The consumption rate has increased exponentially, affecting our mental as the physical wellbeing
KARACHI: The main characteristic of capitalism is the idea of ‘surplus value’ in which one always aims to maximise one’s own profit. This fundamental idea has spread across countries which in turn has given rise to many different social problems. Therefore, it is essential to question how this simple idea of surplus value has turned into an evil that slowly consumes each one of us day by day.
Money is a means to a certain end because one needs money in order to buy basic commodities. It holds no value on its own. However, by focusing purely on profit, money is transformed into an end in itself. The absurd idea is that one needs money in order to gain more money. What this does is it creates a vicious cycle of never-ending profit maximisation at the expense of the other. One invests money to gain profit on capital. That resulting profit is then continuously invested to gain more and more profit. This profit or “maximum surplus value” is only possible through the division of labour, whereby the accumulated profit from all labourers are pocketed by those in power.
The problem has aggravated even further ever since capitalism shifted gears and moved into hyper-drive. The consumption rate has increased exponentially, affecting our mental as the physical wellbeing. Nature is being used at a tremendous rate. There is so much natural degradation that animals are becoming extinct, natural habitats are being destroyed, sea levels are rising, land is becoming infertile and the ozone layer is rapidly depleting. It is as if capitalism has developed into a life of its own by creating mechanisms that help self-sustain itself, forcing man to exploit all that is around him. In addition, people are being conditioned to become consumers through the continuous promotion of products, lifestyles and dreams that depict an illusory utopian future to strive for.
Tahir Shah
Published in The Express Tribune, May 27th, 2020.
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