Capitalism = Misery

A favorite talking point of politicians and metric used to gauge the success of nation states is the overall rate of economic growth.  Millions of people the world over during époques past and present have had their fates determined by high level policy decisions designed to accomplish that singular goal of fueling the rate of economic activity.  It’s taken for granted that more is better, that pushing that percentage ever higher holds the key to personal and collective success for all members of the political unit.

Why?

Economic growth requires one essential ingredient- a consumer population with the desire to have things that they don’t already have.  Consider that – capitalism doesn’t work if the population is content.  Every corporation large and small invests tremendous assets to convince you that there are things missing from your life, things that will make your happier or smarter, more attractive or more successful.  Companies want  you to feel like you and your life isn’t good enough, and that you should give them money to make it better.  Conservative economists evangelize about the power of economic incentives to motivate human behavior, and its crystal clear that in a world of buyers and sellers, the sellers are driven to help you identify all of the things missing from your life.

There’s a vicious circular logic entrenched in the political discourse of contemporary America that measures whether or not our country is headed in the right direction by to drive up the statistical measure of our frantic pursuit to fill the voids in our lives with material possessions.  Our national project is pathological dissatisfaction.  We’re only happy when we’re as unhappy as possible.

I’m sure Heller and Kafka are laughing about this somewhere.  Or sighing maybe.

We could be doing things differently people!  See this discussion between author Dan Buettner and National Geographic where he has a data-driven analysis of states and communities around the world that let their policy be driven by goals of increasing equality, tolerance, safety, community, and health, rather than economic growth.