Why Capitalist Propaganda Works So Well ?

Capitalist propagandas are, if one can put it this way, the foundation upon which the capitalist spirit rests, pushing us to support, consciously or unconsciously, the very principles of capitalism. What are these propagandas? Who benefits from them? Why are they so effective? What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses? How can we detach ourselves and fight against them? These are some of the questions we will try to answer, and they will guide the rest of our article.

Firstly, we must know that the goal of these propagandas is not only to lead us to support capitalism, but also and above all to make capitalism appear so flawless, inevitable, and unshakable that we can only comply, for it is the path of "normality."

We can see certain examples of capitalist propaganda, including the one that stipulates that "joy is found in consumption." At first glance, this propaganda may make us believe there is nothing wrong with it. It is simple: the more one consumes, the happier one is; the more expensive it is, the better it is, or rather, the more expensive it is, the more joy it provides. Since childhood, we have been told that wearing more expensive shoes or clothes makes us happier, and that giving a more expensive gift makes the recipient happier.

But when we look closely, this is merely a way of constantly marketing more expensive goods and services over time, assigning them value just by setting their purchase price. However, one will notice that human joy is found in the most subtle and negligible things, such as innocent games between children, the smile of a loved one, the look of someone we love, or friendly conviviality. All the things mentioned above are not, or are absolutely not, expensive, while we all notice that we have already experienced them and that they were moments of joy.

We should give more priority to inter-human relations and the bonds we form with our neighbors, and we will see that our happiness is much easier to attain and far from being a matter of lucre.

Then there is the propaganda that stipulates: "Work today, you will rest later." This propaganda is one of the engines of capitalism. It encourages excessive work without rest, claiming that rest is for later. The problem is that the famous "later" only arrives at death.

Human beings work to be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor. This propaganda aims to enslave human beings to the point of forgetting even the goal of their work. And it works, because from a young age, we have been initiated into obedience without any questioning. We can see this with the educational system, especially here in Africa, which encourages us much more toward memorization and following instructions instead of encouraging questioning and individual decision-making.

This has repercussions in professional life where everything—starting from the fixing of salaries, the price imposed on consumer goods and basic services, to the establishment of the right to retirement—is so methodically calculated to convince us that the work accomplished is never enough to reach the set ideals, and that the only way forward is work, work, and more work.

This devalues health and human well-being, which are then seen as nothing more than trivialities or "luxuries one cannot afford."

We can also cite the propaganda according to which one can start from nothing and become a billionaire. This is the story we are sold about all the billionaire tech geniuses who started from absolutely nothing, created apps, and ended up becoming billionaires. This propaganda must be analyzed from several angles.

Firstly, we can understand that it suggests everyone has the same chances of succeeding in life and that meritocracy is the basis of society. Secondly, it insinuates that the poor are poor because they want to be, or because they do not work hard enough, or because they do not set high enough ideals for themselves.

By considering only these two perspectives, we clearly see that it is a total aberration of reality. All these propagandas, seen from above, may look like real-life facts, but by scratching the surface a bit, one realizes their falsity. They aim for only one thing: to maintain the current state of society by ensuring that the poorest always remain poor and the richest become even richer.

We see that this serves the interests of the people at the top of the social pyramid, to the detriment of those at the bottom. And if this does not change, even the future will be this way: the descendants of the rich will always be rich, and the descendants of the poor will stay poor.

Moreover, one realizes that even if the flaws or defects of capitalism are known to all, people continue, like the blind, to follow its principles. The secret of the effectiveness of these propagandas is hidden behind several schemes deeply rooted in society.

The educational system, social castes, and information sources—at all levels and at all possible ages of society—ensure that the capitalists, the shapers of social rules, arrange things so that anyone who dares to think or act against the foundations of capitalism is discouraged, repressed, or silenced.

However, more and more people, thanks to training and independent reasoning, are realizing that the capitalist system is not so infallible and that its lies are merely smoke and mirrors.

We must not stop. We have a duty to ourselves, our current society, and future generations to dissolve this shell in which our society is contained, so that a more just, less individualistic, and more equitable world can be born.

The struggle is long and winding, but by putting in our part, the great edifice we dream of establishing can take shape

A.B.B.

This article was written following the Josina Machel Ideological Training organized by the RMLA.