nothing to do with markets¶

Just saw someone claim that the key determinant of a transition from capitalism to socialism has "nothing to do with markets," and is entirely about the "employer/employee relationship." So whether it's a state running the enterprise or a private owner, it's the same, he claims. Markets PRECEDE capitalism. Markets CREATED capitalism. Markets are the primordial swamp in which those who are best at advantaging themselves accumulate social power. Capital depends on markets to exist, so it uses its power to violently and culturally enforce markets. Markets drive imperialism, create starvation, inflict abject poverty, foment national and racial enmity, trigger crises of production, and--most crucially--allow a tiny minority of parasitic capitalists to gobble up our world while belching out toxic fumes that destroy us all. A society that works to eliminate markets is clearly socialist. Without markets, capitalism withers. The greatest failings of socialist experiments have always been in reintroducing markets. The workers' relationship to the means of production is of critical importance. But the key is that the existence of markets is the fundamental driver of the lopsided relationship to production we currently see. And on a global stage, it's what stops the emergence of communism. We can seize the means of production all we want. Workers across the entire planet could seize the means all at once, divest every capitalist of their power, and disintegrate every state. But if markets persist, new capitalists will inevitably emerge.