Q: What is capitalism?
A: Politically autonomous resource management based on value measurement.
There are many challenging concepts connected to the idea of capitalism. This makes it difficult to define. I think this definition does better than the currently accepted definition “Private ownership of means of production in pursuit of profits”.
This new definition makes three substitutions from the old one:
- “Private ownership” is replaced with “political autonomy”.
- “Means of production” is generalized to “resources”.
- “Profits” is replaced with “value measurement”.
The utility of capitalism is not merely its ability to accumulate things we identify as profits, but create a social system where participants work together on shared objectives. In other words, we don’t actually have to gain financial profits for capitalism to be a success, the true benefits come from social organization in pursuit of important goals and enjoying the accompanying rewards. Profits are only the part of this that we can bottle and measure.
Make no mistake, I want for all of us to enjoy great financial wealth, if we desire. But for myself, financial wealth is the lowest priority on the totem pole. I support myself working part time for close to minimum wage. I am fortunate to live in a community where the price of rent and availability of affordable quality food and groceries makes this possible for me.
My reluctance to embrace capitalist narratives has lead me to this position. I work in food service. The greatest part of food service is that I am not alienated from the product of my labor. Every day I eat this product, and enjoy its utility for biological, thermodynamic, sustenance. While working in food service is rewarding and valuable, I would like more opportunities to apply my diverse skills and interests to benefit society.
Alienation does not happen because laborers work on abstract objectives, it happens when we are not full participants in those objectives, but merely machinery. Education, not just revolution, is the most important tool for overcoming alienation.
Finance is a powerful social tool. I don’t think people can fully participate in modern society without the basic tools of finance. Traditionally, these tools have been in the hands of a few, accompanied by political conditions to try to protect public interests.
While we must retain these invaluable regulations and safeguards, my personal quest is to extend the tools of finance to the people, empowering them with freedom, offering them vision, but also burdening them with accountability.
When you are in charge, you have a responsibility to manage resources morally, or suffer the consequences.
