Gay Men & Our Role in Capitalism

We participate in a system that demands our time, labor, and money, but how much choice do we really have?

Photo by Paul Felberbauer on Unsplash

The global shutdown at the start of the pandemic showed the fragility of companies, industries, and economic systems. It revealed the power we possess as workers and consumers in this capitalist society. Without our active participation and us simply existing in our homes, the systems around us were unable to continue. And yet, when we think of the identities we embody as a person, we rarely think ‘worker,’ even though being a worker dictates so much of our life on a daily basis.

In the latest episode of Upstream Podcast, activist, writer, and journalist Hadas Thier describes capitalism as a “political-economic system, where politics and the economy cannot be separated, that is based on a relationship of exploitation, which is fundamentally concerned with the production of goods and services for sale on the market.” You may be wondering, who is being exploited? It’s working girls like us, darling. Also, animals and the environment. Anything that can be used for profit is fair game.

One of our roles within capitalism is to provide labor to either produce a good or service that will make profits for our employer/industry or to address inequalities that capitalism creates (not-for-profit sectors). According to capitalism, if you’re able to work you have value, and are doomed to participate in the system through your labor. If you are disabled or are deemed “unemployable,” which many trans and queer folks are deemed as such, it negatively impacts one’s sense of self-worth and quality of life.

Another role we have in capitalism is to consume by spending the money we earn with our labor. For many, it’s with money we’ve borrowed, which puts us into crippling debt. Marketing is used to convince us to buy products and services under the pretense that it will make our lives better, increase our happiness or status, create a different version of ourselves, or solve a problem capitalism says we have and just so happens to have a solution for it.

The gag is that we are forced to take on these roles because we have to literally earn money to live. Capitalism’s main focus is not people’s well-being, but rather growth and profits. The phrase “people over profits” is a call to emphasize human life within this system. For capitalism, it’s profits over people; and not just that, but it’s profits at the expense of people, animals, and the environment.

‘[G]rowing up’ under capitalism is basically a process of unlearning empathy. — @antikirsten

The quote above speaks to our next role within capitalism — turning a blind eye and keeping a closed heart to human suffering, animal cruelty, and environmental destruction. Capitalism needs us to not care about the atrocities it commits in the pursuit of profits. Our innate tendency and ability to empathize and care for others is what makes us human. However, individualism and social hierarchies break down networks of support in communities, and chips away at our empathy. When we see human and animal death and suffering, and the destruction of our planet, we immediately understand that we still have to go to work the next day. Case in point, going into year 3 of the pandemic there have been 861K deaths in the U.S and 5.58M globally due to COVID, and yet, we’re still expected to show up and clock in.

Capitalism and white supremacy are linked in that white supremacy sets up capitalist systems to hoard money, power, and resources for a select few. Violence, oppression, discrimination, and inequality are how profits are ruthlessly obtained. A recent example are the deaths of 6 workers in an Amazon warehouse after they were not allowed to leave during a tornado warning in Illinois. Another example is the ongoing and growing issue of people being pushed into homelessness without a real plan or effort to provide housing and stability.

Photo by Dan Burton on Unsplash

Noticing a lack of or diminishing respect and empathy for human life, animals, and the environment is a sign of our indoctrination into a capitalist mentality. Just because capitalism expects us to take on the roles of ‘worker’ and ‘consumer,’ it doesn’t mean we have to blindly fall in line. So how can we engage within this capitalist system in a more intentional way?

Here are some suggestions:

1. Don’t make your job your identity. You are more than your ability to work and produce for your employer or business.
2. Engage your creative side. Whether it’s singing, dancing, painting, writing, etc., do it! It doesn’t have to be good, it just have to make you feel good.
3. Focus on your emotional and spiritual healing. Take the time to focus on yourself and the parts of you that are wounded. Healing creates strength and clarity, which are needed to make yourself less susceptible to the negative effects of capitalism.
4. Know who you are. From a young age, you are expected to put yourself into a labor box, which diverts your focus away from exploring life and your interests. Reclaim your right to understand yourself outside of what capitalism needs you to be.
5. Rest, relax, and replenish often. You don’t have to earn rest. Do not feel guilty for “doing nothing.” Direct some of your time and energy back to you on a consistent basis. Do this and you’ll notice more within yourself, around you, and it’ll create space and clarity for what you truly want and need.
6. Spend time exploring your purpose(s) in life. For many, getting up and going to school or work is not a good enough motivator or source of joy. When we take the time to explore our interests and connect with our purpose(s), life becomes more exciting, dynamic, and fulfilling.
7. Don’t put up with abusive and exploitative work environments. More and more people are refusing to put up with jobs that negatively impact their physical and mental health, in what’s being called the Great Resignation. Determine the aspects of a work environment that meet your needs. Either help to create this where you are or commit to finding it elsewhere. You’ll notice the difference in your quality of life and mental health when you find that place.
8. Have a set of core values. Knowing your top 3–5 core values can help you navigate difficult and uncertain situations, make decision that make you feel good, proud, or lead you away from unhealthy connections and environments, and align your actions with how you want to live.
9. Spend your money according to your values. Our money doesn’t just get us goods and services. It is funneled through channels and systems that actively and purposefully advance violence, oppression, discrimination, inequality, and the destruction of our planet. To widen your distance from these acts within capitalism, take the time to be a conscious spender.
10. Spend your money on your wellness and wellbeing. Capitalism makes money by picking at and growing our insecurities, emotional wounds, and insatiable appetite to acquire and consume. None of this feeds us in a way that translates to joy, security in ourselves, or fulfillment.
11. Connect to and build community. The natural trajectory for people in this capitalist society is individualism that leads to feeling disconnected, isolated, and unhappy. To counteract this, make an effort to connect with people and be involved in community-building.
12. Use your money to help people and communities. View others, not as competition, but as dynamic beings who are in the struggle with you. Begin to shift your focus toward collective uplifting because a thriving community benefits everyone in it.
13. Cultivate your joy and contribute to the joy of others. A society filled with unhappy, isolated, and insecure people who don’t know themselves and are not connected to their life’s purpose is fertile ground for capitalism. Your joy and fulfillment can be a disruptive force for good. Joy is easier to obtain and more sustainable when others contribute to our joy and we do the same in return.

These suggestions may not seem very revolutionary or complex. However, try to think of a person who lives life in the ways listed above. You may find that there are few who come to mind. You may also find that when you are around someone who does, they feel like a breath of fresh air. Be the breath of fresh air we need in this world here and now.

Resources

• A People’s Guide to Capitalism [Book]
• How Capitalism Funds Climate Change [Video: 11 mins]
• Upstream Podcast [Podcast]
• Joy Uprising [Podcast]
• Mutual Aid efforts – a community-organized way to use money to help people locally [Website]
• Buy Nothing groups – give and receive items without exchanging money [App]
• A List Of Mental Health Resources Available For People Of Color [Article]
• More Evidence That Spending Money On Others Makes Us Happier Than Spending On Ourselves [Article with audio option]
• How to Find Your Purpose in Life [Article]
• The link between money and mental health [Article]
• Is Your Workplace Tough — or Is It Toxic? [Article]

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