Slavoj Zhuek's Cultural Capitalism

Cultural capitalism, as explained by Slavoj Žižek, states that charity has now become the core of the economy. When we purchase and item, our anti-consumerist duty is doing something for others or the environment—to compensate for our egoistic needs. This is a form of consumerist redemption. There are companies that follow a “social” business model, which does the anti-consumerist duty for us, thus the charitable act is included in the purchase of the product. Social business models are used by companies to attract consumers, in return, they attempt to find solutions for larger social problems, such as poverty, education, health, or the environment (Žižek). Such is the example of the shoe brand TOMS, as they are famous for the “One for One” slogan. Which they claim that for every pair of shoes purchased they donate a new pair to a child living in poverty. Furthermore, on their website it states “through your purchases, TOMS helps provide shoes, sight, water, safe birth and bullying prevention services to help people in need”. Therefore, in our act of purchasing, we have bought our redemption by having the company help the world for us (Žižek). However, while trying to create a solution they continue to participate in the same larger structure of capitalism that created

Which is what TOMS shoes does, on their website they state that they provide new shoes to children in need for health concerns. But, shoes can only protect their feet for a given amount of time, therefore, leaving them vulnerable to the same conditions that called for the need of charity. The temporary aid does not solve or eliminate the poverty they child is experiencing, nor does it turn the environment into a healthier