Asad Riaz Bhatti

Parasitic capitalism

The concept of capitalism as a system of economic production and exchange involves the voluntary exchange of goods and services between different actors in an economy. In this way, it allows for allocating resources efficiently according to individual preferences and needs. However, when powerful elites hijack this system for their private gain it can create a model called the ‘parasitic capitalism’. The concept became famous after a South Korean film – Parasite – won an Oscar in 2019. The movie illustrates how a proletariat family wishes to experience a bourgeois life.
A parasitic relation exists when one party benefits from another, but does not deserve this benefit. A typical example is when a doctor (or surgeon) gets paid a lot to treat a patient, even though they are using already available treatments or methods. This does not seem very fair.

Parasitic capitalism occurs when those with power use their influence over the market to take advantage of those with fewer resources or access to capital. This manipulation often comes in the form of rent-seeking activities, such as monopolization, price-fixing, restrictions on competition, and other predatory business practices which deprive consumers of value while allowing those at the top to extract profits from others’ efforts. Not only do these actions limit free-market activity, but also lead to rising inequality that erodes communal prosperity and weakens democracy.

The root cause of parasitic capitalism is an oligarchy – a small elite with greater control over economic activities than most citizens. This perverse structure is maintained through wealth accumulation that creates opportunities for self-enrichment at everyone else’s expense. Over time, this dynamic reinforces itself, leading to increasing concentration of power in fewer hands, which continues until no alternatives exist outside their duopoly or monopoly control over specific industries or markets.

This means that larger organized institutions can exploit loopholes within the existing regulations (or lack thereof) to keep out potential competitors who may offer lower prices or better quality products. Meanwhile, they hoard profits instead of reinvesting them into society through job creation, infrastructure investment etc. Consequently, such arrangements stifle economic growth due to decreased consumer spending power and failure to attract new investors due to high risks associated with operating within such contexts, especially given the lack of transparency.

As we have seen, capitalist exploitation is not limited to those who earn more than their peers or work for corporations which use excessive profits to give hefty bonuses to top executives. It can exist even when there are no big rewards for employees or bosses, only smaller benefits in terms of healthcare, retirement security and so on.

In its pure form, capitalist competition creates incentives to maximize short-term profit by cutting costs, offering lower quality products, and other strategies. Nevertheless, these cost-cutting measures often negatively impact workers’ lives in the long run because they reduce workplace safety, increase employee turnover, and weaken labour unions, which can defend workers’ interests. When capitalists adopt such practices as part of their business model they start creating what can be called ‘parasitic’ profits. These are the costs incurred because of the harm caused by excessive production, inadequate consumption, and unnecessary waste. We might call this process ‘capitalist cannibalism’. It is arguably just as exploitative as regular capitalist activity, if not more so.

Recent events have shown that the capitalist system is not working for most people. Massive corporations use their power by employing workers in sweatshops and exploit them by paying low wages, and also manipulating the supply chain. They do this by outsourcing production to countries with lower labour costs, importing the product into the country, and then exporting it at a higher price. This process happens throughout the production cycle; every stage presents an opportunity to a company to make more money. Major brands, including those based in the US, invest in factories in less developed countries to save money on labour costs, lowering the cost of making goods and boosting profits in the process.

Everyone should be able to access the same quality of healthcare regardless of how much money they have. Everybody should also be able to get good jobs without having to use manipulative tactics to keep themselves employed. Sadly, these things are not always the case in our society. People enjoy the fruits of capitalism only if they can afford to contribute to capitalist coffers. Systems of social inequality like these are called parasitical systems. They rely on the exploitation of others to survive and thrive.

Today, we can easily find examples of parasitic capitalists in all stages of business – from executives who use their status for personal gain to large corporations which thrive on extracting value from smaller companies through mergers and acquisitions. We also see parasitic capitalists within political systems, where wealthy individuals or conglomerates influence policies by using money to buy votes. This is unethical lobbying at best. Furthermore, since wealth is increasingly concentrated in fewer hands, there are now even more opportunities to identify parasites whose job is to take advantage of other peoples’ hard work and capital.
Parasitism applies not only to individual capitalists but to institutions as well.

Powerful elites create environments which reward greed instead of success. An excellent example of this is the media, which uses its position to promote propaganda over fact-based reporting. Another instance of institutionalised parasitical behaviour occurs when big businesses form cartels or collude with each other. Through these collaborations, one member benefits at the expense of others.
Recent events have raised questions about whether or not capitalism is still the most effective system for creating wealth and opportunity in society. Some argue that we no longer have true capitalism because powerful corporations and wealthy individuals use their economic power to influence political processes, governments are too beholden to special interest groups, and inequality has become rampant. Others believe that these changes represent an evolution of capitalism towards something new. They may refer to this as ‘parasitic capitalism’, ‘corporate capitalist democracy’, or even just ‘crony capitalism’. Whatever you may call it, there is good reason why these criticisms seem increasingly valid.

One of the biggest problems we face as a society is how much power some people have in our system. Powerful individuals and corporations use their wealth to influence politicians, grow bigger by taking advantage of less powerful competitors, and get richer off the work of others through monopolies or via paid services they use to promote their products or service. This is not limited to big businesses. It happens at every level. Some individuals and groups are too influential and start creating a self-perpetuating cycle where they keep getting more money and power because they offer what other people want.

It was once thought that these kind of practices only happened during times of economic crisis, when desperate people would agree to work for little pay or even support someone else’s cause. However, today we see it happening almost all the time, even during periods without significant financial turmoil. Another way to describe parasitic capitalism is greedy, self-serving capitalism. This type of capitalism benefits only those who already have enough money or food, creating an ever-growing gap between the rich and poor.

Many people refer to our present state of affairs as “capitalism with a capitalist twist” because there are now more opportunities to make large amounts of money by exploiting the working class. In other words, we now have market systems where only wealthy individuals can enjoy good quality life. This is not to say that every person with a job is unhappy and living in poverty. However, there are still plenty of jobs with good pay and benefits, but these are not accessible to everyone due to the dominance of big corporations. Wages remain stagnant even when employees are doing a great job, which is why many workers feel they are not being paid the true worth of their work.

The writer is a political enthusiast. He was a professor of psychology, sociology, criminology, and counter-terrorism in the US