The impact of capitalism on culture and society has been a matter of great debate ever since its emergence

in Europe as an economic system in the late 1700s. The impact of capitalism on culture and society is an issue that really stands apart from all of the other economic concerns. In many ways, the cultural impacts of capitalism overshadow all other considerations of the system. It is capitalisms impact on society that has shaped Western Civilization for the past 200 years.

The Revolt of 1968:

In May and June 1968, a movement erupted in France that threatened not just the survival of the government of President Charles De Gaulle but the system that it represented capitalism. At the height of this movement, which was sparked by radical action by youth and students, an estimated 10 million workers were on strike and 600,000 students were occupying their schools and universities, and a further 2 million farmers were supporting them. This meant that more than one in five of Frances population were on the streets during this time. The background to these events was the first profound crisis of the capitalist economy since the Second World War. In 1966 a recession shook the world economy. The wave of international protests, strikes and rebellions left their mark. In a series of countries, wages and working conditions improvedoften to a considerable extent. The 68 movement also left traces in the spheres of culture and broader social life 1968 also signified the renaissance of culture particularly affecting artists, musicians, students and the middle layers in society This uprising was not just concentrated to the European part of the world but it gradually spread all over the world. It was after this revolt that this economical theory transformed into a cultural theory.

The Problem of Charity.

When we hear the word charity, we think of voluntarily helping those in need. Its more like an act of morality, something that we do out of our freewill. We choose to do good or bad out of our free will. Similarly, charity is a moral action, something that we choose to do. This is the old definition of Charity. Now the problem of charity is, it is no more a moral action. Before the transformation into capitalism, charity was a simple moral concept. However in todays capitalism, the tendency of combining two completely opposite things and bringing them into the same cluster is increasing. The act of charity and consumption are combined together. In other words, capitalism is giving rise to commoditized charity. This means that the very act of consumption is combined together with the moral act of charity. The element of charity is already added to whatever you consume. This contradicts with the concept of charity. Charity in simple words is helping others when you want and how you want. On the other hand, capitalism does not incorporate the element of whether the consumer wants to do charity, or where does he want to do charity. So the contemporary conception of charity is the act of consumption containing the act of morality. However , to act morally, you need to act freely. With this embedment of charity in consumption, the element of freedom is not present. Thus, it is not an act of morality. Charity serves the purpose of helping poor. While capitalism is the medicine to the problem it is creating itself. Poverty exists due to capitalism and is being solved by consumption. This problem of poverty is being solved by keeping the poor alive rather than eliminating poverty from the society. There are several examples present in todays world that support the problem of charity. Walk into any Starbucks Coffe, and you will see how the explicitly tell you, its not just what youre buying, its what youre buying into. Then the describe it you how when you buy Starbucks, whether you realize it or not, you are buying into something bigger than a cup of coffee. You are buying into coffee ethics. Through our Starbuck Shared Planet program, we purchase more fair trade coffee than any company in the world, insuring that the farmers who grow the beans receive a fair price for their hard word and we invest in and improve coffee growing practices around the globe. Its good coffee karma.

You dont just buy a coffee. You buy, in the very consumerist act, you buy your redemption from being only a consumerist. You know you are doing something for the environment, you do something to help starving children in Guatemala, you do something to restore the sense of community. This just creates a semantic overinvestment or burden. You know its not just about buying a cup of coffee anymore, its more like fulfilling a whole series of ethical duties. In other words its not even an act of morality, you cant choose and tell them how do you want to help, and even if you want to help. Your very act of consumption automatically decides you are doing charity and to whom. There is no element of free will involved. This logic of consumption and charity is today in the 21st century, almost universalized. It can be further explained with an example of a campaign run by Surf Excel. It said that a part of your money you spent on their product will be used for surgeries on poor children. If we see in long run, if you just operate the child, they will live a bit better, but in the same situation which produced them. Rather than just spending on their operations and leaving them where they actually got ill, why not just improve their conditions.

Problem of Ideology
Ideology is group of ideas, in other words a conceptual framework which tells you how to act and how you perceive things. Everyone is ideological oriented but the main problem is, either we are not aware of what our ideology is or we choose not to address the problems that are attached to it. In this age of cynical reason, when you know and you act as if you dont know, the problem of ideology is magnified. In other words, it not only matters what you say, but it also matters what you are not saying while saying what you say or what is merely implied in the very act of saying. In this 21st century, problem of ideology exists on a large scale. People either choose to adopt other peoples ideology or choose to ignore the problems associated with their own ideology. For example, a very common perception and ideology of people in Pakistan is that this country will never flourish and prosper. What they fail to accept is that they are the ones who will make the country prosper. Nobody will come and do the work they are supposed to do for the country. They like to believe that this country is a problem however, in real a country itself can never be a problem, its people are the problem. They choose to ignore that they are at fault while they do know things they do are not right and helping Pakistan. They choose to ignore the fact that they are the main problem and reject the idea of improving themselves in order to improve the country. This is a classic example for the problem of ideology in todays world. It shows how people know what the problem is but chooses to ignore it or fix it. Absence of the true essence

Cultural Capitalism deprives things from their essence to keep capitalism running. This can be explained through examples such as coffee without caffeine and sweetener without sugar. Coffee is a source of caffeine consumption. By removing the element of caffeine from it, it no more justifies the concept of drinking coffee. Similarly, the sweetener without sugar is just an example of possible ways to get rid of a problem. Without the element of sugar, a sweetener cannot be called a sweetener, the main element of sugar would be missing. Similarly the concept of virtual reality that has been introduced by capitalism. The concept of virtual reality suggests that the world you are living in is the real world. This can be explained further with the example of DisneyLand. Disney Land is a different world in itself. When you enter into it, it seems totally different from what you are living in. It takes you to a whole new world you never imagined of. Once you come out of it you get the feeling of how you have returned to the actual, the real world. The existence of virtual reality just supports the concept of how this artificial world we are living in is the real world.

Conclusion
Cultural Capitalism depoliticises you. It has created two extremes. Extreme richness and Extreme poverty. It has given given new meaning to the concept of charity. The ideologies have changed. Its mainly done by the three role models of cultural capitalism. (1) the aestheticians the artists and musicians which give people new visions and aims. (2) Managers- who tell people what to do in order to achieve these aims. (3) the therapists- people who help you achieve these aims. Overall this economic theory of capitalism has transformed into cultural theory and given a new meaning to the existence of things in this economy.