Capitalism Fuels “Racism,” Is “Difficult To Survive”: Iowa State U. Lecture

By Hanna Bechtel of The College Fix

Capitalism is an “oppressive system” that is “incredibly difficult to survive,” a financial coach said during a recent lecture at Iowa State University.

The “Anti-Capitalism Personal Finance Lecture” featured Leo Aquino, a “non-binary Filipinx writer, journalist, and financial coach” known for “their commitment to uplifting BIPOC and LGBTQ+ stories,” according to the event description.

During the lecture, Aquino advocated for an “anti-capitalist” budgeting approach that encourages people to reframe their relationship with money to prioritize well-being over profit, mainly benefiting queer and trans-identifying individuals.

The speaker defined anti-capitalism as “the belief that financial systems do not need to adhere to capitalist values for us to survive.”

An anti-capitalist personal finance perspective supports workers’ abilities to control their labor and decide how profits are invested. It requires people to redefine their “definition of wealth,” Aquino said.

The speaker encouraged students to stop blaming themselves for their financial situations and start questioning the underlying system.

Aquino defined capitalism as “an economic system where workers are required to sell [their] labor for a wage in order to survive.”

The financial coach said this system prioritizes profits over people while causing burnout, depression, and anxiety. “[Capitalism] is an oppressive system profiting from our lack of financial literacy and interpersonal conflicts around money.”

Further, capitalism “necessitates racism, ableism, homophobia, colonialism, and other forms of oppression to perpetuate conflict.” It “has forced people from marginalized communities to do unrealistic things to survive in an oppressive system,” Aquino said.

The speaker contrasted traditional budgeting, defined as a monthly estimate of income and expenses, with anti-capitalist budgeting, described as a “neutral space for us to practice compassionate data analysis.”

Aquino said the goal is not “to make the rich richer” but to “help others save, budget and spend money in line with their values.”

The financial coach also described several means of budgeting, with each depending on one’s own personal financial aptitude. One budgeting strategy included using a “needs vs. wants” model. Aquino said “some things are needs and wants [at the same time] … things like makeup and dining out are needs for our mental health.”

People should be able to spend quality time eating out with friends without “thinking so much about the financial consequences of that behavior.” An oppressive capitalist economic system is the cause of this internal conflict, the speaker said.

Further, Aquino characterized money as a tool used to navigate capitalism “with more ease,” adding people don’t necessarily want more money, “they want more freedom to do the things they love and enjoy.”

Queer and trans communities in particular benefit the most from anti-capitalist finance movements. “One-third of LGBTQ elders live in poverty and cannot afford to retire due to discrimination against their community in the past,” Aquino said.

Meanwhile, young trans communities are “going into debt for gender-affirming healthcare due to current legislation.”

When an ISU student asked about how this form of financial planning resists capitalism, Aquino said, “you can only do so much.” Everyone has to be willing to make compromises while still living in a capitalist system.

The coach said people must still advocate “for the changes [they] want to see in the economic world.”

“It is less about resistance and more about coping,” Aquino said.

Aquino is the founder of Queer and Trans Wealth, a financial coaching and education business “dedicated to increasing the financial literacy and economic empowerment of queer and trans communities,” according to its website.

The College Fix reached out to Aquino and the university in the last week via email for further comment on the lecture and its contents, but received no response.

Aquino’s website lists several personal writings, which include titles such as “How to crowdfund your gender-affirming surgery,” “How to share your pronouns,” and “How to make your own porn.”