Capitalism doesn’t care about trans people. Or Black people. Or women. Or the poor.
Earlier this month, Netflix platformed so-called comedian Dave Chappelle’s latest stand-up special, wherein Chappelle makes numerous transphobic jokes. At one point, Chappelle even goes so far to say that he is on “team TERF,” a term which means trans-exclusionary radical feminist.
Despite public outcry, Netflix is going to do nothing. The co-CEO of Netflix Ted Sarandos said in a statement he doesn’t believe content can translate to real world harm. This is both ridiculous and disingenuous. Netflix should just be honest and admit that it only cares about profits and move on.
Netflix, like any business, only cares about social justice when they can use it to make money. If a movement for social justice becomes popular, businesses will try to cash in. But what happens when bigotry is popular? The capitalist really has no preference.
Netflix is defending platforming transphobia seemingly because Chappelle’s special is popular, which is good for Netflix financially. But back in June, Netflix was publicly celebrating Pride month.
Netflix isn’t alone in their political double-dealings. A Popular Information investigation found 25 corporations who celebrated Pride month, including CVS Health and Comcast, also donated massive sums of money to anti-LGBTQ political candidates.
And it’s not just the LGBTQ community who has been used for profit by corporations. Last year, when the Black Lives Matter movement became prominent across the country, companies like Walmart declared their support. But where were they when the movement began? Where was Walmart when Trayvon Martin was killed?
Walmart was the largest private sector employer of Black people in the U.S. in 2020. But this is hardly an accomplishment when the wages these workers earn are considered. Only about half of Walmart employees earn at least a measly $15 an hour. If the wages earned by Walmart employees reflected growth in productivity, they would be earning at least $24 an hour.
While the Walton family is worth $190 billion from their stake in Walmart, their employees struggle to earn a living. Black Lives Matter Walmart says, but not enough for an equitable wage.
Netflix, CVS, Walmart and any other business you can think of all feign support for social justice movements but show time and time again they don’t actually care at all about the success of those movements.
When it suits them, corporations will support social justice movements. When it doesn’t, they won’t. In June, Netflix celebrates transgender lives. But when Pride month is over, suddenly Netflix is team TERF.
Some capitalist idealogues have openly admitted profits are the only thing that matters to a business. Economist Milton Friedman infamously wrote the only social responsibility of a business is to increase its profits, and businessmen who believed they had any obligation to social justice were “preaching socialism.”
Other thinkers, such as writer and pseudo-philosopher Ayn Rand, openly opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, believing it to be an infringement on the rights of private business owners. She believed the free market would naturally purge racism from society. Clearly, that worked out.
Most companies would never admit they agree with Friedman or Rand, but in practice, it is obvious that they do. Companies like Netflix and Walmart would like to have it both ways, cashing in on social justice when it’s safe, and backing away when it affects their bottom line. Don’t let them fool you into thinking they care about the lives of marginalized people.
The relation of the capitalist to social justice is strictly a monetary one. Capitalists do not care about individuals as people. They care only about the money in your pocket, and the dollar of the trans person and the transphobe spends just the same.
Jared Quigg (he/him) is a sophomore studying journalism and political science.
