Saving Christmas from Itself: Output Under Virtuous Capitalism

This holiday season, my awareness of the coordinated media campaign to part people from their hard-earned dollars during the last 40 days of the year has been acutely amplified. I don't know if it's because I was not as conscious of it before or if the effort has grown over the last few years. In any case, I feel like I'm in the line of friendly fire everywhere I go.

Since when did the morning news become a point of sale for Amazon? While I appreciate some timely advice on products, a daily 10-minute gift suggestion segment seems a little over the top. In my humble opinion, you should not have to wonder whether you're watching NBC or the The Home Shopping Network. And it's not just TV; the radio, social and print media, and outdoor advertising all bombard us with what we should buy to fulfill our yearly gifting obligations.

Do I sound like a Scrooge, a regular old humbug? I don't mean to, truly. I enjoy many parts of Christmas--the music, the food, the decorations--as much as the next person. I'd just like for us all to get some perspective on the giving part of the season.

I've never been a huge gift giver myself--it's not my primary love language. Still, I've always bought presents to show my loved ones that I cared and was aware of their needs and wants. As I and my children have gotten older, though, I'm less inclined to spend a lot of money or time frantically searching for the perfect items to put under the tree. I'm more likely to put my resources toward experiences that create great memories which, I believe, generally have more value at this point than material things.

© kemalbas from Getty Images Signature via Canva.com

Speaking of value, that issue is at the heart of the piece below. Taken from Ken Barnes' book, Redeeming Capitalism, his writing is particularly applicable at this time of year. This segment is the 12th in a series from that book; you can pick up the start of the series here. Also, take a look toward the bottom of this chart for the changing meaning of "Output" under the major historic forms of capitalism.

"All economic systems create output. The traditional capitalism observed by Adam Smith focused on the efficient production of life's necessities, along with a smattering of modest luxuries.

The modern capitalism of the Industrial Revolution gave us a wide array of goods and services, some of which were necessary, but most of which were designed to enhance life. The necessities produced were more plentiful and less expensive than ever before, as were the luxuries that once seemed beyond the reach of most working people. The middle class had disposable income that their ancestors would have never dreamt of, and they used it to purchase homes, cars, appliances, fashion items, and more. Quality of the products, their durability, their price, and their availability were emphasized. Sales and marketing focused on the features and benefits of individual products, and distribution was the key to success.

Postmodern capitalism is quite different. It is not about features and benefits, distribution, or products at all, which it understands as a given. Post­modern capitalism is about brands and images. Businesses focus on how they can make an association between a person's desires and their brand, asking, “How can I make doing business with my company an enjoyable experience? How can I exploit the way people want to feel? How can I turn people's wants into their perceived needs, and how can I capitalize on those wants and needs, as it relates to their egos?”

Postmodern capitalism has quickly morphed into a world of promises and propositions, hopes and dreams, fantasies and delusions. It is more about the messaging than the message and through this, postmodern capitalism has become an economic deceit.

Virtuous capitalism must be built on something very different. It must have the potential to genuinely add value to people's lives, not by seducing consumers into buying things they neither need nor want, but by encouraging them to invest in things that help them and their communities flourish. As Flint McGlaughlin notes, “... [B]rand awareness is a result; the value proposition is a cause.”

Creating products and services that help people climb the pyramid of higher-order needs instead of sliding down its slippery slope is far more satisfying for producers and consumers alike, and it is ultimately much better for society. Our planet simply cannot sustain the relentless production of ever cheaper, less useful, disposable products, and our economy cannot sustain the mountain of debt that continues to prop it up.

A redeemed economy would produce life-enhancing products and services that alleviate poverty, do no harm to the environment, and stop the cycles of conspicuous and insatiable consumption  (Barnes, Redeeming Capitalism, p. 204-5) (Emphasis throughout is ours.)

This piece really made me contemplate our modern buying culture and the standards by which we typically measure gift giving. I think it's in many Americans' DNA to think that more or bigger is better. I'm reminded of a relative who gave each of my sons a stocking full of cute but low quality, essentially worthless gifts every Christmas. Each year, the cheap candy would go uneaten, and the plastic toys would break within days; yet this person continued to give the same type of items year after year.

Why did he keep giving these kind of gifts? My guess is that perhaps he received similar presents when he was a child, or maybe that in giving many things, he thought he would appear to be a more generous person.

We live in a country of great abundance, which is a blessing; yet with that abundance comes the responsibility of thoughtful moderation. The focus of postmodern capitalism on non-value added items, as well as the mantra of more=better, has created its own kind of scarcity--a scarcity of true value. Like Harry Potter's cousin Dudley, our modern economic culture has many of us demanding more every year, simply to outdo the previous year's haul.

What if, instead, we were to focus on fewer, higher quality items that provided actual benefit? What would shifting this dynamic teach our children and grandchildren about the true value of material things? How would it affect the production of goods, as well as the economy as a whole? Would we be able to create a new era of Output, one of Virtuous Capitalism that would meet the goals stated above?

If a great many of us would put this idea into practice, I believe that we could initiate a seismic shift in our economy, and one that would contribute greatly toward a better capitalism. This Christmas, will you join us in rethinking how and what you give? If you do, I believe you and those who receive your gifts will discover a better, more meaningful way of celebrating the season.

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We at BetterCapitalism.org are fond of the phrase, “Questions are the engines of thought and action.” From that posture, we invite you to give thought to a few of our questions:

• Do you think the version of capitalism that Barnes calls Virtuous is possible? If not, what are the obstacles to realizing Virtuous Capitalism?

• Which version of capitalism do you think might best serve you? Traditional, Modern, Postmodern or Virtuous?

• Which version of capitalism do you think might best serve humanity? Is there a difference in your responses? If so, why?

How might these questions prod you to re-think your perspective of capitalism? How might these questions prod you to make different marketplace decisions?

Stay tuned for our final excerpt of Redeeming Capitalism. Or. Why wait for us? Buy and read a copy for yourself now.

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