Critically discuss the extent to which capitalism has affected human relationships - Essay Example

Under these views capitalism has not a ‘stable’ and ‘standard’ format but tends to alternate in order to be adapted to the current political, social and financial conditions of a specific society. Capitalism can have many aspects; however it has certain characteristics and principles that remain the same throughout the years. More specifically, as Mcintyre (1992, 42) found ‘for capitalism to function smoothly, peoples "needs" must conform to the requirements of the production system; at the same time, Capitals search for ever expanding pools of surplus value requires the expansive manipulation of those needs’.

One of the sectors that have suffered from capitalism is with no doubt the human relationships. In this case, capitalism has managed to transform not only the ‘structure’ but also the ‘content’ of the relevant relationships alternating their nature and changing their role. The influence of capitalism on human relationships has been intensive mostly the last years. In this context, Langford (1999, 1) stated that ‘in modern Western societies, couple relationships almost always come into being through a more or less powerful experience of emotional ‘bonding’, infused with erotic attraction; Being part of such a couple is held to be fundamental to our happiness, well-being and sense of place in the world; Reproduction, the family, and to a great extent social life itself, are seen as ideally based upon and around the loving (heterosexual) couple; Thus, while ‘falling in love’ remains something of a mystery, it is generally understood and experienced as a beneficial and foundational life event’.

It has to be noticed however that the interpretation of human feelings although presenting above as ‘standard’ and ‘expected’ in many occasions they tend to differentiate in accordance with the political