Meanwhile, another way that the capitalists add value to their products is through the externalization of costs. Basically, they’re not paying the full production costs for the commodities. Pollution from the production process is discharged into the environment. The numerous and serious consequences of this, never mind the cleanup which never happens, are not paid [...]
The next part of the cycle is production. The defining features of capitalism are right here at the point of production, with the exploitation of labor and the production of surplus value. I’m going to come back to that in a few days, to describe that process in more detail. […]
There are many ways that imperialists accomplish the expropriation of land, including overt war, and more subtle means like grain dumping to destroy subsistence farmers. This theft accomplishes a few things in favor of capital. The conqueror can use that land and extract whatever is in it and on it. And as the people are [...]
By Jan Makandal In Bangladesh, Haiti, Brazil, China, the U.S. and everywhere, workers are demanding wages that allow them to feed, house, clothe, and educate themselves and their families. Some on the Left argue that wage struggles are inherently reformist. The reality is that they can be either reformist or democratic (the latter as an [...]
This part of the process consists of the expropriation of land and extraction of natural resources. This is also called original, primitive or primary accumulation. […]
Let’s start with what the capitalist starts with. M: money. Next, we have credit. A bank or a queen or anyone who already has surplus wealth extends a line of credit to some explorer to gather a group of armed thugs, go out into the world, locate wealth and steal it.
Here’s an extremely simplified, and necessarily incomplete representation of capitalism’s basic economic structure. It is the ultimate vicious cycle. I’m also going to explain each part in detail, because it’s more clear if we see it unfold, rather than all at once.