I would like to preface by saying I am very sorry if this is the wrong community. This post touches on the core philosophy of Marxism, and I was hoping to get some insight.
My friend claims that the only reason companies produce things is because the working class, regular citizens, are asking for it; he does not get behind the idea of companies subconsciously persuading people to buy the items they sell. He believes that because your regular person wants a new phone, kitchen equipment, clothes, whatever - they are pushing capitalism forward and therefore it is the right / natural system.
How would you reason? I feel conflicted. On one hand, people do want things and there is almost always something to produce it for them, but on the other hand companies are steadily pushing for profit, using various tactics to drive consumerism. I would appreciate what you guys think and what you would answer, because according to him, capitalism only exists because demand exists. Whether that's true or not, I hope we can discuss. Cheers!
I'd say it's bit of both. Capitalism offers solutions to legitimate needs/wants of people, but more frequently than not the wrong ones. It can be seen through housing scarcity and other necessities not being addressed correctly. Giving wrong solutions to issues doesn't resolve them, allowing capitalists to get more out of the issue. Sometimes they will go as far as create an issue for people, so they can sell them a (wrong) solution to it.