The Capitalist Christmas Machine

Christmas is one of the world’s most recognizable celebrations. Its origins are layered—pagan, Christian, cultural— and have morphed into a global phenomenon. In modern consumer society, Christmas, once a season of reflection and renewal, has been absorbed into the machinery of profit, with glittering decorations and slick advertisements masking the human cost. The theorist of political economy, Karl Marx, famously warned that capitalism commodifies social relations. Nowhere is this more visible than at Christmastime. What should be a human-centered holiday becomes a commercialized spectacle, designed to drain wallets while concealing exploitation behind sentimental jingles and jolly depictions of Saint Nick....

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