Marketsplaining

A form of gaslighting that invokes “markets,” “the economy,” “wage slavery,” or “hyperslavery” to dismiss critiques of economic exploitation. The perpetrator explains why low wages, precarious work, or inequality are “just how markets work” and frames any call for change as economically illiterate. Marketsplaining often presents a particular economic system as natural, inevitable, or the only possible arrangement—ignoring that markets are socially constructed institutions subject to political choice.

Example: “She pointed out that many workers can’t afford rent despite full‑time jobs. He replied ‘that’s supply and demand—you can’t fight economics.’ Marketsplaining: using the concept of markets to naturalize exploitation.”

by Abzugal April 1, 2026