this post was submitted on 15 Jul 2026
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Lefty Memes
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Exploitation is fundamental to the existence of capitalism, it cannot exist without it, at least in my opinion, and the opinion of many other economists.
In neoclassical economics (or at least to plenty of neoclassical economists - neoclassical being the prevalent theory in modern western society), the term "exploitation" refers to the exploitation of labour, which is when wages are lower than the marginal productivity of labour.
To put it simply, surplus value is the difference between the value added by the labourer (for example, the assembly of car parts into a car, or turning raw materials into a product), and the wages they are paid.
Surplus value also has another name: profit.
The whole basis of capitalist economics is to prioritize, reward and encourage the maximization of profit. Based on my statements above, there is only one way to do that: exploiting labour. Thus, exploitation is not only prevalent in capitalism, but encouraged, rewarded, and required, otherwise the business will fail because it cannot keep up.
What would differ is where the profit goes. It doesn't have to go to one individual.
It ought to go to the people who created the value, but that wouldn't be capitalism unless they are self-employed.
The definition of capitalism has nothing to do with how the profits are distributed. As long as individuals or businesses own the means of production and prices are determined by the free market rather than the government, that is capitalism.