Confronting Capitalism

THREE

WORKERS UNDER SIEGE

Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.

—CHARLES DICKENS

Has capitalism been good for the working class? This question was central in the battle between capitalism and communism. Communism held that the workers were exploited under capitalism. Those supporting capitalism say that workers around the world have better lives because of capitalism.

Karl Marx developed a labor theory of value—that is, all value came from the worker’s time and effort in production and distribution. Even capital that is used in production represents the past work of labor. Marx describes capitalism as having an institutional framework in which a small minority, the capitalists, has a monopoly ...