Capitalism organizes our social relations to such an extent that every activity, the smallest of moments, even a conversation, is regulated. There is no such thing as “free time.” All time is money, and money is the only thing of value. There is no time to play if play costs money. Meanwhile, more and more work numbs us to the idea of more and more work.
This is evidenced by the increasingly economical way that formerly leisure activities achieve success. The garage band, for example. Teenagers could afford to form garage bands in the 1960s because some of them didn’t need to have summer jobs. Now everyone needs to have their time become valuable — all the time. The rates increase. And the the people who can afford leisure take more of our time.
Meeting a romantic partner outside of capitalism’s confines is impossible. We only meet people in real life within situations that capitalism structures around us. Work, institutions, retail, services, all entail some form of exchange, and presuppose some exchange of power. Online social relations are even more prescribed by the platform that presents them, subjecting users to their own arcane rules, themselves constructed by the motive for profit.
If time is money, and we need more money to survive, then time becomes more valuable. All the seconds we spend waiting, or dealing with people in our service, or serving others, become precious seconds. Money completely governs the minutiae of daily life — our tiniest of interactions with each other. And money is power, so those with money exert a special kind of power over those without it. Under capitalism, which values value above all else, including morals or ethics, or intellect or integrity, these relationships turn violent and destructive rather than creative and co-operative.
I hate money. Whenever I have money, I try to get rid of it as soon as possible. But it’s also understood that everyone wants money, needs money, loves money. For me, though, it’s a pocketful of hatred. Whenever I give other people money, it is not a loving act. I am unloading my hatred of all things. Here, it’s your problem now. you figure out what to do with it.
If the love of money is the root of all evil, then the hatred of money must necessarily be the root of good things.
lunarlodge 