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What is capital, really? Once you strip away the superstitions that make it seem like a force of nature, it's essentially a social construct that enables some people to amass power. Without the notion of private property, which is only "real" insofar as everyone abides by it, material resources cou…

[...] being "ethical" is an additional selling point to increase their price. In the free market, selling price is not determined by the material costs of producing the item, but by the highest price consumers will pay. Value is not an inherent characteristic--even petroleum is only valuable inside…

"The only thing 'free' about so-called free time is that it doesn't cost the boss anything. Free time is mostly devoted to getting ready for work, going to work, returning from work, and recovering from work. Free time is a euphemism for the peculiar way labor, as a factor of production, not only t…

[...] All this free content adds value to the internet itself, filling the pockets of technology magnates like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs who sell the means of accessing it. So long as capitalists control the means of producing material goods, free distribution of information can actually exacerbate…

This is not to say capitalist production never creates goods that would be desirable outside its logic. Our society produces a tremendous surplus beyond what we need to survive; much of this takes the form of useful tools, enjoyable luxuries, expanding knowledge of the cosmos. But these goods also …