>Date: Sun, 18 May 2003 09:56:28 -0400 (EDT)
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>From: spw5+ at pitt.edu
>Subject: Who is a Capitalist?
>To: lbo-talk-admin at lbo-talk.org
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>Longtime reader, first time poster here... about to ask what may
>seem like a stupid question. I hope someone can help me out.
>
>I've been studying Marx pretty heavily for the first time, and
>wondering: what makes a capitalist today?
>
>I realize that the vast majority of corporations are controlled by a
>small handful of shareholders. But control, as I understand it,
>isn't necessarily what makes the capitalist. The worker who owns
>stock profits from it (at least potentially), and therefore
>appropriate surplus value (albeit hardly ever enough to live off).
>
>So, my question is, why is someone who lives off investments in
>corporations a capitalist, but a worker who does not live off
>her/his small investments (but still, in some sense, appropriates
>surplus value) is not?