Competition, Monopoly, and Exploitation under Capitalism

While signing an executive order to expand competition and crack down on monopolistic practices, Joe Biden said that “capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism. It’s exploitation.” His statement reflects a long-standing assumption among both classical and more left-leaning economists alike that increasing monopolization is the source of increasing exploitation under capitalism. What do they get wrong? Economist Michael Roberts explains.

How Bad Will it Get? Climate Catastrophe and Capitalism

As recent events make clear, our world has been irreversibly changed. Adequately responding to the changes already baked into the climate --- and learning how to thrive in this new world while avoiding the worst case scenarios still on the horizon --- will require nothing less than the revolutionary overthrow of the very system that created these problems.

The Northwest Heatwave Killed Hundreds and Capitalists Won’t Stop Fossil Fuel Extraction

Record-breaking temperatures were felt across the Pacific Northwest in the past week, affecting 13 million people and creating deadly wildfires and thunderstorms. The connection between extreme weather and climate change is as clear as ever, but neither Biden nor Trudeau are capable of taking meaningful action.

Ravaged by Climate Change: 400,000 On the Brink of Starvation in Madagascar

Over one million people in southern Madagascar are food insecure, while almost half a million are on the brink of starvation. Climate change is to blame, and capitalism ensures that the Global South will pay the highest price.

Churches Participated in Racism and Colonialism. Expropriate and Tax Them

The Catholic Church ran re-education schools for indigenous children in Canada that were rife with abuse and death. We must fight to hold the church accountable and demand that their land be expropriated and their profits taxed.

The Infrastructure Debate: Yet Another Sign of the Ongoing Crisis

The infrastructure debate shows once again that the ruling class cannot solve the contradictions of capitalism.

Profits Call the Tune

Profit is not a "gift of capital," and does not rely on investment. Profits can be generated out of the exploitation of labor power without further investment, and indeed, that is what we can see now in the expansion of ‘fictitious capital’ at the expense of productive investment.

Jeff Bezos Is Going into Space. Fingers Crossed He Won’t Come Back

If Bezos, Musk and Co. want to go “off Earth,” then let them. Our task is to ensure that at some point, when they come back, they’ll find the completely irrational, exploitative system of capitalism on which their obscene wealth was based has been dismantled and replaced with a socialist society.

From Black Wall Street to Black Capitalism

It was the super-exploitation of poor Black labor that facilitated both the function of Tulsa as a whole and the Black Wall Street District. Neither could have existed without the presence of poor Black people. Yet, their presence is rarely acknowledged in the revisionist plot.