❌️"Capitalists are rent-reekers"

✅️ Right: Rent-seekers can be anyone. Because land has been grouped in with capital by neoclassical economists, people conflate rent seeking with capitalism. But the truth is anyone can be a rent-seeker, even those who are middle/working class labourers. But, those who are rich have a larger ability rent-seek and have greater damaging effects on others and the economy. And those who are rich tend to be capitalists and rent-seekers. Remember, correlation =/= causation.

An example of middle/working class labourers engaging in rent seeking behaviour is their homes. No one classifies home owners as capitalists for owning a home, even though they collect economic rents. I understand everyone needs a place to live but that doesn't mean they are entitled to the rents of the ownership of the land. You don't see or hear homeowners giving back the rents of the land to society, nor do they understand what is fair property.

The only way to believe capitalists are rent-reekers is to hold the communists belief that capitalists extract surplus value. This has been debunked by other people and I don't have the knowledge or ability to explain how. I also have no reason to believe in surplus value. So I don't want into get into a debate about it.

If you disagree about surplus value being extracted, that is fine with me. But my message still stands the same, anyone can be a rent-seeker.

Images from TheHomelessEconomist(X:hmlssecnmst) and u/plupsnup.