Wells also attempts to show capitalism's impersonality through Griffin. He can do this easiest in the London part of the novel, when Griffin first discovers invisibility. After setting fire to his apartment building, Griffin is frequently bumping into people and realizes people can follow his footprints. Cantor explains this, saying, “For Wells, then, to be invisible in London is to be an individual in a vast, impersonal market economy that provides no genuine roots or community and hence turns a man into a purely necessitous being” (Cantor 104). Returning to the theme throughout this book, Griffin is invisible in both a figurative and literal sense. He is not only invisible due to his scientific endeavors, but also just because capitalism makes it easy to become lost in the crowd. Moreover, in an “impersonal market economy”, one is only as good as the money they make. Being that Griffin only acquires money illegally, that puts him at a value of zero to society. This idea of an impersonal market makes another appearance early in the novel, when the Hall's give Griffin a room, even though they do not know his name. Cantor says, “A complete stranger is able to live among them by virtue of the power of money, which stands for the impersonal working of the market” (Cantor 103). Because Griffin can pay for his room, nobody cares who he is, at first. Because this arrangement does not work out in the novel, one can assume that Wells believes that an impersonal market economy is a bad thing. Cantor postulates that, “Wells believed the only rational economy is a command economy, one in which a board of experts scientifically plans, directs, and coordinates all economic activity from it's central position, thereby keeping entrepreneurs from pursuing their individual interests” (Cantor 100). As discussed before, Griffin only pursues his individual interests as a homo economicus. According to Cantor, this is exactly what Wells disapproves of, the pursuit of individual goals.
Wells also shows the flaws of capitalism in the failure of Griffin's ability to find any joy out of life. This is most noticeable when Griffin arrives at the Emporium to find shelter and supplies. He says, “I went over the heads of the things a man reckons desirable. No doubt invisibility made it possible to get them, but it made it impossible to enjoy them when they are got” (Griffin 223). This means that while it is easy for Griffin to steal what ever he wants, he can never enjoy it because there is always more. Take for example the real-life scenario of automobile companies. Car manufacturers are always trying to get people to buy a more expensive model because it is better, faster, more fuel efficient, more powerful. Money makes it possible to get these items, but how can one enjoy them knowing there are better cars out there? In a non-capitalist society, everyone would drive the same car and not feel envious of others. Wells is trying to show this with the events that transpired at the Emporium. Cantor explains this further by saying, “Capitalism may succeed in allowing consumers to acquire the goods they want, but it prevents people from enjoying them. Indeed by generating an infinity of desires and involving consumers in an unending process of acquisition, the market economy, in this view, dooms them to perpetual dissatisfaction” (Cantor 105). Because the authorities almost catch Griffin at the Emporium, one can conclude that Wells believes that the constant buying of capitalism is a waste of resources and time.
Wells also uses irony to show the flaws of capitalism. He makes the reader laugh at his characters but at the same time, he tries to make them understand the deeper problems faced. For instance, when Griffin tells Kemp the story of the time he first became invisible he says, “But hardly had I emerged upon Great Portland St… when I heard a clashing concussion and was hit violently behind” (Wells 208). Here the reader laughs at Griffin's expense, but at the same time, they understand why invisibility and therefore capitalism is flawed. A second example is after Griffin recovers from his knocking around when he says, “I experienced a wild impulse to jest, to startle people… fling people's hats astray, generally revel in my extraordinary advantages” (Wells 210). While the reader laughs at Griffin's antics, they can see how and invisibility and capitalism can take advantage of people. That is how Wells uses irony to show capitalism's flaws.
By using irony and symbolism, Wells demonstrates the shortcomings of capitalism. This is apparent through all the things that Griffin does and all the things that go wrong for him. Wells uses the Invisible Man to impart a message on his readers. Sirabian believes that, “The most accessible meaning of the Invisible Man is its moral warning about the individual's desire to transgress human boundaries in the name of science” (Sirabian 81). Although Griffin means well, it does not work out for him in the end. Wells believes that capitalism seems like a satisfactory idea, but is impractical, and doomed to fail and is giving the reader a cautionary tale about the dangers of a free market economy.
