In my school WhatsApp thread, the topic of “organized opposition to Capitalism” came up. It made me wonder.

Is organized opposition to Capitalism even possible?

Historically, the “organized oppositions” (see Communism) have not been against Capitalism. Communist revolutions have

been sourced out of the inequalities that Capitalism is associated with. But they’ve been against the existing Capitalism-driven Democratic/Monarchic regimes.

Every single instance of such a revolution has led to more or equally authoritarian regimes that have then become another pawn

in the Capitalist system. If you think that’s because those revolutions had tactical flaws, I’d highly encourage you to read The Dictactor’s Handbook.

Take the example of China. It may have had a Communist/Socialist government at some point of time, but its actions as a national entity were within the rules of the global Capitalist system. As of today, it’s just an authoritarian umbrella sheltering capitalist organizations while continuning to engage with the rest of the Capitalist world.

The official birth of Capitalism is typically associated with the Dutch East Indies Company beginning to offer public stock in the 1600s. The simplest version of the core idea behind Capitalism is that profit matters above everything else. I think this idea existed even before the official birth of Capitalism.

It’s been there since money was invented. Or since it was clear that one individual human cannot be fully self-sufficient leading to demand/supply dynamics.

The “birth” of Capitalism just brought in more players into an existing system. Earlier players were the regimes that ruled. Now with the possibility of purchasing public stock, a regular fellow could become a player in this system via a corporation that was answerable to her as a stock holder.

So I don’t know if “organized opposition to Capitalism” could ever successfully happen. Any such “organized opposition” will be subsumed within the Capitalist system as another organization. Another player.