Capitalism has well and truly ensconced itself atop many modern economies as the dominant economic ideology that governs much of global commerce. Equal to its prevalence however, is the criticism it draws for its supposed inclination to the exploitation of workers and its inherent perpetuation of a socioeconomic class gap. In evaluating the role of capitalism in modern society, we need to principally dissect the motivations of the capitalist in determining whether they are friend or foe of a fair and equal society. This essay will define three archetypal capitalists; (1) the morally devoid capitalist; (2) the regulated capitalist, and; (3) the community serving capitalist. The first of the three can be considered the most contentious in their morality and perhaps most influential in determining the exisiting, and perhaps mislabelled, notion of the capitalist and its  attributing efforts of slavery and brutal imperialism as being shared by all those seeking profits today. The second category is the most common form although ironically fails to efficiently serve both society’s and their own endeavours. The final category of enterprising individuals adopts an alternative definition of the relationship between labour and the employing organisation that offers greater productivity, efficient market clearance and provides both a public and private surplus. In appreciating the complexities of capitalism, we must first separate our judgement from the notion that it has a fixed and rigid definition. Even the categories of this discussion will be someone overly discrete when applied to what is better placed on a continuum.

What we can certainly acknowledge is that economic ideology has been adapted and improved over time to better align with social values and understanding of ethics and fairness. To appreciate this we need to look back at early renditions of capitalist efforts that were largely carried out via imperialism. The European Imperialists enslaved the natives of Africa and exploited labour for financial gain, the ramifications of which are still echoing in society today. Although not as rampant as it once was, this category of capitalism is still practiced today, only with greater judgement and condemnation from much of the world. Such a capitalist is devoid of morality and greedily prioritises profit over all else. It fails to recognise the inherent value of labour, rights and fairness and the precariousness of power imbalance. This morally devoid institution fails to comply with modern civilisation which has since improved upon the process of production to better serve both the organisation and its people.

Further along the continuum we can begin to recognise a new category of capitalists; one that is not ideologically trained on social profit and benefit but one which is adherent to modern social values. This individual reluctantly abides by government regulations that ensure the security of the worker but is still largely driven by the seeking of profit over all else. Labour to the regulated capitalist is still considered a resource to the capitalist structure but unlike the former, they subscribe the valuation of labour through a wage. This category is perhaps the most prevalent today which perhaps gives credence to the criticisms of capitalism by many but also evidences its defence as being socially manageable. Although what is ironically its greatest flaw is that a reluctantly regulated capitalist fails to efficiently provide both a social and private benefit of the highest possible yield. Overarching regulation can disincentivise the entrepreneurial individual when their ideals of profit are diluted by a need to adhere to rising costs of a greater financial indebtedness to their workers. The system appears to function effectively but the the total market production is being capped, creating a false sense of success in the regulated capitalist economy.

The above discussion is enough to offer the idea that a completely regulated economy (communist ideal) is far from functional or efficient by any means. So if the counter to a liberal capitalist economy is not the solution and the current state of capitalism as a set of semi-regulated markets is not efficiently serving society we need to push further along the continuum of capitalism to understand what prerequisites might better serve both the capitalist and the needs of society. This newly defined ‘community serving’ capitalist can be identified as a profiteering entity that recognises the employing organisation as a resource to the worker rather than the worker as a resource to the organisation. By inverting the view of the relationship between labour and business, the balance of power between the two entities is restored without necessarily having to transfer the means of production. If profits are considered a derivation of serving the employee and by extension, better serving the community, greed can no longer be the determining factor behind the direction an organisation takes and the exploitation of labour is no longer a component of the process of profit production.

To provide some concrete evidence of these we can look to organisations large and small that prioritise their staff over all else in deriving profits. Such an example would be tech giant, Google. They are globally recognised as heavily investing in their staff and ensuring a positive experience in the workplace that encourages professional and personal development over KPIs and measures of productivity. That’s not to say that productivity is not a point of scrutiny in their leadership but their prowess would suggest that factors traditionally considered directly attached to the derivation of profits can still be achieved more indirectly through a greater focus on the serving of staff. Such organisations can thrive in a regulated market and are less likely to be disincentivized by regulation because they are either already operating well within its confines or the adaptations align with their view on workplace relations.

The definition of a modern capitalist should not be strictly defined and applied if there is to be anything taken from the above discussion. While it is clear that the brutality of imperialism, as an outcome of capitalist greed, holds no standing in modern communities, its effects have plagued the broader view of capitalism today. Most capitalists are adherent to market regulation and intervention which fails to align with their underlying ideals to exploit labour for financial gain. If we are to best make use of capitalism, we need to highlight the successes of a labour centric organisation that inverts the roles of provision of resource and production between the worker and the capitalist.