Exploitation expands because of market dependence rather than capitalist greed.

Evidence

The capitalist system is driven to increase exploitation as much as possible, or rather the rate of exploitation, which is the ratio between surplus value and the cost of labor power. Can this be attributed to capitalists’ greed? Again, the answer is no. The irrelevance of greed reveals the force of market dependence. The system has commandeered our behavior. Morality, good or bad, has lost its agency. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 108

Categorization

• XREF: Connects directly to Mattei’s core claim that austerity is structural, not a matter of bad actors — the individual-level moral reading can’t be reformed. — connects to: Capitalism’s break from earlier systems is market dependence, not markets themselves. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 62; Exploitation intensifies through systemic pressure, not greed — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 108; Market dependence makes workers hope for capitalist success. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 368 (+1 more)