountered Aslan, Lewis’ metaphor of the Christ, and was restored not only to his usual self, but a lighter, more wholesome version of himself touched by God, and able to love others. Perhaps we can take the cue from Lewis that real, lasting change comes when all individuals, communities and societies encounters the living Christ. Yes, not only individuals encounter Him through personal salvation, but entire communities, societies, and yes, even nations.
Then Christ can fully remove the scales that weigh us down, the blindness that keeps us from truly loving and bring about the fullness of redemption in us and creation.
Come, Lord Jesus. Debbie YM Loh works with Community Excel Services and is pursuing a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Malaya in June 2016. She holds a degree in Marketing and Finance.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer, and does not necessarily represent the views of CNBM and its affiliated organisations.
