Profit accumulation and citizen well-being move in opposite directions

Evidence

Despite claims of job creation, and the dominant message that business success helps all of us, the reality is that ultimately market gains, or profit, are contrary to the well-being of citizens—as one rises, the other decreases. Our current economic system is coercive, and this is the crucial political reality that mainstream economics hides. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 28

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to theories of capitalist exploitation from Marx (mentioned in this same chapter) and to the reader’s broader polemical interest in labor subordination. — connects to: Profit maximization is antithetical to citizen well-being; Capitalism subordinates social values to economic value via a rogue value paradigm — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 561
• DEFINE: Introduces the ‘capital order,’ defined as investor control over decisions plus invisible subjugation of workers to another’s profit.

Broader Connections

• Profit maximization is antithetical to citizen well-being #corroborates (0.95)
• Capitalism subordinates social values to economic value via a rogue value paradigm #expands (0.75) — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 561