By Klaus Moegling

Capitalism summarized in a few sentences

Marx and Engels taught us that capitalism is a system primarily characterized by private control over the means of production. In other words: factories and banks are privately owned. Business decisions are guided by whether they generate surplus value that can be appropriated as profit by the owners. Workers become a commodity, one that must, however, market itself and generate exchange value. In this context, the states primary role is to safeguard these relations of production and balance the interests of the various factions of capital. In doing so, the construction of neoliberal ideologies sought to minimize state benefits for the poorer strata of society, destroy the protective mechanisms of poorer societies, and simultaneously transfer state resources to capitalist oligarchies. Those who demanded the elimination of subsidies were, in fact, the very ones who benefited from them. Elon Musk is a current example of this, having actively helped reduce government spending while simultaneously securing subsidies for SpaceX.

Capital has always been and remains constantly on the lookout for new avenues of exploitation. This requires, on the one hand, the necessity of permanent economic growth within society and, on the other hand, the constant development of new global markets. This not only comes at the expense of people but also devastates and destroys the ecology of this planet. The compulsion and the inherent dynamics of capitalism to constantly grow and achieve ever-higher profits lead to the depletion of the planet and, step by stepbut also through tipping pointsdestroy the conditions of existence on Earth.

Marx and Engels (1848/1983, 27) already foresightedly analyzed in the mid-19th century how the process of globalization unfolds under capitalismhere is their famous and still relevant quote from the Communist Manifesto:

Capitalism means the embedding of economic greed in the deep structures of a society. This manifests itself in an extreme wealth gap, with very rich multimillionaires and billionaires and an increasingly larger class of impoverished people. The Marxist theory of impoverishment applies not only to the wealth gap between the rich nations of the Global North and the nations of the Global South affected by global exploitation, but is now also evident in the wealthier nations.

Capitalism expanded worldwide as part of its historic triumphal march. It not only spread from Europe into all geographical regions of the world, but it also penetrated hegemonicly into the inner spaces of human coexistenceas Elmar Altvater (2006, 22) notes:

In an ever-evolving and diversifying capitalism, zones are emerging worldwide where financial oligarchies live behind guarded walls, largely evade taxes, and refuse to fulfill the social obligations of a community. The system described by Canadian-born historian Quinn Slobodian (2023, 12) as crack-up capitalism is characterized by him as follows:

The capitalist struggle for resources

The privatization of public funds, destructive investment in weapons and the military, the lack of purchasing power among impoverished segments of the population, geopolitical rivalries, as well as the finite nature of the Earths resources and the struggles over them lead to economic crises that are managed in various ways. Eco-imperial tensions areaccording to political scientists Ulrich Brand and Markus Wissen (2024, 128):

The extreme political right, in particular, exploits the crisis-prone nature of capitalism to promise authoritarian solutions to crises and, ultimately, to further exacerbate the wealth gap if it gains the power to do so. Human rights are disregarded; international law is violated. The struggle for resources such as oil, gas, and rare earths, and the billions in profits associated with them, shape international politics and lead to wars and mass displacement.

Currently, the largest fossil fuel dealersthe U.S., Russia, and Iranare fighting over global resources in the interests of their economies and financial capital. They are also fighting against an emerging capitalist faction and against cooperative initiatives that aim to solve the global energy problem with the help of renewable energy.

This critique applies not only to conditions in the Global North but also to the capitalist development path in the countries of the Global Southaccording to political scientist and activist Alexander Behr (2022, 29):

It should be noted here that a struggle over solar energy does not lead to wars. The suns energy is limitlessly usable for us humans. The struggle over fossil fuels and rare earths is a struggle over limited resources that will become increasingly scarce in the future. The peace- and ecology-oriented journalist and author Franz Alt therefore writes in hisarticleSun and Wind Do Not Need the Strait of Hormuz:

Of course, we must not forget that even green raw materials needed to produce electric car batteries (e.g., lithium or cobalt) are already hotly contestedregardless of whether the electric cars are powered by solar energy.

Authoritarian Capitalism

Authoritarian capitalist systems have no qualms about invading other states to secure and expand their own economic growth as well as the returns and privileges for their ruling classes. In states where the scope for public action is still governed by democratic constitutions, however, an internal societal debate takes place. The question here is whether international law and human rights must be respected or whether asserting interests through military means is appropriate. Societies with a democratic self-image, however, are currently tending toward militarization and increasingly authoritarian structures in the face of individual states perceived as threats. Russias war of aggression in Ukraine, for example, is a trigger here.

In this context, the arms industry appears to be prevailing over capitalist circles more interested in peace regarding the use of public, state funds, due to geopolitical trends. This means that an industry and its shareholders are currently gaining the upper hand, whose products are used for destruction, rather than for constructive investments. Conversely, attempts are being made to divert public funds away from ecologically oriented industries and social support for underprivileged segments of society in order to finance weapons and military personnel.

To this end, for example in Germany, a horrendous level of national debt disguised as a special fund is being accepted. This means that funds necessary for repairing what has been destroyed and for rebuilding alternative societies are also being withdrawn from future generations. This constitutes a massive privatization of public funds.

Naomi Klein (2023), an author born in the U.S. who later emigrated to Canada, discusses disaster capitalism and its profit-maximizing shock strategy. Natural disasters, military conflicts, or massive economic crises are deliberately exploited under capitalism to engineer economic redistribution and increase returns. Democratic structures and development would be brutally suppressed if the exploitation of disasters were to be hindered.

In particular, the combination of capitalism and an authoritarian-repressive social structure is a highly dangerous systemic alliance.

In this context, the further development of the means of production in a digital direction driven by artificial intelligence serves both to increase profits and to monitor and manipulate the population, as well as to enhance the efficiency of weapon systems used in warsaccording to the Greek economist and politician YannisVarouvakis(2025):

Trump, Thiel, Musk, Vance, and others are examples of the capitalist right wing, which is attempting, through radical means, to undermine the welfare state and install an extremely ruthless form of capitalism. In doing so, they seek to revise and abolish the centuries-long struggle of exploited and alienated peopleboth in their daily lives and in their workagainst the inhuman power of unbridled capitalism.

Conclusion: On the Necessity of Rule-of-Law and Democratically Organized Control of Power

Wars arebesides geopolitical power ambitionsprimarily resource wars in the interest of capital owners who profit from them and speculative war profiteers. The more repressive a states social structure is, the easier it is for its ruling elite or capitalist oligarchies to legitimize wars and enforce them within society.

The death of peopleincluding civiliansthe destruction of painstakingly built infrastructure, as well as ecocidethe destruction of nature as a weapon of wardo not play a role in limiting the actions of these systems.

Critical peace researchseeks to analytically elucidate this connection and raise awareness of it. At the same time, its task should also be to develop step-by-step perspectives on how to strengthen democracy within society in a broader sense and how international understanding and cooperation can be achieved.

In this context, the topic of capitalism must not be overlooked. All systemsincluding capitalismmust be scrutinized to determine the extent to which their structures exhibit excesses of power that go beyond the states legitimate monopoly on the use of force. Domination without constitutional and democratic oversight leads to domestic repression and the destruction of interstate peace and international peace orders. States such as Russia, the U.S., or Turkey are current capitalist examples of thiseven if they are authoritarian in different ways.

Peace, on the other hand, requires a social system whose economic practices are both solidarity-based and ecological, and which takes the rule of law, international and human rights, and democracy seriously. This system can begin within capitalism, but will only be able to fully develop in a different social formation that can no longer be described as a capitalist society.

Bibliography:

Altvater, Elmar (2006): The End of Capitalism as We Know It. A Radical Critique of Capitalism. Mnster: Verlag Westflisches Dampfboot.

Behr, Alexander (2022): Global Solidarity. How We Can Overcome the Imperial Way of Life and Implement the Socio-Ecological Transformation. Mnchen: oekom verlag.

Brand, Ulrich/Markus Wissen (2024): Capitalism at the Limit. Munich: oekom verlag.

Klein, Naomi (2023): The Shock Doctrine. The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Hamburg: Hoffmann und Campe Verlag.

Marx, Karl/Engels, Friedrich (1848/1983): Communist Manifesto. Stuttgart: Reclam.

Slobodian, Quinn (2023): Capitalism Without Democracy. How Market Radicals Want to Break Up the World into Micronations, Private Cities, and Tax Havens. Berlin: Suhrkamp Verlag.

Prof. Dr. Klaus Moegling is a German political scientist, sociologist (adjunct, retired), and author of the book Realignment: A Peaceful and Sustainably Developed World Is (Still) Possible, which is freely available to readhere. He is also co-editor of the volume Paths to Peace: Perspectives on Critical Peace Research (co-edited with Josef Mhlbauer, Verlag Westflisches Dampfboot).

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