Under the Capitalist Blanket

For the past two years, I have been searching for answers to questions that have gnawed at me for as long as I can remember. Along the way, I’ve been prescribed psychiatric medications, hoping to find clarity, but none of them could provide the insight I needed. In the midst of it all, I finally stumbled upon one simple, yet profound realization: what is actually suffocating me? And the answer was glaringly obvious,I am living under the blanket of capitalism. A blanket so thick, so deeply entrenched, that it is impossible to pull it apart on my own.

Capitalism, though often portrayed as a system that promises freedom and success, suffocates the very essence of human life. It promises an illusion of choice while reducing us to mere commodities. The world is struggling, gasping for air, but most are too blind to see that the cause of the suffering is the capitalist system itself. As Marx put it, “The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people.” In this world, psychiatric struggles, personal alienation, and a deep sense of existential crisis are often symptoms of a much larger, systemic problem.

As a member of Gen Z, I’ve watched the world around me suffer. For 18 years, I questioned the source of this collective pain. Why are people suffering? The answer is not simple, and the suffering doesn’t cease. It doesn’t end with the collapse of one generation it is passed down. Capitalism has slowly eroded people’s spirits, turning them into mere cogs in a machine. Humanity itself has been lost. In the words of Herbert Marcuse, “The individual is so completely subordinated to the system that he is unable to realize his own subjectivity, his own potential.” Society has become a market, a transactional space where human beings are valued only for what they can produce, and their worth is measured by profit.

Toxic Parenting

One of the key causes of Gen Z’s struggles can be traced to the phenomenon of toxic parenting. Parents today are products of a capitalist society that emphasizes competition, achievement, and conformity. They push their children to succeed, but this success is always framed in terms of grades, wealth, and status. These parents, shaped by the same system, fail to recognize the emotional and psychological needs of their children, instead seeing them as competitors in an ongoing race.

In this environment, children are deprived of the space to think critically or independently. Their potential is stifled, not by a lack of intelligence or ability, but by the crushing weight of societal expectations. Capitalism, in turn, encourages a hyper-competitive environment that discourages solidarity, which is the cornerstone of collective action and social change. As Marx noted, “The production of ideas, of conceptions, of consciousness, is directly interwoven with the material activity and the material intercourse of men, the language of real life.” But in a world that teaches children to compete rather than cooperate, we are losing the very essence of what it means to be human.

The result is a generation of young people who lack the spirit of rebellion, the fire to challenge the system. The capitalist system wins, but at what cost? The collective spirit, the power to resist and think critically, has been crushed. The system shapes our minds before we even have a chance to shape our lives.

Loss of Collective Spirit

When we look back at the 19th and 20th centuries, we can see the power of mass movements, revolutions that reshaped nations. Whether it was the French Revolution or the Bolshevik Revolution, the collective action of the people was a force that could change the course of history. But today, such movements seem rare, almost impossible. Why is it that we no longer see these history-changing revolutions? The answer is in the loss of collectivity.

The superstructure of capitalism has separated us from one another. People are no longer united by shared struggles; instead, they are divided by competition and individualism. As Antonio Gramsci observed, “The challenge of modernity is to live without illusions and without becoming disillusioned.” In this world of hyper-individualism, where everyone is focused on personal success, the idea of solidarity is fading. People are so alienated from themselves and from each other that they no longer recognize their shared struggles. We are all caught in the same web of inequality, but we fail to see the threads that connect us.

The collective spirit that once fueled revolutions and social movements has been suffocated. We live in a world where the individual is exalted, but this focus on individual success leads to a loss of connection. The world has become a place where people are left to fend for themselves, and in doing so, they lose their humanity. Marx’s insight into alienation resonates more than ever: “The worker is related to the product of his work as to an alien object.” We, too, are alienated from one another, from our true selves, and from the possibility of change.

The Path Forward

So, how do we reclaim what has been lost? How do we shed the capitalist blanket that suffocates us? The answer lies in solidarity, in reawakening the collective spirit that has been buried under layers of competition and individualism. As Che Guevara once said, “The true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.” Revolution, at its core, is not about overthrowing a system—it’s about returning to the core values of humanity: love, equality, and justice.

We must recognize that true freedom cannot be achieved under capitalism, a system that thrives on division and exploitation. The world will never be a better place until we start seeing each other as equals, not competitors. As Marx put it, “The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.” Change begins when we recognize our shared humanity and unite to challenge the forces that divide us.

In the end, the world can only be a better place when everyone is equal. But under capitalism, that world does not exist. We must break free from the system, reconnect with one another, and reignite the spirit of solidarity that has the power to change the world. Until then, we will remain trapped under the capitalist blanket, suffocating in the very system that claims to offer us freedom.