An economy that only values what can be sold will never protect what must be saved

“Capital will never voluntarily reduce production of things that are profitable." – Jason Hickel

This single quote distills the central contradiction at the heart of our economic system — and why, despite decades of warnings, pledges, and innovation, we are still accelerating toward ecological and social breakdown. Capitalism, by design, cannot and will not lead the transition to a just and sustainable world.

The Profit Imperative

Capitalism is a system structured around the endless pursuit of capital accumulation. It is not guided by what is good for society or nature, but by what is profitable. If producing and selling more goods increases profits, then production will continue — regardless of the environmental or social cost. Capital must grow or it collapses. This imperative is not a moral failure of individuals or corporations but a systemic necessity.

So long as something is profitable, it will be produced — even if it harms people or ecosystems. Conversely, if something is essential but not profitable, it will be ignored or underprovided.

This is why renewable energy, despite being cheaper than fossil fuels in many places, still hasn’t replaced them globally. While solar and wind are technically viable and economically competitive, they don’t offer the same scale of profit extraction as fossil fuels with their massive infrastructure, subsidies, and geopolitical leverage. Fossil capital has sunk billions into oil fields, pipelines, and refineries — assets that need decades to pay off. The financial system protects these investments, not the planet.

Likewise, housing provides a textbook example of this contradiction. The marginal cost of building homes is falling due to innovations in materials and construction methods, yet affordable housing remains scarce. Why? Because real estate markets are driven not by social need but by profitability. Building luxury condos in urban centers delivers higher returns than constructing social housing or maintaining existing stock. In many cities, empty luxury units are treated as investment vehicles while thousands remain homeless. This is not market failure — it is market logic.

When Price Equals Value

In capitalist markets, price is seen as the ultimate signal of value. If someone pays $100 for a product, that is what it is deemed “worth.” This commodified view of value replaces any moral, social, or ecological assessment with one driven purely by willingness and ability to pay.

But this view quickly breaks down when applied to basic needs and planetary systems.

A billionaire buying a $10 million yacht contributes more to GDP — and is thus seen as “adding more value” — than a poor person accessing clean water. The economy celebrates luxury consumption while disregarding essential services, simply because the former generates more capital.

This distortion is not neutral. It systematically deprioritizes the needs of the many in favor of the wants of the wealthy. Worse still, it renders priceless things — forests, breathable air, healthy soils, intact ecosystems — economically invisible. Because they are not bought and sold in conventional markets, they have no “value,” and are excluded from decision-making.

We see this in environmental policy that struggles to protect ecosystems unless they can be monetized through offsets or ecotourism. We see it in land being cleared for cash crops while the cultural and ecological value of that land to local communities is ignored. We see it in climate models that use cost–benefit analyses to weigh human lives and biodiversity against short-term economic gains.

The Invisibility of the Essential

The economist Mariana Mazzucato has famously asked: “Who creates value — and who just extracts it?” In capitalism, this question is answered not by impact but by price. Those who make billions through speculation are considered value creators. Meanwhile, those who care for the elderly, grow food, protect ecosystems, or repair our homes are often underpaid or unpaid — because their work, though essential, is not easily commodified.

This isn’t just unjust — it’s suicidal.

An economy that only values what can be sold is structurally incapable of protecting what must be saved. It allows us to monetize the destruction of forests but not their preservation. It rewards polluters more than protectors. It prices luxury, but not life. And in doing so, it drives us beyond every planetary boundary: biodiversity, climate, land use, freshwater, and more.

Efforts to “green” capitalism have largely failed because they misunderstand this fundamental logic. Capitalism cannot be fixed with a few carbon taxes and ESG investments. It must be transformed at the root.

What the Transition Requires

A real transition — one that ensures climate safety, biodiversity protection, and social well-being — requires prioritizing needs over profits, collective value over market price, and ecological health over financial growth. That means rejecting the idea that markets alone can guide us toward sustainability. It means designing systems that operate within ecological limits and guarantee essential rights — regardless of profitability.

We need public planning that directs resources where they are needed most — not where they yield the highest return. We need housing that is affordable and universal, energy that is clean and democratic, and food systems that nourish both people and the planet. We need to decommodify the essentials: water, health, education, land, and nature.

And we need to challenge the myth that GDP growth is the measure of progress. True prosperity lies not in more consumption, but in collective well-being, equity, and ecological resilience.

A Systemic Reimagining

This is not a call to manage capitalism better — it is a call to move beyond it. To reimagine an economic system that serves life rather than capital. One that measures value by care, not cash. One that recognizes that some things — like forests, coral reefs, clean air, and human dignity — cannot and should not be priced.

As long as we treat value as synonymous with profit, we will continue to destroy the foundations of life in pursuit of capital. An economy that only values what can be sold will never protect what must be saved.

That one sentence, like Hickel’s, tells the whole story.

illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability & Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.

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