Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World

Capitalism is the prevailing economic system of the modern world. In a capitalist society, corporations and wealthy individuals own the means of production with little or no government oversight. Workers produce goods, but do not own the products of their labor; they earn a wage. The difference in value between the worker’s wage and the goods produced (which is often very large) is the source of profit for the owners of the corporation. In a socialist or communist society, the workers themselves own the means of production and profit directly from the goods they produce.

In today’s world, many corporations in North America and Europe outsource their labor to countries where wages are low as a way to maximize profits. Since capitalism is predicated on endless economic growth, capitalists have a strong incentive to exploit workers to maximize profits. This emphasis on endless growth also strongly incentivizes capitalists to engage in environmentally destructive actions as long as those actions are easier and more profitable than greener alternatives. The profit motive is the only meaningful mechanism for determining a corporation’s course of action.

Although capitalism is now ubiquitous, it is not the only economic system the world has seen. Prior to the rise of capitalism, many societies were founded on mercantilism. Mercantilist economies are based on trade and resource accumulation. In the 16th through 18th centuries, wealthy nations often supported their mercantilist economies through colonialism. Early settler colonialism in what are now North and South America was largely motivated by mercantilist economic interests. Even earlier, many European societies were based on a feudalist economy, where serfs (poor farmers) performed agricultural labor on land owned by a wealthy lord. These farmers kept a portion of their agricultural yield for their own use but were required to give some of it to the landowner, not unlike contemporary landlord-tenant housing agreements. In the modern world, some companies are owned by their workers, with every worker getting a share of the profits instead of a set wage. This is possible even if the country those workers live in typically relies on capitalist economic policy.

Naomi Klein writes from a leftist political perspective. “Leftism” is an umbrella term that encompasses a variety of left-wing political views. While leftists’ opinions on many issues may differ quite substantially, leftist politics are generally socially progressive, advocating for workers’ rights, public or state control of resources and industries, social equality, and (in more recent decades) sustainable climate change solutions. Many leftists may adopt more granular political labels to further delineate their perspectives: Some leftists are anarchists, Marxists, or socialists, among other labels.

Leftists and liberals are sometimes mistakenly considered interchangeable, but there is a difference between the two terms. Liberals are generally politically centrist, pro-capitalist instead of anti-capitalist, and concerned primarily with maintaining the status quo or advocating for very gradual progressive social change. Leftists may engage in various types of activism, including protests and demonstrations, strikes, grassroots policy lobbying, and direct action.