Does Capitalism Exploit Workers?

[nimble]

This is for Pete and Sam, and if not, I am willing to argue the positive case that Capitalism is a result of respecting natural rights. Any non-coercive actions cannot lead to exploitation.

[PeteyRimple]

I agree with you Nimble. I don't think there is any inherent conflict between capitalists and wage earners under capitalism. Now I think the reason many think capitalism exploits workers is from a misapplication of John Locke's labor theory of aqcuisition. People look at the worker doing all the labor and wonder how it is just that the worker's final product belongs to the capitalist. I think it is just though, because the worker is not laboring in the state of nature, he's laboring with products that already belong to the capitalist either through the capitalist's own laboring within the state of nature or through a just transfer. Now in the case where someone does come along and expropriates from a laborer what he acquired in the state of nature and then sells it for a profit, this ought rightly to be condemned and I would call something like this feudalism. This is pretty much what happened with slavery in the South.