Arguably, one of capitalism’s greatest ideological achievements has been to dominate the cultural and political imaginary of the market. In everyday and specialist discourse, the two are forever conflated. Yet the market is not the same thing as capitalism. This is well-known, nut within leftist common-sense, the market is rarely seen as a nuanced thing. At times, the market is explicitly rejected, but commonly, it lurks in the background of leftist discussions – of the here and now, and of postcapitalist futures; reluctantly, almost shamefully accepted as a regrettable inevitability.

Drawing on the work of Stuart Hall, I suggest that this is a gift to capitalism. I argue that attempts to develop more progressive business models occur within a discursive space in which critical voices are mostly absent. The much discussed ‘degeneration’ of progressive businesses is of course a consequence of their capitalist context: but I suggest it is also a consequence of the lack of any meaningful radical culture which might nurture and support such projects. Leftist critiques of alternative business models act as self-fulfilling prophesies, as those with committed radical values steer clear, leaving them to be occupied by, at best, a moderate social entrepreneurialism. 

This argument does not uncritically celebrate existing attempts to develop ethical business practices. Accepting the market has all too often led to an acceptance of capitalist imaginaries, and a concomitant fear of appearing too critical or radical. Whilst there are practical reasons for such caution, I suggest there are also issues of political culture: absent radical voices, the culture of alternative business has been dominated by a post-political ‘third-way’ vision which refuses to engage in systemic analysis and which perpetuates liberal capitalist myths about freedom, choice, individualism, etc.

Capitalism has driven the market into every sphere of life, and any progressive vision must reject and undo this; capitalist and liberal democratic discourse celebrates freedom and choice whilst ignoring the structural impediments to their realisation, and any progressive vision must reverse this. But absent a viable and convincing alternative that rejects the market entirely – a position I don’t believe many on the left genuinely hold on to – our options seem to be to keep our hands clean and leave the market to those without such critiques, or start building a new common-sense, a new cultural terrain, in which progressive markets can be sustained within a broader social vision which unambiguously rejects capitalism. 

Matthew Wilson is currently a post-graduate researcher, exploring possibilities of developing a prefigurative, horizontalist counter-hegemony. He is a long-term organiser within the cooperative movement, and has lived and worked in numerous coops.