Capitalism's Presuppositions of Human Nature

"By considering capitalism as a (globalized) technology of desire, Bell unveils its theological1 (albeit idolatrous) freight. Far from being merely a ‘neutral’ mode for economic distribution, capitalism is a particular religious (and imperial) vision of ‘basic human longings’ (Fukuyama) or desires. Capitalism, then, is not merely an instrument or tool that can be put to work as a servant of other substantive construals of the Good; rather, it proposes its own account of the telos to which human desire ought to be aimed (consumption and accumulation). … Not only does capitalism deform the creational structure of desire, but it also lays waste to God’s creatures and creation."

James K.A. Smith, Introducing Radical Orthodoxy, p. 251