As we approach Valentine’s Day, it’s crucial to unveil the capitalist charade behind this supposed celebration of love. Karl Marx's Allegory of the Opium of the Masses rings truer than ever in the context of this commercialised hellscape.
Love, a profound human emotion, reduced to a price tag. How absurd that we measure affection by the amount of money spent on flowers, chocolates, and jewellery!
Behind the scenes, marketers orchestrate elaborate schemes to manipulate our desires. They capitalise on our vulnerabilities, creating artificial needs and selling us the illusion of fulfilment through consumer goods.
Karl Marx's theory of “commodity fetishism” exposes capitalism's insidious transformation of human relationships into transactions with products. We've been conditioned to worship our possessions, oblivious to the exploitation of labour that produces them.
But it doesn't stop there. Our most intimate emotions are commodified, packaged, and sold back to us. Need to propose? Buy a diamond ring. Want to express love? Retail stores has a card for every occasion, for a fee, of course.
Valentine’s Day epitomises the perversion of genuine human connection into a profit-driven spectacle. Even protest movements and revolutionary figures are co-opted to peddle products, eroding their true meaning in the process. Martin Luther Day, Mandela Day, you name it all, has been captured by capitalist pundits wanting us to buy or eat something.
It's time to confront the harsh reality: consumerism has infiltrated every aspect of our lives, alienating us from our emotions and exploiting our deepest desires.
Before you indulge in Valentine’s chocolates or splurge on gifts, consider the dark underbelly of capitalism. Behind every purchase may lurk the exploitation of child labour and the enrichment of morally bankrupt billionaires.
But let’s not confine our critique to Valentine’s Day alone. Under capitalism, every day is a battle against the illusion of ethical consumption. From the food we eat to the technology we use, the system perpetuates exploitation and inequality.
This Valentine’s Day, let’s reject the capitalist facade of love and reclaim the true essence of human connection. Let's prioritise meaningful relationships over materialistic displays of affection, and strive for a world where love is not a commodity, but a shared experience of genuine care and solidarity.
Booker Ngesa Omole
National Vice-Chairperson and National Organizing Secretary, Communist Party of Kenya (CPK)
February 13th, 2024 , 21:55