“The Capitalist System“ by Mikhail Bakunin

Read the full text here: Mikhail Bakunin (1814-1876) was a revolutionary anarchist who became one of history’s most influential anarchist thinkers. He founded the collectivist anarchist tradition and helped bring social anarchism to prominence in Europe. He also participated directly in numerous struggles and revolutions during his lifetime. Click here to access another Audible Anarchist production about Bakunin: In this essay, originally written around 1871, Bakunin explains how capitalism is by its very nature exploitative. By concentrating political power and economic capital in the hands of capitalists, capitalism guarantees that the workers of the world will always live in misery. The asymmetrical power relationship between bosses and laborers is the backbone of capitalism, and there can never be equality or freedom as long as capitalism exists.