Capitalism can't work without consumers, and consumerism can't work unless you can convince consumers they're better off as a cog in a machine. What capitalism

Capitalism can't work without consumers, and consumerism can't work unless you can convince consumers they're better off as a cog in a machine. What capitalism degrades into when this doesn't happen isn't communism but rather mercantilism, or, if there isn't enough economic activity for even that, feudalism. And no one wants that. I didn't realize how this could work until I looked at my own life and realized I would rather be an IC than a manager. I still want to own my own means of production and earn economic freedom, but on my own terms. If I can't get it on my own terms, being a cog in someone else's machine isn't really all that bad. Reframed this way, it's less a battle of haves vs have nots and more a cooperative project to make more for all. Ultimately capitalism has to find a way to incorporate the best parts of communism.