Domesticky

Why We Need to Change

If the modern world is a house, then capitalism is the dodgy builder who cut corners, overcharged, and left us living in a structurally unsound disaster waiting to collapse.

It’s a system that rewards profit over people, efficiency over ethics, and growth over sustainability.

And it’;’s not working for a lot of people.

We’ve been sold the idea that capitalism equals freedom – free markets, free trade, free choice. But in reality, it’s a system built on inequality, resource hoarding, and the exploitation of workers (especially women and caregivers, whose unpaid labour props it all up).

We are consumers before we are citizens, and our primary role is to keep spending, keep borrowing, and keep the machine running.

The cracks are everywhere. From housing crises to precarious work, from environmental destruction to the rising cost of simply staying alive. And yet, in the middle of this tangled mess, there is another way.

One we’ve known all along.

Commerce.

The Difference Between Capitalism and Commerce

At its core, capitalism is an economic system based on profit-driven competition.

It prioritises corporate power, monopolies, and the relentless pursuit of economic growth, even when that growth destroys communities, ecosystems, and well-being.

It’s about accumulation, not sustainability.

Commerce, on the other hand, is simply the exchange of goods and services between people. It’s trade. It’s markets in their most basic form, where people provide value to one another in ways that are mutual, fair, and often deeply local.

Capitalism tells us that bigger is better – more corporations, more profits, more consumption.

Commerce, on the other hand, works best in smaller, more relational ways: independent businesses, cooperatives, barter systems, community-supported enterprises.

Capitalism serves shareholders. Commerce serves communities.

So, what can we do to tip the balance away from capitalism and back towards real commerce?

What You Can Do as an Individual

We’re often told that our power as individuals is in how we spend. And while that’s partially true, our power also lies in how we participate in the economy, how we create, and how we opt out of systems that don’t serve us.

1. Spend with intention

Every euro we spend is a vote for the kind of economy we want. Where possible, support local businesses, independent makers and ethical companies over faceless corporations.

2. Reduce dependence on corporate convenience

Supermarkets, fast fashion, and mass production make life easier in the short term but hollow out our communities long term. Try to shift habits towards local markets, second-hand buying, and self-sufficiency.

3. Embrace barter and alternative economies

Trade skills, swap goods, support local co-ops. Not everything needs to involve money.

4. See your home as an economic unit

Households are not just places of consumption; they can also be places of production – growing food, making goods, offering services. The more self-reliant we become, the less capitalism controls us.

5. Talk about it

The biggest lie capitalism tells is that there is no alternative. Talk to your friends, family and community about ways to do things differently. Share knowledge, pool resources, and create micro-economies that support real people.

What We Can Do as a Society

The shift from capitalism to commerce isn’t just about individual actions; it’s about systems. Here’s what we should be pushing for:

1. Support local economic models

Community-owned businesses, worker cooperatives, and alternative banking systems (like credit unions) should be prioritised over corporate monopolies.

2. Rebuild local supply chains

The more dependent we are on global corporations for food, clothing, and essentials, the more vulnerable we are. Governments and local councils need to invest in local food systems, small-scale manufacturing, and circular economies.

3. Tax wealth, not work

Right now, billionaires make fortunes without lifting a finger, while working people are taxed at every turn. Wealth taxes, corporate accountability, and fair wages are essential to shifting power away from the ultra-rich.

4. Decentralise production

We don’t need everything to be owned by a handful of multinational corporations. More localised and diversified economies mean more resilience and less exploitation.

5. Acknowledge that unpaid labour is economic labour

The work done in homes – childcare, elder care, cooking, cleaning, emotional labour – is the invisible backbone of the economy. If we want a system that works for people, we need to recognise and support this labour properly.

A Future Beyond Capitalism

Capitalism wants us to believe that there is no alternative. That the only choices we have are to participate or perish. But this is a lie. Human societies have traded, exchanged, and thrived in countless ways long before capitalism took hold, and they will continue to do so long after its decline.

Our role is to accelerate that decline.

Not through collapse, but through choice. Through how we spend, how we share, how we build systems that prioritise real value over endless profit.

The future isn’t about rejecting trade, money, or markets. It’s about rethinking how they serve us.

Commerce, in its truest form, isn’t about extraction. It’s about exchange. And if we reclaim that, we might just build something worth keeping.