Ethical Investing
I think that it’s an incredible shame that we live in a society that has been structured in such a way that working people feel the need to seek out supplementary forms of income (i.e., investing in the stock market or cryptocurrencies) in order to feel a sense of security that comes from a certain level of wealth. This wealth-security threshold is subjective, because it completely depends on an individual’s own circumstances or how they assess their own financial needs, but I find it discouraging that people feel driven to self-serving, profit-motivated behaviours, when we could have a society that guarantees that same level of security to everyone if we fought hard enough for it.
Investments can be for any number of reasons. Saving for the purchase of a home, for retirement (or early retirement), for potential children and their education, for starting a business, to fund a personal passion project of any sort, or even just for emergencies. Given our current circumstances, I think that all of these things are great reasons for saving, but I also feel that they represent significant shortcomings of our society that has made these things a luxury rather than making them affordable, accessible and/or guaranteed necessities for living a dignified life. I’m of the opinion that housing, retirement income, education and medical care (including mental, dental, reproductive etc.) should be available to everyone — regardless of personal wealth or privilege. Early retirement is great for you, but what about everyone else for whom that isn’t an option?
I understand that I am likely the minority opinion on this issue, but to me, making short term investments for quick profits is the same behavior that has gotten us into our current mess. Biodiversity loss, the climate crisis, wealth inequality all stem from this profit seeking behaviour. Just look at oil and gas corporations and how they have treated Alberta’s landscape. They saw an opportunity to make a quick buck by extracting our natural resources and labour, and they are leaving us to clean up their mess, and have left many workers without secure employment. Same with the actions of Canadian mining companies at home and abroad. To me, this is no different than hopping onto the cryptocurrency bandwagon and then selling out to make a quick profit, without genuinely considering the environmental or social footprint of those actions.
Yes, I personally have a small amount of my savings invested to avoid losses to inflation — so I’m not free from criticism in this scenario either. My own behaviour is a result of this system as well. However, the idea of investing as a whole seems morally bereft to me because the growth of those investments is predicated on the success of a capitalist economy, endless growth, and the exploitation of workers and/or the environment at some step in the supply chain. Any gains are the direct result of someone else’s loss. I understand why people do it, because they want that certain level of financial security, but we could have that security collectively without the need for personal wealth if we were willing to fight for the wider societal changes needed to make that a reality. Amassing personal wealth should not serve as the barrier to entry for a dignified life.
Investing in the stock market or in crypto feels irresponsible to me, because responsibility necessitates a level of stewardship and caretaking. To be responsible is to thoughtfully consider the impact of our decisions on others — and I would argue that includes future generations. The capitalist machine is responsible for the erosion of our society and the natural world that supports us, and to continue investing in that machine for personal gain will only serve to perpetuate harm on those most exploited by it — workers, the environment, and our future.
