“Christopher Robin.” Photo credit: Disney
“Doing nothing often leads to the very best of something.”
Anyone who has seen the film “Christopher Robin” would hardly miss this famous line by Winnie-the-Pooh, a fictional character based on the works of A. A. Milne, a remarkable twentieth-century English writer. It may seem humorous at first, but actually this quotation is a profound reflection on how we ought to live our lives in a Capitalist society.
Promise, No Promises
Milton Friedman, a market fundamentalist and the architect of neoliberalism, maintains that unlike a centralized economic system, Capitalism enhances individual freedom and allows transactions that would ultimately benefit all participants. Whether this promise has been realized, however, is another question.
Sustarum Thammaboosadee, an assistant professor of global politics at Thammasat University, argues that freedom under capitalism is very limited. People can choose what they want to do, or who they want to become, but in the end, the result is not guaranteed. He gives an example of an education system, where students compete for good grades. Unfortunately, no matter how hard they try, the nature of a competition will always result in a few winners and many losers, as if the world is not meant to be a place for everyone. As it turns out, Capitalism fails to live up to its promise.
Making A Living vs. Living A Life
Like any ordinary working-class family man, Christopher Robin seeks to provide for his family. As his company undergoes a major crisis, Christopher Robin has to work more and more vigorously to save the business from bankruptcy. However, his diligent effort comes at a high cost. Christopher Robin can no longer take pleasure in life, as he has to focus on enhancing his productivity. From a young, lively boy to a matured, lifeless adult, his world view has significantly changed. It turns out that Christopher Robin’s philosophy of life has now become, “Nothing comes from nothing,” which in many aspects represents his economic rationality.
As mentioned before, Capitalism gives people false hope. Even if Christopher managed to become financially successful and had all the wealth in the world, he still could not turn back the time to enjoy any treasurable moments in life that he missed. Capitalism promotes growth without development. While growth means an increase in monetary worth of a person, development concerns more about strengthening certain moral values that matter in human lives. Tragically, the life of Christopher Robin is just a small reflection of the many realities that millions are experiencing everyday.
Therefore, if there should be any possible way to overcome Capitalism, the solution would lie within the phrase “Doing nothing often leads to the very best of something.” Putting it another way, love is the only force strong enough to bring about “the very best of something,” because it is unproductive, irrational, and selfless—the exact opposite of what Capitalism wants us to be.
Love Is Red
Capitalism by nature hates love. They are two opposing forces that will never come to terms with one another. Yet, unfortunately, the dominance of the system is slowly changing the notion of love over time.
According to the contemporary French philosopher Alain Badiou, Capitalism values selfness and disdains otherness. It regards love as an unnecessary risk to individual, yet this uncertainty can be minimized by a rational cost-benefit analysis. That is, it is possible to “be in love without falling in love.” Throughout the film, this economic rationality is represented by how Christopher Robin tries to minimize the cost of caring for his family, so that his work efficiency is not disrupted.
True love, however, is pluralistic and irrational. Badiou believes that love is “the minimal form of communism,” in a sense that it aims to reconcile the wide gap between self and other, the very process Capitalism denies. Love contradicts the principle of self-interest, as it makes one care for the lot of another more than he would concern about himself. It is this very development of man that gives life more meaning. If it had not been for Pooh, Christopher would not have come to realize the very importance of love.
In the ending, even though Capitalism does not collapse, nor does Christopher Robin turn into a Communist revolutionary, it does not mean that love has lost its potential to overcome the system. At the very least, love does make Christopher Robin’s life worthwhile. It gives something that one can cling to and does lead to some rewarding opportunities in life.
Once again,
Pooh teaches us a priceless lesson: In a materialist world, where everything is
fictitious, love remains an irrefutable truth. And for that reason, those who
can ever make you feel this way are the ones that deserve the most caring in
the universe.
References
Badiou, A., & Truong, N. (2012). In Praise Of Love. Serpent’s Tail.
Friedman, M., & Friedman, R. D. (2012). Capitalism and Freedom. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
ษัษฐรัมย์ ธรรมบุษดี. (2016). เดินไปดวงดาว: ทุนนิยมไทยในกระแสเสรีนิยมใหม่กับความฝันที่ไม่มีวันไปถึง. วิทยาลัยสหวิทยาการมหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์.
