Am I the only one who finds the capitalism argument dumb? I'm not saying that it's incorrect, but you can splash it onto basically everything that involves money. Dragging something down purely because of a generic argument like that kinda beats down all the positive aspects to it.
Are my overly romantic tendencies trying too hard to defend a day like this? Maybe. At the same time I was never in my life blessed with a respective other being. I'm also aware that I'm not guaranteed to ever receive this kind of blessing, either.
And arguably "self love" also requires you to have a "self" to begin with.
It stings but at least if someone else is having a fun time with their respective other then I guess the day was worth it. It's about the underlying positive message. After all it's a day about giving something positive to others and not demanding something from someone else. (I'm only calling myself out on my selfish behavior and no one else, btw.)
I'm not saying it has no positive benefits, in fact, I even highlighted that it makes people happy. There is, however, a negative aspect that needs to be considered. It's important to be critical of things.
The problem with Valentines, in my opinion, is that the capitalist tendencies start to be seen as an expectation instead of something you do because you like the person.
A lot of people get angry if they don't get a Valentine's Day gift or a special night out or something like that when there's no particular reason you have do it on that day. In fact you'll likely face a certain inflation for a number of common services, restaurants and things of the like will likely be crowded because everybody is going out. If you need a babysitter, it's likely gonna be a bit harder to get one because again, lots of couples are going out.
If you do it one week earlier or one week later, you'll likely have a better experience for less.
I don't have anything against the concept of showing your love for someone, but I don't think it needs its own day. Showing your love should be spontaneous and within your means, not something pre-ordained by random people.
Maybe it's a cultural divide and Valentines Day in my country is different than yours, it already has a different date (June) so it's perfectly possible the "celebrations" are different, I don't know.