Dec
23rd
Tue
23rd
What we need to realize is that capitalism is responsive—to an extent greater than any other institution—to the values of the public. Americans love Christmas in every way. We love giving and receiving gifts. We love the music. We love the sense of contentment and happiness and the family time that comes with it. We love the office parties, the elves, Santa, the reindeer, and all the images of Mary and Joseph and the babe in the manger. It is a common wish on film and in popular culture that Christmas should last all year long. This is precisely what the commercial marketplace is fulfilling. This isn’t an imposition, a desire to loot people as much as possible for as long as possible. On the contrary, all this hysteria reflects the effort to give people what they want—and that happens to be a long-lasting Christmas.
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Is Capitalism Ruining Christmas? - Jeffrey A. Tucker - Mises Institute
I’m not a big fan of gifts — neither giving nor receiving (I have everything I want or need, and I’m not good at picking out stuff for others) — but this is an excellent defense of the commercialization of Christmas.
