Capitalism in a nutshell
Capitalism is a global social system that is not only markedly different from societies that preceded it, but unique. It has unique forms of wealth and poverty, unique forms of equality and inequality, and develops unique social drives, including the drive to be at once selfish and selfless. It is the first social form that, while often violent and coercive, is not reliant on either violence, propaganda, or mysticism to keep it together. Capitalism has collective buy-in from the majority of members of society, regardless of individual intention.
Greed, apathy, subservience, and conflict are not unique to Capitalism. However, whereas in previous historical epochs these were tendencies based on rigid social hierarchies or contingent social pressures, in Capitalism they are generated as part of the system, and therefore cannot be ended without ending Capitalism. Nationalism, racism, sexism, homophobia — none of these can be successfully eradicated inside a system which generates social tension as a byproduct of its internal workings. We should still fight injustice where we see it, but the impact will be limited and short-lived if we don’t transform the societal roots.
Capitalism is not an economic system, but comprises the entirety of modern society, even though it appears to be simply economic or cultural. Capitalism is an autonomous system with its own directional dynamic, beyond the direct influence of members of the society, including economic and political leaders. The systems that comprise Capitalism — culture, politics, social psychology, economics — are of course created by human interaction, but now they form a totalising interconnected system which compels people to act in very specific ways, and to ends which run counter to human flourishing.
At the core of this autonomous, self-realising system, is ‘value’: a quasi-objective temporal form which mediates societal interactions.
Value cannot be directly held, viewed, or measured — it is not objective; it appears not to have substance. Instead, it is revealed through the exchange of goods and services for money. This is the reason it is termed ‘quasi-objective’; value is present only in the transmission from one concrete form to another, but not present directly in either. These concrete forms are known as ‘commodities’.
The substance of value, which allows for different goods or services to be measured against each other, and therefore exchanged, is ‘socially necessary labour time’ — the amount of time that goes into the creation of a good or service in specific societal conditions. Again, this substance is not present in an individual good or service, but is revealed through their exchange via money. Because the substance of value is based on time, value is termed a ‘temporal form’.
Commodity exchange, at its heart, is the transmission of labour time, (i.e. value). This exchange structures all modern human social relations.
Capitalism is driven to create more value — or ‘surplus value’ — through the transmission of labour time, regardless of the goals of individuals, including Capitalists themselves; all people are compelled by modern society towards that end, regardless of their individual wants or desires. The creation of surplus value is the main engine for economic growth.
Capitalism is an autonomous social totality, driven by a temporal form of social mediation which is historically unique, and whose substance is labour time.
As such, the eradication of universal wage labour is a key condition for the end of Capitalist society. It is the only way that we can truly move to a type of society whose goal is human flourishing.
