In a constantly expanding economic system, where societal developments are measured by economic growth and gross domestic product (GDP), certain aspects of the economy remain obscured. The free-market capitalist rule is simple – if one makes money out of something, count it in as an important aspect of and for the economy; if little to no money is made – it is not as relevant. This reflects the broader logic of constant expansion – the economy as we know it in practice needs to constantly expand in order to be beneficial for the ones in it. Or so it is believed. Although this logic ensures the sustainment of the hegemonic economic system, this rule is constructed by the rather biased assumptions that the economy exists in a vacuum, separate from societal and environmental factors, and that it can expand infinitely, bringing advantages to all. In reality, however, where nothing exists in a vacuum, we should be aware that the economy is constructed and sustained by much more than things that make money.
One of these ‘hidden things’ that sustain the economy is care and care work. If we think about care and care work using the logic mentioned above, we could say that if it happens outside of the economic sector in which it makes money, then is not the economy’s job to account for it. In other words, it is not considered as important as money-making activities. While the logic makes it clear for privately provided care (as a business, for instance), it seems to break when we consider publicly provided care, for example public kindergartens and schools all around Europe. Publicly provided early childhood education and care has been on the rise throughout the European Union (European Commission 2023) – why?.1 On the one hand, this might look like a logical fallacy that goes directly against the money-making logic. To clarify, public facilities are being subsidised by states and despite the fact that they do lead to certain economic growth by providing work places, they are rarely considered profitable in the capitalist logic. On the other hand, however, on a deeper level, such care provision ideally falls within the logic in the long term.
To understand this, we need to put another factor in the equation – human capital. Human capital could simply be understood as the economic value of a person and their skills. Such economisation or commodification of a person, therefore, allows us to position such public provision of care back into the logic outlined above – even though it is not directly leading to profit-making, it is an investment for the future, an insurance that those who are being cared for with the help of the state could be profitable for the economy.
Another ‘hidden thing’ that the economy depends on, but is rarely considered an important aspect of and for it, is the natural environment. Of course, sustainability narratives and green deals have been drawing to the importance of the environment for the economy, however the link between the two often remains only shallowly discussed. The issue in this case is in the belief that this logic of constant expansion would never fail to sustain the economy. And this is again based on the assumption that the economy exists in a vacuum, as a realm of its own, which can infinitely grow without any consequences. This could be considered as illogical as it sounds, because, again – nothing exists in a vacuum.
Following the no money – no importance logic works similarly here: the natural environment is considered an economic asset once it could be made use of; once it could be used and exploited. This exploitation, in the very pure sense of the word, simply means use it to make money. Therefore, if a forest could be turned into wood and then housebuilding material could be sold with little to no consequences, the forest is considered an essential aspect for and of the economy – it can be used to make money. If pollutants are being disposed of in a forest, however, to follow the same example, this forest is no longer considered an economic aspect. It is considered to be an external realm, which could be used for disposal, for the economy to get rid of its ‘externalities.’
Here comes a question, then – If something is so important for the economy, why doesn’t the economy acknowledge it and account for it? Simply put, the answer is actually the logic above – if it doesn’t make money, it is not as important. And yet another quite paradoxical question – How is it possible that something unaccounted for by the economy is able to sustain the economy? This is the trickier of the two, and requires a more critical answer. Since things do not exist in a vacuum, and interact and influence one another, we might consider the ‘no money – no importance’ logic inherently wrong. From such a position, then, it all makes sense.
Different spheres of influence – like the economy, society, environment, politics – define and shape one another. It would only make sense, therefore, in order to understand the importance of ‘hidden things’ for the economy, to adopt a multi-disciplinary approach – a political economy one. In this series I offer a look into the hidden aspects of the economy that are rarely considered economic factors, but are vital for the sustainment of the economic system we live in.
Note: The author of “Series – Hidden from the Economy”, Dimitar Borumov, is a political economist with interests and specialisms in various political economy topics, based in The Hague. He holds a BA degree in International Studies with a specialisation in Politics and Economics of the Middle East, and a Master’s degree in International Relations – Global Political Economy, both of which from Leiden University, the Netherlands. During his academic journey, Borumov focused on exploring three main topics from both a global and a local perspective – economies in transition, the political economy of care and social reproduction, and critiques of modern capitalism and the environment-economy nexus. Currently, he is a formal and informal educator on environmental awareness and the relationship between the ecology and economy. He holds a position of a Bulgarian History, Geography and Economy teacher at ‘St. Cyrill and Methodius’ Bulgarian School in The Hague, and is part of the United Religions Initiative as a youth leader of ‘BRIDGES – Eastern European Forum for Dialogue.’ On global issues Dimitar says ‘In order to address a problem as good as possible, we need to understand the roots of it; only then can we devise sustainable solutions.’ Contact email: borumovd@gmail.com
