Ethical Marketing as an Exercise in What Is Possible

Ethical marketing is an intention.

There is no individual or organization that can tell you whether you are practicing it right or wrong. We do not need an authority to give us a certification or score that tells us how “ethical” we are.

This is precisely the unlearning that we all must do as we imagine and build a new world.

Ethical marketing is not about policing each other. It’s not a purity test.

It’s a personal or organizational intention to do better. It’s an effort to: a) identify what is manipulative, exploitative, and extractive within our businesses, b) root it out and imagine a different way of doing things.

For those of us who desire our collective liberation, it’s just one way of practicing new ways of being.

It’s a way through which we can imagine and build the future we want to see.

And that’s why it’s important to note that…

Ethical marketing is a post-capitalist exercise.

By “post-capitalist” exercise, I mean that doing marketing/business differently is an attempt to model how business norms should be.

The reason why manipulation, exploitation, and extraction are the business norm right now is because our systems reward it. People and businesses benefit from being greedy and cruel.

That’s the reality.

And ethical marketing isn’t the solution to the world’s problems.

Individual responsibility is not the solution to systemic problems—no matter how much the rich want us to believe it.

While we’re still living under capitalism, practicing ethical marketing is an individual’s choice. Just like our “carbon footprint.” Just like buying “ethical.”

But we can not buy our way out of the capitalism. And we can’t sell our way out of capitalism.

To get to a post-capitalist world, we need to dismantle the systems of oppression that exist in the first place.

The problems we face are symptoms of capitalism.

Thus, our involvement in ethical marketing starts from an understanding that we need to hold multiple truths. (Yes, and…)

Yes, we should do our best to hold ourselves accountable… AND we also need to join radical movements to address the problem at its roots.

We should try to run our businesses in a way that aligns with the world we want to live in—one rooted in love, care, and interdependence rather than greed, cruelty, and individualism. (As part of a larger practice in our lives to embody these values.)

AND we need to dismantle the systems of oppression that reward greed, cruelty, and individualism.

Embrace our humanity.

When I facilitate introductory workshops about ethical marketing, I always mention the importance of giving ourselves and others grace.

We are all at different stages in our journeys.

Also, we are human. We will make mistakes, and that’s OK.

Things like perfectionism, exceptionalism, and weaponized shame are products of capitalism.

This is why it’s important to understand the big picture of ethical marketing.

Ethical marketing is not the end goal.

After all, what even is the point if the root of your desire is not to work towards a more equitable and just world?

We arrive on ethical marketing as people who are invested in our collective liberation—a world in which all people are free and live in harmony with our fellow beings and the planet.

This isn’t an individual goal. It’s not a race one person can win.

You can’t be “ahead” of anyone else. You can’t arrive at the destination first.

If we are reach our collective liberation, it will mean we all get there at the same time.

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Liberatory Values in Business, Pt. 1: Pay Your Team Well

When we consider how we can incorporate liberatory values in our businesses, the first step is to look within. Start with you and your team.

Yes, this runs contrary to what our culture obsesses over: making a BIG impact.

We’ve been trained to think that our one extraordinary idea has the power to change the world. We’ve been taught that making an impact is about accumulating individual wealth and power first.

Our world is in such dire need of help that it’s understandable why humans want to be ambitious. The idea that a truly outstanding idea or person can change the world is alluring. That we can just flip a switch and make everything better.

Systemic problems require systemic solutions. The way to do that is collective action.

In order to achieve that, we need a greater awareness of class consciousness.

We need to understand that achieving what our society deems as “success”—accumulating wealth—through our current system doesn’t make us the savior. It makes us the oppressor.

If we truly want to build a better world, we need to do what we can to shift culture, locally. To redefine what success means. To untether it from the pursuit of profit above all.

Businesses have been a major source of exploitation in our society for a long time now. (That doesn't have to be the case, however.) We can choose to do things differently.

We can identify patterns of oppression within our own organizations and root them out.

Where do you start? With wages.

We live in a society where wage labor exists. There’s no two ways about it. As long as that’s the case, we should make sure that we’re paying people more than a fair wage.

The exploitation of labor is a key characteristic of capitalism. One of the most counter-cultural things we can do to resist is to make sure it’s not happening in our businesses.

We will not engage in the exploitation of labor.

We need to pay ourselves and our team more than a living wage. (For those in the US, consult the MIT Living Wage Calculator.) I emphasize more because a living wage doesn't even include money for eating out, entertainment, and vacations.

Everyone deserves access to leisure.

As calculated, the living wage estimate accounts for the basic needs of a family. The living wage model does not include funds that cover what many may consider as necessities enjoyed by many Americans. The tool does not include funds for pre-prepared meals or those eaten in restaurants. We do not add funds for entertainment, nor do we incorporate leisure time for unpaid vacations or holidays.

Source: About the Living Wage Calculator

Fair pay is just one consideration. We can go further in acknowledging people’s work.

Profit is the fruit of everyone’s labor within an organization. Why not share it?

Time is even more precious than money. Give people more paid leave. Holidays. Mental health days. Sick days and parental leave. Sabbaticals.

Treat people like human beings, not machines.

It’s not easy.

Individuals can’t solve systemic problems. I want to name that truth.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do what we can to disrupt oppressive structures where we can.

In an ideal world, things would start at the top.

Huge multinational corporations have no excuse not to pay a living wage to all its employees. Frankly, it’s not even about the size of an organization. Any company where those at the top are earning a substantial salary while other workers are barely scraping by is perpetuating exploitation.

There’s nuance here, of course.

Reality is messy. Individually, we’re all dealing with mountains of pressure and stress.

The journey to building a business that is aligned with our collective liberation is not a straight line.

Most of us do not own big corporations.

When it comes to many small business owners, finances can be more complicated. People are just trying to survive in many cases.

Paying people a living wage might not be possible now.

There’s room for grace. There’s no point in shaming people who are trying to survive.

But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be the goal. That we are absolved of responsibility. That we leave it off the roadmap.

Reality doesn’t excuse any exploitation that’s happening… but getting to where we want to be can take time. Multiple truths can exist.

We can acknowledge people’s intentions in trying to make things better, one small step at a time.

Agitating for change is a choice. Keeping things the way they are is ALSO a choice.

The status quo is not inevitable. We can say no.

We can challenge social norms. We can question why things are. We can begin to create new norms. Shape the future.

As a culture, we value businesses more than we do human beings. Is that right?

• Why should businesses that do harm exist?

• Why should businesses have more legal protections than human beings?

• Why should people exist to serve businesses? Why should businesses exist to serve people?

For those of us who want to make a difference in the world, it’s essential for us to remember that our businesses can never serve a higher purpose if it's exploiting the very people that are the reason for its very existence.


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Capitalism Is Bad for Business

Capitalism is an economic system characterized by private ownership of the means of production and the pursuit of profit (aka surplus value).

The nature of the system encourages the accumulation of wealth and capital by the rich and powerful. It’s a game where everything is about getting a return on investment. Profit and growth are incentivized under a capitalist society.

There are wide reaching implications for rooting a whole civilization in greed. For instance, cultural values emphasize individual excellence instead of collective care.

Economics and politics are intertwined

Economic systems do not exist in a vacuum. They are upheld and shaped by politics.

In recent history, Neoliberalism has been the dominant ideology in the West—it’s often tied to the rise of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. (And it still prevails despite influential works and voices from new schools of economics.)

It’s an ideology that calls for deregulation and privatization of… well, everything.

Neoliberals want to privatize healthcare. Privatize public transportation. Privatize utilities. Privatize education. Privatize. Privatize. Privatize.

Also, they love tax cuts.

Neoliberals feed the beast that is capitalism, resisting calls to lead our world towards one that considers the welfare of people, animals, and the planet.

Capitalism is anti-democratic.

In a system where the accumulation of wealth and capital is the goal, those at the top of the hierarchy will always wield power and influence over the political system.

The rich will always have a larger say.

This is because of the paradox of a “free market.”

Without regulation, those who hold the most wealth and power will dominate a market. They will be able to buy influence in governments because of that lack of regulation. If governments try to regulate, the powerful will always lobby and campaign to erode those regulations.

The paradox is that free markets do not allow for more competition and an equal playing field.

Because of the above dynamic, a free market will always trend in the direction of a few powerful businesses (the top 0.01%) owning everything. Ironically, competition requires more regulation.

Basically, capitalism and neoliberalism feed each other. This cycle must end.

The majority of businesses have every reason to be anti-capitalist

Contrary to popular belief, being pro-business isn’t aligned with capitalism.

Firstly, businesses don’t exist because of capitalism. This is a common misconception. Trade and commerce have been around for a long time. Businesses will continue to exist in a post-capitalist world.

Secondly, when people say they’re “pro-business,” what they really mean to say is they’re “pro-big business.”

Over the last half century, we’ve see the decline of small and mid-sized businesses because the landscape is becoming more and more untenable. In almost every industry, you’ll find a version of Walmart or Amazon, giants that completely dominate market share. If they don’t squeeze out all of their competition, they’ll buy them out.

To counter this point, people will always point to examples of successful small businesses. Yes, there are always exceptions to the rule. It doesn’t negate the big picture trend, however.

The odds are stacked against businesses.

Doesn’t anti-capitalism mean you can’t make money?

For some reason, people think capitalism is about the freedom to make money.

No. There's nothing wrong with making money. It’s exploiting workers that’s the problem.

It’s the accumulation of capital that is the problem.

In fact, making money is important. (We can talk about abolishing money, but that’s a whole other can of worms.) An ethical business needs to make enough money so that everyone on the team gets paid enough to live a good life, in both money as well as time off.

Think about it…

Why shouldn’t business success mean that its workers are all taken care of? Isn’t that enough? Doesn’t a business exist to support the humans that are a part of it?

What’s the point of profit or growth for the sake of it? What’s the point of empire building?

How much is enough?

Why should endless growth be the foundation for our society?

We need a better economic system.

For existential reasons, a system built on growth and exploitation of resources can't continue to exist if humanity is to survive. It renders any argument that capitalism is the "best we've got" absolutely moot. This isn't a long-term thing either. Climate change is harming and killing people now. It HAS been doing that for a while now. And it will only get worse in the coming years.

Any viable future for humanity must be built on a political and economic system that does away with exploitation, of people and planet. Profit, growth, and the accumulation of wealth and capital can't be the underlying reward system.

We need to look at alternatives ways of doing things.

For example, we need to incentivize taking care of each other. Under capitalism, care work is undervalued. We want to build a world where it is.

Workers are exploited, partly because they have no say in businesses. One way to address this is through alternative business structures like worker-owned cooperatives.

There’s load of issues to address, but the good news is that people are already building more egalitarian and democratic economic relations within our current society! We simply need to keep it up, defending the spaces that exist and creating more where we can.


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