Capialism in Cartoon Form

So, there I was the other day, innocently watching some old cartoons on a streaming channel, when I suddenly found myself being subjected to a lecture on the virtues of capitalism.  Actually, short cartoons, clearly aimed at children, explicitly extolling capitalist values aren't that uncommon - you have to remember that we're talking about animated films from the fifties, here.  Deep in the Cold War, it was felt necessary to reinforce 'Western' values, which were equated to freedom in the form of the unbridled pursuit of profit, in the face of what was seen as creeping communism.  Ironically, seen today, these cartoons come over as being nothing more than slicker versions of the sort of propaganda used by the Soviet Union to indoctrinate its own youth to the merits of Marxist-Leninism.  But to get back to this specific example, it starts with a young guy who makes soap with his mother, but wants nothing more than to go fishing.  But instead of going fishing, he spends his time devising more efficient ways to make soap, mechanising the process so as to achieve mass production and thereby establish a profitable business.

The cartoon follows his efforts to build his business, taking the audience through many of the precepts of capitalism and the free market.  According to the cartoon, the success of the soap business benefits the entire community - the factory providing jobs, which allow people to afford mortgages, cars and so on,  Which, in turn stimulates other areas of the economy.  All well and good, but it is when we get onto the bit about his attempts to rig the market and ensure profits by fixing prices with his main competitor, that the narrative began to go awry.  For me, at least.  These efforts don't work because, the narrator tells us, the invisible hand of the market ensures that other competitors outside the arrangement will produce soap cheaper and, because consumers always act rationally, their choice is based upon securing value through buying the cheapest brand.  Except that this isn't true.  For one thing,as critics of classical economic theory point out, it assumes that consumers have perfect knowledge of the market for particular goods.  More importantly, it assumes that price is the only criteria used by consumers to make decisions.  As we all know, it is all too easy to persuade consumers to buy a more expensive version of a product if you can convince them that its quality is also higher.  Often, all this takes is a familiar brand name, (Neurofen, for instance, is no different from the cheap, generic Ibuprofen available from supermarket pharmacies, yet many are prepared to pay the premium for that superior brand name and its advertising campaign).

Aside from its theoretical flaws, what struck me most about the cartoon was the pessimistic picture it painted of entrepreneurship.  In order to build up his business, the unfortunate protagonist seems to have to spend his every waking moment thinking about soap, to the exclusion of all else.  While he does find time to get married and have kids, he is middle ages by then and seems to spend vary little time with his family.  As I recall, he passes up the opportunity to romance the girl of his dreams in his youth in order to pursue his soap dreams, instead eventually marrying someone 'more suitable' as a consort for a successful businessman.  Oh, and he never does get to go fishing.  Like I said, all pretty depressing.