The argument is simple. In order to live under Capitalism it is necessary to work to earn money in order to live. However, due to automation and the high price of machinery as well as the ownership of land by an elite few it is not possible to own the tools by which you work. Therefore most workers are forced to work for somebody else who has ownership of factories, offices, stores, farms, mines, etc. This is the property referred to as “the means of production.” It does not refer to your clothes, your books, your furniture, your CD player, your car or other personal property or consumer goods. Thats the property part, where does the theft come in. The worker working in the factory produces $600 dollars worth of goods in a week of which $400 dollars when sold is straight profit for the owner of the machinery. The owner of the machinery then pays the worker $200 dollars, stealing $200 for themselves. In this model it is not necessary for the owner to have done any work (some do) all that is necessary is for him/her to own the machinery. This is the theft. This ownership constitutes the Capital. How the owner came across this Capital is also irrelevant in the model, it could have been through working in a fast food joint for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 20 years. Or it could have been wealth passed down through a family ever since great granddad made it by kidnaping people from Africa and selling them in America. That is the model of Capitalist exploitation. Of course in life we seldom see simple models, a host of other factors are involved from the Capitalist actually doing some productive work to individual workers having a good idea and somehow saving enough money to become capitalists themselves. Such complications do not however contradict the model, the same basic exploitation still runs beneath the surface. Anarchism is about opposing all forms of exploitation and Capitalism as illustrated is a mechanism of exploitation.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Apr 2014 00:46:44 +0000