The Tears of Small Local Capitalists
I knew someone who owned a small artisan business and had maybe a couple of employees. After a few years, her top employee went out on her own and went into business for herself.
The person I knew pitched a fit about how she couldn’t make commercial rent or afford her personal luxuries *without extracting the labor value of her employee*. What she wasn’t, was happy for her employee coming into her own and working for herself.
Local Capitalism doesn’t solve anything. Small Capitalism doesn’t solve anything. Small Capitalists are still robbing most of the labor value of their employees. And they don’t want those employees to know what it’s like to not be robbed of most of their labor value.
Her crocodile tears meant nothing at all. Capitalists are leeches just as much as landlords are, they profit from extortion of those who don’t have capital. Their interests are not our interests. Their victories our losses, their Capitalist defeats our Worker triumphs. If you pay attention you will see it clearly in the smallest of all Capitalists.