Patreon fulfills the promises of capitalism

Modern day capitalism has failed to meet the expectations set forth by the teachings of Adam Smith. The Victorian Era, with its child labor and pitiful individual incomes showed that rising profits do not correlate necessarily with an increase in wages. The gap between what a CEO and an average worker makes has widened from 30 times the page in the 1970s to 271 times in 2016. Profit-seeking has become such a be all and end all that it has failed to accommodate the “externality” of the environment. Corporations have hired lobbyists to create a direct link between them and the government, creating a system that is rigged in favor of those with the most connections, also known as crony capitalism.

Enter Patreon. This online platform gives anyone under the umbrella of “creator” (musicians, writers, YouTubers, artists etc.) a way to receive income directly through their fans, called Patreons. The term “patreon” is a throwback to the pre-French Revolutionary practice of wealthy art patrons commissioning lavish pieces of art. Patreon updates that concept by making it more akin to crowdfunding. Because every person contributes a small amount, usually 1–5 dollars per month or per creation, no artist is owned by a single patreon. The user interface makes it easy to add and remove pledges on a whim, making it easier for people to support multiple creators at a time, as opposed to managing them directly through the artist’s website.

Patreon’s features align it closer to what capitalism was intended to be. Below are the…