>The essence of capitalism hasn't changed since Marx's days, has it?
>It's the same old exploitation through the extraction of surplus
>value.
Well, yes, up to a point, but just exactly how much analytical or political use is a statement like that? Financial markets are much bigger and more complex, governments are bigger, the joint-stock company has largely replaced the proprietorships and partnerships of the 19th century, and consumption is much more important culturally and economically than it was 100+ years ago. All these changes matter a lot for how the system works and how people perceive their place in it. It's neither very historical nor very materialist to ignore those changes in favor of a timeless eseence.
Doug