Capitalism and commerce are not the same thing. Commerce just means buying and selling.
Capitalism is a specific system built on the idea that profits must keep growing forever, no matter the cost to people or the planet. It survives by bending the truth and fighting any rules and regulations that might slow it down.
Here’s the good news: we don’t need capitalism to have commerce. We can buy, sell, and trade in ways that are fair and honest, without a system that makes a handful of people obscenely rich while everyone else struggles.
From my book How to Find Joy in a Capitalist Hellscape:
When I refer to capitalism in this book, I am not referring to small, independent businesses in your neighborhood or online. I’m not referring to farmers markets or artisans. I’m definitely not referring to the young ladies selling Girl Scout cookies in front of your local grocery store (although they can be aggressive).
When I use the term capitalism or capitalist, I’m referring to large corporations and the economic system that depends on worker exploitation, environmental degradation, profit maximization at all costs, disposable goods, shrinkflation, aggressive marketing, manipulative sales tactics, and all the forces working together to try to get you to spend your hard-earned money on things you don’t want or need for the benefit of a few and at the expense of many. Capitalism also captures things you need that they know you can’t avoid buying, like groceries, hoursing, and medical care… things people should not be making enormous profits from.