Source: EconLog
by Vlad Tarko
“One common criticism of capitalism is that it has sparked an epidemic of loneliness. This is often attributed to the individualistic nature of capitalism, and to the fact that markets have replaced a variety of more personal and communal connections with commercial activities. Karl Marx indeed expected that this trend will go as far as replacing even family relations and friendships with commercial interactions. How could that not make people more lonely? And yet, the reason why markets have been expanding into personal life is that markets provide a certain convenience.” (09/02/25)
https://www.econlib.org/library/columns/y2025/tarkolonely.html