Through its reliance on the relationship between labour and capital,
fortified by state-enforced protections for private property to
facilitate this relationship, capitalism creates a natural dependency on
wages for the vast majority. With the removal of ‘the commons’ during
the transition from feudalism to capitalism, the peasantry was
transformed into a working-class majority that now must serve as both
commodities and tools for those who own the means of production.
While those of us born into the working-class majority have little or
no choice but to submit to our ritualistic commodification, we are
sometimes presented with degrees of options regarding how far we allow
capitalists, landlords, corporations, and their politicians to
dehumanize us as their tools.
While we are forced into the labour market, for example, we can
sometimes choose public jobs over private, therefore limiting the degree
of exploitation. While we are forced to find housing, we may sometimes
choose to live in communal situations with family or friends.
