The Economics of the Seven Deadly Sins

Capitalism promises us a paradise, but are we living in hell? At this stage of technological development, what kind of progress are we talking about today? Can economic progress be incompatible with human progress? Why does the modern economy find its success in maximizing the deadly sins? Can these sins be strengths if viewed differently?

Pride, greed, envy, anger, lust, gluttony, and sloth. These are the seven deadly sins known to us all. Their number was not chosen at random: the number seven, sign of the creation of the world, symbolizes self-understanding... These sins are present in every human being. They reflect an imbalance, because they share a fundamental point: excess.

The modern economy operates in the same way. By commoditizing everything, it constantly renews our needs in a never-ending race. It evolves according to the money-commodity-currency cycle so decried by Marx, where capital produces a commodity that is itself paid for in money. And all this in a constant repetition.

The goods and services it creates in indefinite quantities produce the best things as well as the worst. There are organic products as well as ultra-processed ones, renewable energies as well as carbon-based ones, solidarity banks as well as hedge funds, humanitarian associations as well as industrial lobbies, etc.

But these days, it's the worst innovations that are the most valued. In a way, the most “successful”, according to the contemporary vision of success, which is essentially financial.

The modern economy doesn't just exploit labor and nature. By transforming human inclinations into business opportunities, it also exploits our psychological vulnerabilities.

If we look closely, its success lies in maximizing the deadly sins, to the extent that the biggest companies symbolize each of them.

Let's analyze them one by one.

• Pride: Pride is the will to omnipotence. It's the greatest of sins, and yet it's everywhere: big business and elites impose their rules on the world, new technologies are ever more transgressive (AI, transhumanism, space conquest, etc.), skyscrapers are built to ever greater heights... In one way or another, the biggest companies reflect this pride. Whether it's OpenAI, which is creating a structure superior to human intelligence (generative AI), Meta, which is building a virtual parallel world (the metaverse), or Neuralink, which would directly connect the human brain to machines, these successful companies fully symbolize the surpassing of all human and natural limits.


• Greed: Greed is the excessive attachment to money. The contemporary economy is based on the constant quest for profit. Wealth accumulation, tax havens and excessive speculation are all modern forms of greed. The world's largest hedge funds and asset managers (BlackRock, etc.) accumulate indefinite amounts of money, and thus champion this cardinal sin.


• Envy: Envy is a deep-seated vice: it's wanting what someone else has. These days, marketing and advertising make us constantly dream of other people's lives, in a competition where everyone seeks to compare themselves, without ever being satisfied with what they are and what they have. In particular, social networking platforms like TikTok or Instagram are enjoying great success, having built their business model on envy, jealousy and the staging of the self. In the same way, multinationals, particularly those in the luxury goods sector, use their advertising to sell an image of success based on possession, which encourages constant comparison.


• Wrath: Wrath, by definition, is inner violence, the inability to control one's emotions, the desire for revenge. Of course, no company bases its business model on wrath. There would be no point in selling a product that aspires to hatred. But the modern economy, by creating the best as well as the worst, generates inhuman inequalities that arouse anger in everyone. Precariousness generates violence, represented as much by physical aggression as by the rise of radical discourse, populism...


• Lust: Lust is the immoderate pursuit of sexual desire. The MindGeek company, which brings together the major platforms of the porn industry, is enjoying worldwide success. Similarly, applications for monetizing one's body and sexuality, such as OnlyFans, are enjoying record popularity. The human being is thus reduced to an object of consumption.


• Gluttony: Gluttony, as we all know, is not a passing fancy. It's a compulsive need for food pleasure. As the modern economy constantly urges us to consume, it also drives those who can afford it to eat incessantly, sometimes to the point of obesity. Multinationals such as McDonald's and Coca-Cola fall into this category.


• Sloth: Finally, sloth is not just apathy. It's the refusal of physical, moral and intellectual effort. In other words, passivity in the face of all things. And yet, the permanent satisfaction of immediate pleasure, through algorithmic tools, stimulates sloth in everyone. The power of algorithms everywhere, and particularly on social networks and online platforms, creates an addiction that encourages a sedentary lifestyle.

These deadly sins are human behaviors taken to extremes. The reason we are so weak at managing them is that we are, wrongly, guided more by our desires than our reason. In a magnificent book entitled “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, Daniel Kahneman presents System 1 and System 2, which explain how our brains react to process information and, above all, make decisions. Where System 1 acts unconsciously, quickly and emotionally, System 2 mobilizes logic and critical thinking. In the same way, Freud showed that we first activate our primitive instincts before putting our reason to work. This opposition is in fact comparable to the difference between the body, which acts by impulse, and the mind, which acts by wisdom. Although they are not separate, the body is material and subject to physical laws, while the mind is immaterial and subject to infinite desire.

The modern economy, by constantly creating new needs, appeals to our bodies rather than our minds. This paradox illustrates all the evil that reigns today: the infinite desire of being is never satisfied, because it is filled by material goods. But when these goods run out, they recreate an equally persistent void. So we've never produced so many goods and services, yet levels of anxiety, loneliness, addiction and depression have never been so high.

These sins could be great qualities if applied in a moderate form. Moderate pride can be a sign of ambition if it is concentrated on oneself, or a powerful artistic force if it is reflected in an external element (painting, music, poetry, architecture, etc.). Moderate greed can make it possible, in a mercantile society, to live easily and afford everyday pleasures (going on vacation, traveling, eating what one wants, choosing one's hobbies or projects without constraint, being able to decide to say yes or no, etc.). Moderate gluttony naturally becomes gastronomy. It's the taste of good things, not the permanent satiation of products that fill an inner void. Moderate lust becomes sensuality and intimacy, awakening the heart's desire and enabling great fulfillment. Moderate envy can also be highly creative, shaping a competitive spirit and nurturing ambition. Top sportsmen and women, for example, observe the success of their opponents in order to surpass themselves and achieve new personal bests. Wrath, in its moderate form, can also be extremely motivating. It awakens in us a sense of injustice and incites us to indignation and change, be it political, social, economic... It is in this perspective that the greatest social advances have been made. Finally, moderate sloth can be synonymous with retrospection. It enables reflection and contemplation, in the face of life and its mysteries.

In their new state, the deadly sins could be renamed:

• Pride → Ambition
• Greed → Moderation
• Gluttony → Taste
• Lust → Sensuality
• Envy → Inspiration
• Wrath → Indignation
• Sloth → Contemplation

From the economy of the seven deadly sins, we would then enter the economy of the seven blessings. Physical gold, as a natural and timeless currency, would be favored over debt-based money. Whereas an economy based on debt, and therefore on the imperative of growth, never ceases to encourage capital sins, an economy based on gold can adapt to human needs and therefore encourage capital blessings.

For such an economy to emerge, all sectors need to move towards this new vision. Certainly, we are gradually seeing this change. The need to adopt a more balanced model is self-evident, as the multiplication of crises appears to be a break with the order of things. Major corporations are gradually realizing that their long-term survival depends on taking human needs into account. That maximizing profit cannot be an end in itself, otherwise their own business would be jeopardized.

For the time being, however, this transformation remains cosmetic. It is even often instrumentalized.

The only positive thing about this trend is that it is the subject of lasting change. For that to happen, everyone needs to understand that this project is in their own interest.

We still have a long way to go...