The rule of capital
Capital is resources that drive social and economic growth: finance, machinery, land, technology, labor, skills, and management.
Those who control capital and how capital is managed rule society. If Virgin Islands residents want to know who rule, simply look at those who own the wealth. Governments come and go, but the wealthy remain on top of the economic and social ladder.
The interesting thing about capital is that no matter the type of society, governance, ideology, economy, and culture, capital remains constant. One reason why inequality is growing worldwide is the ability of those who control capital to use that power cunningly. The capitalist rules even in socialist states.
The history of the twentieth Century was the conflict between capital and peasantry, between the upper and lower classes. In the twenty twenty-first century, capital has triumphed. The fear of Artificial Intelligence is simply the fear of capital that no longer needs the human element to control society. Whether this horror story becomes reality is to be seen.
Waking up to the reality that capital rules offers us all a compass pointing to where a society is presently. It tells us who really is in charge.
Government controlled by capital is the norm in most countries. Those who control capital decide the direction of politics. This is especially so in countries that deem themselves free and democratic.
However, pop the bonnet and look under the hood at the engine that drives the society and there are silent men and women who control the levers. These people own and manage capital. They control the resources. They are termed investors in today’s power matrix. Investors control the global corporations that drive daily life.
The man who controls the purse rules. In other words, the man who controls the direction and management of capital holds the power. He or she pays the wages, sponsors charity, drives financial policy, directs the economy, and manages the businesses that control everyday life.
When citizens wake up to the reality that capital rules, perspectives change and delusion disappears. Only when you face reality is social change possible.
5 Responses to “The rule of capital”
Continuing, those with the gold are either members of critical and influential institutions or have tremendous influence on members of those institutions, they also have influence over legislators with their contributions ( talk is cheap but money buys land), etc. Those with the gold or petrodollars may be unelected but wields unmatched tremendous power in getting favorable legislation enacted/passed. Moreover, human capital is a vital resource but much more is required to get things done, ie, filthy lucre ( money), physical capital. As I understand things, in economics, capital entails the physical things, ie, factories, tools, equipment, machinery, equipage, etc needed to get things. Adding capital to increase productivity is capital deepening.