- As we learned thus far, the capitalist class consists of people who own wealth, as well as the means of production in American society. An important question in understanding how this class works is to ask: how does a capitalist remain wealthy? The answer to this question depends largely on understanding the diagram M-C-M’. So, let’s practice by explaining what happens in this diagram in our own words (but basing our ideas on Reading 5.1). Respond to the following question: Explain M-C-M’ to show how capitalists maintain and increase their wealth. (hint: your answer should weave a summary that includes what you reviewed in the self-assessment exercise question 1-7)
Capitalists maintain and increase their wealth because they start the equation M-C-M off with money. This means that they don’t even sell a commodity in order to receive money to buy another commodity. It is harder when somebody has to sell a commodity to gain money because now, they have to buy something more valuable than the commodity they have sold for the same price they were given for said commodity. When M-C-M ends with money or capital, more money than the initial amount, the capitalists can invest and keep the trend going.
