When I tell people I’m an anticapitalist business owner, a common response is, “Isn’t that an oxymoron???” or “If you don’t believe in capitalism, why are you still trying to make money?”
If you’re self-employed like me, perhaps you’ve experienced this too, and to be honest, I understand the confusion. We hear the word “business” and it can sound like shorthand for “capitalist business doing capitalist things through a capitalist ethos using capitalist methods.”
In some ways, this makes perfect sense. Capitalism can feel inevitable. Over our lifetimes, it has become more and more all-encompassing. It’s hard to uncouple the pursuit of money from exploitation. But capitalism is not the only way for us to engage with each other economically, and it never has been.
Capitalism and commerce are not the same. They’re related, and we’ve been doing commerce inside of capitalism for hundreds of years. Sometimes commerce is done in a shitty way that mirrors the harms of capitalism. And our culture doesn’t do well with nuance, especially on the internet.
So let me spell it out a little more:
Capitalism and commerce are two different things.
Capitalism is an economic system that must continually expand its profits at all costs, and thus, requires exploitation to function.
Commerce is simply the buying and selling of goods and services.
Capitalism is a relatively new system in the history of the world.
Commerce has been around for way longer than capitalism.
Capitalism only exists within…capitalism.
Commerce exists in socialism, communism, sharing economies and more.
Capitalism necessitates racism and misogyny.
Commerce does not require oppression to function.
Capitalism props up the interests of mostly rich white men.
Commerce has historically supported people across demographic spectrums and continues to do so.
Capitalism must relentlessly expand.
Commerce can move slowly and stay small.
Capitalism is inherently unethical.
Commerce is morally neutral.
As consumers these distinctions are important, and as business owners even more so.
Because of capitalism’s ubiquity, it can feel hard to have a clear analysis about it, but this analysis is crucial for charting a path away from capitalism’s defaults. This is why I’m continually harping on and on about how capitalism and commerce aren’t the same: because we need to know this, deeply and clearly, so we can make other choices that move us towards more ethical commerce.
It can be overwhelming to imagine a world without capitalism, but a small piece of good news is, that world never went away. It has always been here, resisting the seductive but soulless pressures of capitalism. Tiny businesses who refuse to exploit themselves or their workers, who engage reciprocally with their customers, who make enough money but don't hoard wealth: all of these are examples of anticapitalist commerce that exists simultaneously within and beyond capitalism’s crushing influence.
Alongside that, we can look for joyous instances of opting out of both capitalism and commerce: the community free fridge, friends hosting clothing swaps, honor system you-pick farms, little free libraries, potluck dinners with neighbors. Mutual aid and sharing economies are perhaps more necessary now than ever, but they are not new.
These small actions aren’t enough to quell the forces of globalized racial capitalism. And yet, their existence is essential for charting a path towards another way. I believe in a world without capitalism, one that is more ethical, more abundant, and more joyous, and I believe the only way we’ll get there is together.