Doesn’t capitalism promote consumerism and materialism?
Question 59 in Faith Seeking Freedom: Updated & Expanded
This question is from Faith Seeking Freedom: Updated & Expanded, launching June 2026 in paperback, PDF, and Kindle. Subscribe to this Substack so you don’t miss updates, previews, and the launch announcement.
Christians rightly oppose that which engenders greed and creates an insatiable appetite for more. Critics of capitalism believe that because businesses are always pursuing profit by trying to please consumers, both producers and consumers are always wanting more and more in an endless cycle of materialistic hedonism. They say this creates an unhealthy economy.
Yet at its heart, capitalism is about creating new and innovative ways of using scarce resources for human flourishing. The very term “capital” denotes the use, not depletion, of resources. It is unfortunate that our modern Western economy is labeled “capitalism” because there are large parts of it that depend on the demand for more. In fact, the dominant economic theory most at play is Keynesianism, which is a consumerist vision of the economy. It is inaccurately named “capitalism.”
What critics of capitalism often ignore is the significantly better outcomes for human flourishing that have resulted over the past 200 years. Yes, some people are materialistic, but that isn’t a guaranteed outcome. Capitalism has created a space for humans to flourish materially, and many are now ready to think about and ponder deeper spiritual realities.