Late-Stage Capitalism and the Politics of Exploitation

Have you ever hated your job? Have you ever felt that your boss was overbearing on you? Have you ever felt that you were not being properly compensated for your hard work but couldn’t do anything about it because you had no say? If you said yes, chances are you’re being robbed. Alternatively, chances are, you’re being robbed, but you don’t know it.

Everything you work so hard to produce is being taken from you in part. And the system that is looting you is known as capitalism. When you report to work for your boss each day, you are unfairly treated and your property is stolen from you. You are being denied the full value of your contributions. But what is a capitalist?

Allow me to explain. A capitalist isn’t someone who runs a misery factory while wearing a top hat and burning library books. Anyone who contributes capital—money—to start workers moving is a capitalist—that is, they are acting in the role of a capitalist. And what is their purpose? People will tell you that this is due to innovation or competition, but in the real world, it’s quite simple—capitalists have one purpose, and that purpose is to make a profit.

Capitalism simply functions by pursuing profits in order to amass wealth. That’s just how the beast is. It is the sole driving force behind capitalism. This doesn’t mean that all capitalists are personally greedy, though some may be. We’re not even talking about good or evil here; the point is that capitalists must prioritize profit over all else if they want to avoid being devoured by more cunning or ruthless capitalists.

That’s the law of the market jungle. In order to thrive, capitalists depend on profit. But from where does this revenue originate? Here is where you step in, literally. Profit is yours to keep. Here is a quick exercise in contemplation.

Meet Damian. Damian has a network of structures with lots of kitchens and supplies. But Damian is unable to prepare a burger on his own. How can Damian persuade someone to produce enough hamburgers for him to sell and make money? He pays you, therefore it’s not a trick question. Considering that you are an excellent burger maker. We refer to the money he uses to pay you as “capital.” That money was used to start the production process. Let’s imagine that Damian spent $1,000 buying all the goods for the restaurant, and after you worked there for a few weeks making the burgers, they made $3,000 in revenue.

That’s not bad! You increased the value of the ingredients by $2,000 in total. But hold on. Not all of the money goes to you. Given that Damian now has $3,000 in his possession, just covering the cost of the ingredients will cost $1,000. Additionally, you would be making $2,000 if you were paid the full value of your effort. However, Damian would then just be breaking even on the hamburgers. And in order to live, he must turn a profit. As a result, Damian opts NOT to offer payment to you for the full worth of your work.

He might only give you $1,000 of the value you generated. He might give you $1,500. The dirty truth... You have, in any case, been the victim of theft. You spent more of your labor working harder than you were paid for. But here’s the really dirty truth, the story doesn’t finish with you and Damian. The rich get richer as the average person struggles to get by in your city or town, your state, the nation, and the entire world. The act of a boss stealing from you is referred to as “exploitation.” We don’t mean that in a sentimental way about how we feel about it; rather, we’re referring to a real-world economic phenomenon: the discrepancy between what an employee produces and what they are paid.

The rich get richer as the average person struggles to get by in your city or town, your state, the nation, and the entire world through this very process. The act of a boss stealing from you is referred to as “exploitation.” We don’t mean that in an emotional way about how we feel about it; rather, we’re referring to a real-world economic phenomenon: the discrepancy between what an employee produces and what they are paid.

In all capitalist economies, there is exploitation. The cycle of growing exploitation by the system paying workers less, having them work harder, or boosting productivity without raising wages never ends. If you read in the media that a company is making record profits, that means that they are taking advantage of the fact that your labor is providing more value than they are paying you for. Tens of thousands of Damians exist today. But there are billions of people just like you. Damian and you are two very different kinds of individuals. You are a member of two distinct classes. There is a capitalist who controls the resources needed to generate goods and services and there are workers who can only subsist on their own efforts.

The value that the labor of the worker creates is appropriated by the capitalists, who then keep it for themselves. You are not immune to it, either. It is a requirement of employment at every job that you provide more value through your work than you are compensated for. Therefore, no one is paid what they are worth in a capitalist economy. Because of capitalism, they get paid far less. Value extraction underlies all profit. Therefore, every profit is a steal from you. Therefore, we need a new economy that doesn’t prioritize profits at the expense of the workers who make up the labor force.