The Rules of Capitalism

Often I am surprised at the lack of knowledge that people have about the most important game that they will ever play. Every single one of us is playing this game right now. I am as I type. You are as you read. We are all playing the game of capitalism and many of us are surprisingly bad at it.

I've found a perspective of capitalism viewed from the outside to be extremely helpful to identify the rules of the game. I rely on my good buddy Karl Marx. He said that in this game there are only two kinds of people: Lords and Slaves. He didn't call them that, but the idea is still the same.

So what is the difference between a lord and a slave? The answer is very simple. A lord owns things, and a slave doesn't. I can hear people saying now, "Ahhh, I must be a lord. I own my house, my car, etc. Life is good at the top." Think again. If you are like most Americans, you don't own squat. The bank owns your house and you pay rent to them. The bank owns your car and you lease it from them. Most people never manage to pay off their houses and if they pay off their cars it isn't long until they buy a new one. Most of us are slaves.

Think about it, you don't even own yourself. The company you work for does. Stop working and you will see what I mean. Bye, bye house. Bye, bye car. Bye, bye food on the table. The lords on the other hand stop working and things still get done. They still have their house, still have the car, and still have food. How do they do that?

They follow rule number 1: Own the means of production.

This means that they own all the means of production. Including they manage to get control of some slaves. They get control of you. They pay you and then you become dependent on them for your life. Ironically, they depend on you for their life as well, because if nobody will do the work for them they would have to do the work themselves.

This becomes rule number 2 that you must follow: Gain Control of Labor.

There is just one last rule. Remember how the bank pretty much owns all of your expensive stuff. Well, somebody has to own the bank, and guess who that is. It is yet another Lord. This type of Lord is rather special. He makes money off of money. He produces nothing, and doesn't add much of anything to the world, but what he does create is very valuable. So valuable in fact that most people will pay through the nose for it. He facilitates opportunities.

Rule number 3 states: Make interest on your money.

You can go to him and you can get money to do anything. So long as you pay him back with interest. Many people go to this Lord to buy up, the means of production, which will attract slaves willing to work for them. And eventually these men will become Lords themselves.

Understand this and you will become rich, simply because it will give you a goal to work towards in the game of capitalism. First goal: get the means of production. Second goal: Hire employees. Third goal: Make interest on your money. Do these three things you will see your net worth explode.