There Lies A Significant Capitalist Influence In The Way That We Regulate Our Health.

We do have to work to earn money — but how much are we actually controlled to do so, and by whom?

Photo by Alex Kotliarskyi on Unsplash

Our health is influenced by what is best for business — there’s no doubt about it. We know, for instance, that an excessive consumption of sugar is bad for our health, but yet processed foods are continuously being advertised and shoved into our faces.

The Sugar Involved With Our Declining Health Is Great For Business.

We can’t run away from that.

Because it’s lucrative for the sellers. They have entire marketing teams to design products and make those products look as desirable as possible for the consumers to part with their money on.

But at the same time, I will posit that the marketing and sales of these products are actually targeted more at those who are less well off financially.

Unfortunately many of us are employed in contracts that require us to use our time to work for an organisation, and in return the organisation is contractually obligated to compensate us in the form of wages/time off/other benefits stated in the contract.

What is not contractually obligated is an upwards revision of one’s wages to account for inflation. As a result of the inflation occurring at the moment in 2021–2022, there will be situations where the inflation rate outstrips the earning rate, and one’s take home pay would actually be reduced after adjusting for inflation rates.

We can look at rising fuel prices and wonder why our wages don’t increase at the same rate — and hence even as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are subsiding, many are reluctant to commute back to their physical workplaces, instead preferring to find a remote/work from home position that allows them to stay at home.

And this inflation will tend to hit the less well off harder too.

As a graduate student on a tight budget, I do recall making full use of free-flow…