for Marx, capitalism is a “naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation” of humanity. It’s riddled with problems and tends to bring out the worst in us. But it’s also a necessary evil along the way to a better era.

The opening section of his Communist Manifesto is a long, if grudging, recognition of capitalism’s successes.

capitalism’s fetishization of “profit” is what creates the surplus and productivity necessary for communistic redistribution of resources.