The Visible Story
Vegans like avocado. It is nutrient-rich, healthy, and plant-based. But mass commercial production of avocados faces heavy criticism. It puts intense pressure on bee populations.
Most people who care about animal welfare do not stop eating avocados. Why? The benefits are easier to see than the costs. The avocado is right there on the plate. The exhausted bees are somewhere far away. They are in an orchard most consumers will never visit.
Someone once said people prefer the reality show over reality itself. Whether true or not, we certainly prefer the visible story. We prefer it over the invisible one. We see a healthy breakfast. We see the aesthetic Instagram post. We see the superfood label. We do not see the water shortages. We do not see the transportation networks. We do not see the ecological trade-offs hidden behind the product.
The Free Market Paradox
This is where capitalism becomes interesting. Capitalism does not necessarily hide the negative consequences of a product. It simply rewards whatever people are willing to buy. Consumers value healthy, trendy, and convenient food more than the environment. Therefore, the market naturally moves in that direction.
The result is a strange paradox. A product can be marketed as ethical, sustainable, and healthy. Yet, it still carries hidden costs. The product becomes more successful. Consequently, those costs appear more acceptable. Millions of people are now benefiting from it.
Once a solution becomes profitable enough, society becomes surprisingly tolerant of its side effects. The side effects do not disappear. Instead, the benefits become too convenient to give up.
Most people who care about animal welfare do not stop eating avocados. Why? The benefits are easier to see than the costs. The avocado is right there on the plate. The exhausted bees are somewhere far away. They are in an orchard most consumers will never visit.
This is not just about avocados. This is about how capitalism changed business itself. It moved from solving obvious problems to creating demand. It shapes behavior. It makes us accept hidden costs as part of everyday life.
The Endless Cycle
In the past, businesses mostly competed by solving visible and immediate problems. People needed food, transportation, clothing, or communication. Companies tried to provide them more efficiently. Today, businesses still solve problems. However, they also invest heavily in discovering latent needs. They shape consumer behavior. They create entirely new markets. The question is no longer just, “What problem can we solve?” The question is now, “What desire can we create?”
The internet was introduced as a solution to the information gap. Then information became available. At the same time, it was hard to filter out authentic information. To solve this problem, companies started using AI. They used it for content moderation and fake account detection. Now, AI itself is creating new problems. These include deepfakes and bias in algorithms.
A new technology or trend enters the business world. Generally, people perceive it as a solution to a problem. But every solution comes with another problem. That problem is solved by another solution. Every major business solution often creates a new layer of problems. This leads to the next innovation cycle. It feels like getting back to square one.
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Let us look at an example. Before the birth of Facebook, didn’t people socialize? Facebook is the biggest social media platform on earth. People perceive it as a platform for easy communication. Over time, these platforms are turning into social “distance” platforms. They are moving away from being social media platforms. Don’t you agree with that?
These platforms amplify the problem they were supposed to solve. Yet, their business remains highly successful. They are becoming more and more profitable. People become more unsocial. As a result, more people get into “social” media platforms. The same goes for today’s technologies like AI.
The Final Baptism: Latent Needs
But there is another side to the story.
A classic quote is often attributed to Henry Ford: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
Before Apple introduced touch screens, no one felt the lack of them. After its birth, people wondered how they never missed this thing. Before the innovation of touch screens, the button system was not a problem. It was like, “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.”
Sometimes, solutions make people realize a problem existed. It was the kind of problem they did not complain about. Deep down, however, they were struggling. These hidden struggles are called latent needs. Customers actually buy the solution to accomplish specific goals in their lives. These goals are known as Jobs To Be Done.
A well-known example comes from a fast-food chain studied by Clayton Christensen. The company noticed many customers bought milkshakes in the morning. They did not only analyze age or income. Instead, they studied the customer’s situation. They discovered commuters hired the milkshake to stay full. It helped them avoid boredom. It was easy to consume during long drives.
After discovering this, the company made the milkshake thicker. They made it more filling. It became better suited for commuters. They also changed how they positioned it in the market. It was no longer just a dessert. It became a convenient breakfast companion. This shows how businesses utilize latent needs and Jobs To Be Done.
Perhaps businesses are doing both. They solve problems. They create new ones. Sometimes, they convince us that a problem existed all along. The modern business isn’t just competing for our money. It is competing for our attention, our perception, and our understanding of what we need.
Are you watching closely?
References:
1. A fast-food chain studied by Clayton Christensen
2. Do not stop eating avocados. Why?
Guest Author: Sadab Sakib, in collaboration with Daily Scrolldown