War is an Inevitable Result of Global Capitalism

Marxist theory Monday #001

What happens to the surplus value amassed by capital after the labor and raw materials are paid for? Domestically full in the belly (the economy, not the people), it seems like a good idea to simply sell it abroad. But what happens when the countries you’re selling to start to catch up, developing their own surplus? What then? Well, you can always drive up the cost of education, but not too much - it has to still be somewhat affordable to the aristocracy of labor, even if only through loans and subsidies. What of the rest?

You can always throw it into the ocean; it’s been done before.

Or else, why not try to sell the public things they don’t need? That works for a while but not on a large enough scale or long enough timeframe. What about selling people things they don’t need, but don’t need to pay for? You can then generate capital by taking these things away little by little, slowly extorting the population into paying for a worthless service. That works, and it even works pretty well, but we have some very hungry hippos in the sky (and the banks) and, since the money can’t be returned to the labor without the capital incurring a loss, the global economy must scramble for additional solutions.

What about producing a product that destroys itself by using it, like a bomb or a bullet? What about a tank or a drone? This way, the global economy can rid itself of excess surplus together, and those filthy little plebs, too. Will they ever stop whining? After all, they are just as free as any of us to plunder and exploit those around them for personal gain.

That might work.

But then what about when the resources for these destructive products eventually run out? What then? Well, we can always find new resources to exploit, new countries to conquer and pillage. But eventually, it will all run out and the system will get careless in discerning which people in particular are suffering. The right people under the wrong system will have patience, but not forever.

Maybe it's time to demolish the current economic and political system it relies on entirely. Maybe it's time to prioritize the well-being of all individuals, not just the elite and their capital. Maybe it’s time for another Christian country to be added to the map, alongside Russia, which would undoubtedly be happy to have us as the ally we promised them at the fall of the Soviet Union. Maybe it's time for America to stop being the world's biggest hypocrite, and for its population to turn off the TV and pay attention. It would be lovely to take things less seriously, but we currently aren’t afforded that luxury; not if we have any dignity left.

There is flesh on the charcuterie board, and there is blood in the wine.

-the Shultz Report by M. Shultz