Want to know how to be really bad at capitalism?
Excellent. You’re in the right place.
I recently made a TikTok sharing a few ideas, and thanks to some of your comments, I’m learning how to be even worse at capitalism. Honestly, I love that for all of us.
The good news is that being bad at capitalism doesn’t require moving off-grid, growing all your own food, or never setting foot inside a Target again. (Please don’t do the all-or-nothing thing. We’re not doing that here.)
This is about making small, sustainable shifts that move a little bit of our money, our time, and our energy away from billionaire-owned corporations and back toward our communities.
Here are six ways to get started.
1. Be an Annoyingly Good Community Member
Capitalism has taught us to be very individualistic. If we can pay someone to mow our lawn, why bother asking a friend for help? There’s a level of shame in asking for help, like we should do everything on our own. Capitalism normalized and monetized transactional relationships in everyday life. Community teaches us the opposite.
I don’t know why it’s so much easier for me to help my friend find a new therapist than it is to schedule my own appointments, but it is. I know a lot of us feel this way!
So the next time your friend asks you to watch their dog for a week, help them organize their closet, or pick up their kid from school…
…say yes.
Especially if it’s inconvenient.
If you’re worried about reciprocity, that’s so normal. Some people (many people) take advantage of others’ kindness. Sometimes people can’t offer the same level of care in return. These are two very different situations. Because community should work both ways. If one friend is really struggling and can’t give you back the same level of support, is it because this is a temporary situation? Or will this be an ongoing issue?
Let’s not be ableist here. Some people can never fully reciprocate… but I have a lot to say about that in another post.
If you have a friend or community member who can’t give you support in return, then don’t overgive to the point of resentment or burnout. That’s not helpful to anyone. Use your discernment here, okay??
The more we rely on each other, the less we rely on billion-dollar companies monetizing every tiny inconvenience in our lives.
2. Spend Just a Little More Money with Small Businesses
Notice I didn’t say all your money.
Just…a little more.
If you exclusively shop at Kroger for your groceries, maybe every couple of months you hit the local farmers’ market for some of your produce instead.
If you’re grabbing snacks on a road trip, stop at the family-owned convenience store instead of the giant gas station chain.
If you’re buying someone a gift, check out the local artist or small business first. They might have something more unique and sentimental than something everyone can find on Amazon.
Here’s why even a teeny tiny change matters:
There are roughly 260 million adults in the United States.
If each adult shifted just $200 per year away from giant corporations and toward small businesses…
That’s more than $50 billion redirected to small businesses rather than corporate profits.
No single person is going to dismantle capitalism. Unless someone like Elon Musk does a complete 360 and donates all his money to the poor…
But millions of people making slightly different choices? That’s real sustainable change.
3. Participate in the Gift Economy
Not everything has to be bought and sold, people.
Sometimes we can just…exchange things.
For example, I do small business marketing.
If I wanted regular massages, I could trade marketing services with a massage therapist who needs help growing their business.
Nobody has to spend money. (taxes aside) Everybody gets what they need.
You might say, but I don’t have a service I can trade! I promise you, you do! If you have a car, you can drive someone to a doctor’s appointment who needs a ride. If you are able-bodied, you can help an elderly person run the vacuum.
Even if you’re convinced that you don’t have a service to trade, you can still participate in a gift economy.
Join your local Buy Nothing group.
Instead of donating your old blender to a billion-dollar corporation that turns around and resells it (cough cough Goodwill), give it directly to someone who needs it.
Need a sleeping pad for a camping trip one weekend?
Ask a friend (of your Buy Nothing group) to borrow one.
Need a ladder? Ask your neighbors.
Need baby clothes for a six month old?
Someone in your neighborhood probably has a whole bin sitting in their garage.
We have so much stuff already.
Sometimes the most anti-capitalist thing you can do is stop buying another version of something that already exists next door.
Stay tuned for my future rant about why every homeowner has their own lawnmower. 😤
4. Go to Your Favorite Big-Box Store…One Less Time
This one is for my fellow all-or-nothing thinkers that many leftists find themselves participating in frequently.
You do not have to swear off Target forever.
You don’t have to delete Amazon overnight.
You don’t have to become a perfect ethical consumer.
Because that’s impossible.
Instead, just go one. less. time.
If you currently shop somewhere every four weeks… try delaying your purchase and go every six weeks instead.
Once that feels normal… try every eight weeks.
Real habit change happens through tiny, repeatable actions, not dramatic declarations you’re exhausted from maintaining two weeks later.
For any past cigarette smokers out there, you can attest that cold turkey doesn’t work for most people.
Perfection isn’t the goal, sustainable change is.
5. Move Your Money to a Credit Union
Most of us don’t think much about where our money sits.
But your bank certainly does.
Banks invest the money you deposit. Those investments help generate profits, and depending on the institution, may support industries or projects you don’t personally agree with.
I haven’t done a deep dive to see where Chase, Bank of America, and US Bank are investing our money. But I suspect it’s not where I’d like my money to go.
If having more alignment between your values and your finances matters to you, consider banking with a local credit union instead.
Credit unions are member-owned, not shareholder-owned, which generally means they’re structured differently than large commercial banks.
It’s not a perfect solution. There isn’t one.
But it’s one more place where your daily choices can better reflect your values. Plus we’re not making billionaires richer by storing our money in a credit union.
6. Buy Used More Often Than You Buy New
We live in a culture built on overproduction and overconsumption.
And there’s a stigma with hand-me-downs or used goods. That if you can afford it, you should always buy new.
In fact, it’s harder to buy used than new in many cases!
The first thing you may need to do is examine that stigma head-on. Do you feel ashamed to shop at a thrift store? Would you feel embarrassed if your friends found out your new couch lived with another family for two years?
By the way, if you haven’t perused Facebook Marketplace in a while, it is truly incredible. You can find some amazing deals there (and insane listings too).
Plus I’m a firm believer that we don’t make things like we used to. But not in all cases, obviously! Check that the new dishware you’re buying from grandma’s estate sale isn’t riddled with lead!
But if you can’t overcome the stigma of going to a thrift store, then maybe try higher-quality secondhand clothing sites like ThredUp, Poshmark, or Depop.
You’ll usually save money, keep usable items out of landfills and reduce demand for constant overproduction.
Again, not every single purchase. Just more often than before.
Progress Beats Purity
One thing I see a lot (especially in leftist spaces) is the pressure to be perfectly ethical.
If you buy one thing from a giant corporation, you’ve failed.
If you ordered from Amazon because your kid needed something tomorrow…
You’ve failed.
That’s not how movements work.
Movements are built by millions of people making imperfect decisions that collectively move us in a different direction.
You don’t have to opt out of capitalism overnight.
You probably can’t, if Yesteryear and tradwives taught us anything!
But you can slowly build a life that depends on and upholds capitalism a little less.
Maybe together we can all get a little worse at capitalism.
I’d love to hear your ideas.
What’s another way we can all be really bad at capitalism together?
