The crisis we are not naming: The psychology of capitalism

TL;DR

This paper argues that psychology has ignored how capitalism shapes individualism and mental health, offering a new framework to understand these issues.

Contribution

It introduces three 'capitalist syndromes' as novel mechanisms linking capitalism to psychological phenomena.

Findings

Individualism is reinterpreted as a response to capitalism, not cultural tradition.

Psychological distress is reframed as rational reactions to structural issues.

The framework suggests interventions targeting root economic causes.

Abstract

Psychology has rendered capitalism invisible, treating individualism as cultural inheritance rather than a response to contemporary economic conditions. Building on my recent theoretical framework (Bettache, Personality and Social Psychology Review, 29, 215, 2024), this article explores how capitalism functions as a missing link in psychology—an overlooked generative mechanism that shapes the phenomena we study. Three ‘capitalist syndromes’—Gain Primacy Syndrome (perpetual accumulation as life orientation), Zero‐Sum Rivalry Syndrome (competitive ethos eroding social bonds) and Ownership Syndrome (possessive identity formation)—interact recursively to generate a self‐enhancement agenda we recognize as individualism. This framework reinterprets established findings, from the correlation between economic development and individualism to social class differences in self‐concept, as responses to political‐economic structures rather than ancient traditions. Making capitalism visible transforms psychological distress from individual pathology into rational responses to structural dysfunction, opening possibilities for interventions that address root causes rather than merely helping individuals cope with harmful conditions.