Capitalism and External Locus: Systemic Analysis

BY NICOLE LAU

Series: Locus and Money - Worth in Wealth (Part 2 of 6)

"You are worth what you produce."

"If you work hard, you will succeed. If you fail, it is your fault."

"Buy this product and you will be valuable."

These are not just individual beliefs. They are systemic teachings embedded in capitalist economic systems.

Capitalism does not just organize production and exchange—it teaches a specific relationship to worth. And that relationship is external locus.

This article examines how economic systems shape locus patterns, the meritocracy myth, and consumer culture as worth-seeking.

How Capitalism Teaches Worth = Productivity/Wealth

The Economic Logic

In capitalist systems, economic value is determined by:

• Productivity - How much you produce
• Market value - How much the market values your labor
• Profit generation - How much profit you create for capital

This is economic logic. It describes how markets function.

But this economic logic seeps into personal worth:

"I am worth what I produce. I am worth what the market values me at. I am worth what I earn."

The Shift from Economic Value to Personal Worth

Economic value: "My labor has market value of $X per hour."

Personal worth (external locus): "I am worth $X per hour. If I earn more, I am more valuable. If I earn less, I am less valuable."

This conflation is not accidental. It is structurally reinforced by capitalist systems.

How the System Reinforces Worth = Productivity

1. Wage Labor as Worth Measurement

In wage labor systems, your time and labor are assigned monetary value. You are paid based on what you produce or what the market values your labor at.

This creates the equation: Your worth = Your wage.

Higher wage = higher worth. Lower wage = lower worth. No wage = no worth.

2. Unemployment as Worthlessness

When you are not employed, you are not producing economic value. In capitalist logic, you are economically unproductive.

This economic status becomes personal worth: I am not productive, therefore I am worthless.

Unemployment is not just loss of income—it is loss of worth.

3. Retirement as Devaluation

When you retire, you are no longer economically productive. You are no longer generating profit.

In capitalist logic, you are economically obsolete.

This becomes: I am no longer productive, therefore I am no longer valuable.

4. Caregiving and Domestic Labor as Invisible

Work that is not paid—caregiving, domestic labor, community work—is not assigned economic value in capitalist systems.

This creates: If my work is not paid, it is not valuable. Therefore, I am not valuable.

Millions of people (disproportionately women) internalize worthlessness because their labor is economically invisible.

The Meritocracy Myth and Conditional Worth

What Is the Meritocracy Myth?

The meritocracy myth is the belief that:

• Success is earned through hard work and talent
• Failure is the result of laziness or lack of ability
• Everyone has equal opportunity
• Your economic position reflects your merit

The teaching: "You get what you deserve. If you are wealthy, you earned it. If you are poor, you failed."

Meritocracy as External Locus

The meritocracy myth creates conditional worth:

"I am valuable if I succeed (earn wealth, achieve status). I am worthless if I fail (remain poor, lack status)."

This is systemic external locus. Worth depends on economic success.

Why the Meritocracy Myth Is a Myth

1. Unequal Starting Points

People do not start from equal positions. Wealth, race, gender, disability, geography, family background—all create vastly different starting points.

"Equal opportunity" is a fiction when starting points are unequal.

2. Structural Barriers

Systemic racism, sexism, ableism, classism create barriers that have nothing to do with individual merit.

Success is not just about hard work—it is about access, privilege, and systemic advantage.

3. Luck and Timing

Economic success is heavily influenced by luck—being in the right place at the right time, market conditions, economic cycles, random opportunities.

"Hard work" does not guarantee success. And lack of success does not mean lack of hard work.

4. Exploitation and Extraction

Wealth accumulation often depends on exploitation—underpaying workers, extracting resources, benefiting from systemic inequality.

Wealth does not always reflect merit. It often reflects power.

The Harm of the Meritocracy Myth

1. Blaming the Poor

"If you are poor, it is your fault. You did not work hard enough. You are lazy."

This creates shame and internalized worthlessness for people experiencing poverty.

2. Justifying Inequality

"The wealthy deserve their wealth. The poor deserve their poverty."

This justifies systemic inequality and prevents structural change.

3. Fragile Worth for the Wealthy

"I am valuable because I succeeded. If I lose my wealth, I am worthless."

Even the wealthy have fragile worth under meritocracy—because worth depends on maintaining success.

4. Endless Striving

"I must keep achieving to prove I am worthy. I can never rest."

Meritocracy creates exhaustion. Worth is never secure.

Consumer Culture: Buying Worth

How Consumer Culture Works

Consumer culture teaches that you can purchase worth through products, brands, and experiences.

"If you own this car, you are successful. If you wear this brand, you are valuable. If you live in this neighborhood, you are worthy."

The Locus Pattern

1. I am valuable if I own the right things
2. I am worthless if I cannot afford the right things
3. I must constantly consume to maintain worth
4. My worth is visible through my possessions

This is consumer external locus. Worth depends on consumption.

How Advertising Reinforces This

Advertising does not just sell products—it sells worth.

"Buy this and you will be attractive, successful, happy, valuable."

The message is: You are not enough as you are. But if you buy this, you will be.

This creates:

• Manufactured inadequacy - You are made to feel inadequate so you will consume
• Worth-seeking through consumption - You buy products to fill the worth void
• Endless consumption - Worth can never be purchased, so you keep buying

The Trap

You cannot buy worth. But consumer culture convinces you that you can.

So you consume. And consume. And consume. And still feel empty.

Because the void is not a product void—it is a worth void. And worth cannot be purchased.

Systemic External Locus: The Bigger Picture

Capitalism as Locus System

Capitalism is not just an economic system. It is a locus system—a system that teaches where to place worth.

And it teaches: Worth is external. Worth depends on productivity, wealth, and consumption.

Why This Matters

Individual locus work is essential. But it is not enough.

When the system itself teaches external locus, individual healing is constantly undermined by systemic reinforcement.

You can build internal locus. But every day, the system tells you: You are worth what you earn. You are worth what you own. You are worth what you produce.

The Need for Systemic Change

True locus liberation requires both:

1. Individual work - Building internal worth despite systemic messages
2. Systemic change - Challenging and transforming systems that teach external locus

This includes:

• Universal basic income (decoupling survival from productivity)
• Valuing unpaid labor (caregiving, domestic work, community work)
• Challenging meritocracy myths
• Regulating advertising and consumer culture
• Building economic systems that do not tie worth to productivity

Practice: Recognizing Systemic External Locus

Reflection Questions

1. Do I believe my worth depends on my productivity or economic value?
2. Do I internalize the meritocracy myth (success = merit, failure = lack of merit)?
3. Do I feel worthless when I am not economically productive?
4. Do I try to buy worth through consumption?
5. Can I separate my economic value from my inherent worth?

Practices for Systemic Awareness

1. Name the System

"This is not just my belief. This is what capitalism teaches. I can recognize the systemic message without internalizing it."

2. Challenge the Meritocracy Myth

"Success is not just merit. It is privilege, luck, and systemic advantage. Failure is not just lack of merit. It is systemic barriers."

3. Separate Economic Value from Personal Worth

"My labor has economic value. But my worth is not determined by that value. I am valuable whether I am productive or not."

4. Resist Consumer Worth-Seeking

"I cannot buy worth. I am valuable as I am. I do not need products to be enough."

5. Advocate for Systemic Change

Support policies and movements that decouple worth from productivity and challenge capitalist locus teachings.

What Comes Next

We have explored capitalism and external locus. The next article examines Scarcity Mindset and Worth—how financial anxiety creates external locus, poverty and shattered worth, and abundance from internal locus (not just positive thinking).

This is where we explore the psychology of scarcity and its impact on worth.