People push back
Workers demand better pay. Customers object to unfair charges. Communities challenge pollution.
CAPITAL, POWER & JUSTICE / A PLAIN-LANGUAGE STUDY
Crisis, consumption and the struggle for economic justice
A plain-language study of how businesses respond to pressure, with Bible passages about deception, greed and fair treatment.
01 / STUDY
When profits or public trust are threatened, capitalism often changes how it operates so that businesses can keep making money. The methods may change while the power of owners remains.
Capital means money and resources used to make more money. Capitalism is a system in which businesses and productive resources are mainly privately owned, and production is largely organized for profit. Adapting simply means changing in response to pressure.
Workers demand better pay. Customers object to unfair charges. Communities challenge pollution.
They may improve conditions, change their message, introduce new products or seek new markets.
Did people gain lasting rights and better lives? Or did the business mainly protect its income and reputation?
Example, for illustration: workers ask for higher wages. An employer advertises that “we are a family” and gives a small gift, but leaves wages and unsafe conditions unchanged. The message has changed; the main problem has not.
Real improvements are possible, especially when people organize. Not every reform is a trick, and businesses do not all act together. This study asks how to tell a genuine gain from a comforting promise.
02 / STUDY
The Bible repeatedly describes people who use greed, deceit and pleasant words to take advantage of others. Here, these passages form an allegory: a comparison that helps us examine modern behavior. They were written in ancient settings, not about modern capitalism.
In this study, “wicked” describes unjust conduct. It is not a label for every business owner or worker. The question is what people and institutions actually do.
Read the selected verses below in the King James Version (KJV). Use each chapter button to open the complete text here.
32:6 For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
32:7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
32:8 But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.
Original context: Isaiah contrasts righteous rule and generous conduct with people who use lies against the needy. “Churl” describes a mean or ungenerous person; “devices” means plans.
Connection to this study: A harmful practice can be carefully planned and made to sound reasonable. Cleverness does not make it just.
32:1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.
32:2 And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
32:3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.
32:4 The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
32:5 The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.
32:6 For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
32:7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
32:8 But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.
32:9 Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech.
32:10 Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come.
32:11 Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.
32:12 They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
32:13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city:
32:14 Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;
32:15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
32:16 Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
32:18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;
32:19 When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place.
32:20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.
Back to passage explanation55:20 He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant.
55:21 The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.
Original context: This psalm describes betrayal by a trusted companion. Its immediate subject is personal and social betrayal, not a modern economic system.
Connection to this study: A company may speak like a friend while enforcing terms that hurt people. Compare the friendly message with what the agreement actually does.
55:1 Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.
55:2 Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;
55:3 Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.
55:4 My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
55:5 Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.
55:6 And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.
55:7 Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
55:8 I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.
55:9 Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
55:10 Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.
55:11 Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets.
55:12 For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:
55:13 But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.
55:14 We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.
55:15 Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
55:16 As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.
55:17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
55:18 He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me.
55:19 God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.
55:20 He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant.
55:21 The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.
55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
55:23 But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
Back to passage explanation16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
Original context: Paul warns the Roman believers about people who create division and deceive others. “Fair speeches” means flattering or pleasing talk; “simple” here means unsuspecting, not unintelligent.
Connection to this study: Promises of care deserve scrutiny when those making them benefit from keeping others dependent.
16:1 I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:
16:2 That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.
16:3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:
16:4 Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.
16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.
16:6 Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us.
16:7 Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
16:8 Greet Amplias my beloved in the Lord.
16:9 Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, and Stachys my beloved.
16:10 Salute Apelles approved in Christ. Salute them which are of Aristobulus’ household.
16:11 Salute Herodion my kinsman. Greet them that be of the household of Narcissus, which are in the Lord.
16:12 Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which laboured much in the Lord.
16:13 Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.
16:14 Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them.
16:15 Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them.
16:16 Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.
16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
16:19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.
16:20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
16:21 Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.
16:22 I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.
16:23 Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother.
16:24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
16:26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
16:27 To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.
Back to passage explanation2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2:2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
Original context: The chapter warns about false teachers. “Covetousness” means greed; “feigned words” means fabricated or deceptive words.
Connection to this study: The comparison is with using trust to extract money. It is an allegory for exploitation, not a claim that Peter was describing capitalism.
2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2:2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
2:6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
2:7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
2:8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
2:10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
2:11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.
2:12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
2:13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the daytime. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
2:14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
2:15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
2:16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
2:17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
2:18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2:21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
Back to passage explanation6:13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
6:14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
Original context: Jeremiah condemns widespread greed and false reassurance in Judah as danger approaches. Leaders treat a deep wound as if it were a small problem.
Connection to this study: A new slogan about fairness can leave the underlying harm untouched. Ask what changed in wages, working conditions and public accountability.
6:1 O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.
6:2 I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.
6:3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.
6:4 Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.
6:5 Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces.
6:6 For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.
6:7 As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds.
6:8 Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.
6:9 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets.
6:10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
6:11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.
6:12 And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD.
6:13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
6:14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
6:15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
6:17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
6:18 Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.
6:19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.
6:20 To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.
6:21 Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.
6:22 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.
6:23 They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.
6:24 We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
6:25 Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.
6:26 O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.
6:27 I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.
6:28 They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.
6:29 The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
6:30 Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.
Back to passage explanation5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
5:2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
5:3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
5:4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
5:5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
5:6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
Original context: James condemns rich oppressors, including those who fraudulently withhold farmworkers’ wages. This is a direct criticism of specific injustice.
Connection to this study: Whatever a business calls itself, workers must receive what they are owed. A charity campaign does not cancel wage theft.
5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
5:2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
5:3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
5:4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
5:5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
5:6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
5:9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
5:10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
5:12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
5:19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
Back to passage explanation03 / STUDY
Rosa Luxemburg examined this issue in Reform or Revolution, in the chapter called “The Adaptation of Capitalism.” She challenged the idea that loans and large business groups would make capitalism free of crises.
Her point in everyday language: borrowing can help a business grow now, but debts can make a later downturn worse. Large companies may protect their own profits without solving problems for the whole society.
“Credit eliminates the remaining rigidity of capitalist relationships.”
In plain words: credit—borrowed money—lets business expand more easily. Luxemburg argued that this flexibility can spread trouble as well as growth.
In The Accumulation of Capital, she also examined the search for new markets and resources. Her broader theory remains debated. The useful question here is: when one way of making money becomes difficult, where does capital go next?
Sources: [1] Luxemburg, Reform or Revolution, chapter 2: The Adaptation of Capitalism
Sources: [2] Luxemburg, The Accumulation of Capital (1913), chapter 26
04 / STUDY
“The real barrier of capitalist production is capital itself.”
Karl Marx argued that production is limited by the search for profit. A person may need a home or food but lack the money to buy it. A business can therefore struggle to sell its goods even while human needs remain unmet.
Overproduction means producing more than can be sold profitably under existing conditions. It does not mean that everyone already has enough.
In Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, V. I. Lenin examined how large businesses and banks grew powerful and sought investment opportunities, resources and influence across borders.
His point in everyday language: when profits are harder to find in one place, powerful owners may seek them elsewhere. Investment, political influence and imperial power can become connected.
This is a way to investigate power. It does not mean every international trade deal is colonial or every war has the same cause.
Sources: [4] Marx, Capital, Volume III, chapter 15 (published 1894)
Sources: [3] Lenin, Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism (1916), chapter VII

05 / STUDY

In the 2007–09 financial crisis, banks and credit markets were in serious trouble. The U.S. Federal Reserve lent support to the financial system, lowered interest rates and later bought financial assets to help the economy recover.
Why this matters: capitalism does not survive through private business alone. Public institutions can step in when the financial system is at risk.
Such action can protect jobs and savings as well as businesses. The justice question is: who gets help, who carries the losses, and what must powerful recipients give back?
Businesses invest and people borrow.
Debt payments fail, sales fall or a shock interrupts work.
Public support, closures and new business plans may make profits possible again.
This is a simple pattern, not a rule for every crisis. Downturns have different causes and do not follow a fixed clock.
Sources: [5] Federal Reserve History: The Great Recession and Its Aftermath
06 / STUDY
Companies can grow by selling in new places. They can also grow by finding more things to charge us for: entertainment, services, attention and access to products.
Subscriptions can be useful. But a service may also make it easy to sign up and difficult to cancel. The FTC calls misleading design tricks “dark patterns.” Examples include hidden charges and important terms that are hard to find.

January–February 2024 review of 642 selected websites and apps; rounded percentages. Bars use a 0–100% scale.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| At least one possible pattern | 76% |
| Multiple possible patterns | 67% |
Sources: [6] FTC / ICPEN, subscription-service review, July 2024
Read the chart: roughly three out of four services reviewed had at least one possible design trick. The two bars overlap; do not add them together.
Reviewers examined 642 selected websites and apps. This was not a random sample of every business, and they did not decide whether each practice was unlawful.
The connection: a helpful-sounding offer can become a way to keep money flowing from customers. Check the actual terms, not just the sales message.
07 / STUDY
Producing more goods uses more materials. UNEP reported that global resource extraction rose from roughly 30 to 106 billion tonnes since 1970—about 3½ times as much.
Resource extraction means taking materials such as minerals, timber and other raw materials from nature. The chart shows how much the total grew, not who benefited.

Rounded headline comparison from Global Resources Outlook 2024; zero baseline, maximum 120 billion tonnes. These are endpoints, not an annual time series.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| 1970 | 30 billion tonnes |
| 2024 report headline level | 106 billion tonnes |
Sources: [7] UNEP / International Resource Panel, Global Resources Outlook 2024
Shares of estimated global food waste in 2022; 1.05 billion tonnes including inedible parts. Each bar uses a 0–100% scale.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Households | 60% |
| Food service | 28% |
| Retail | 12% |
Sources: [8] UNEP / WRAP, Food Waste Index Report 2024 findings
Read the food chart: of the food waste counted, 60% came from households, 28% from food service and 12% from shops. The total includes inedible parts.
Food waste and hunger can exist at the same time. Affordability, storage and distribution matter. More production does not automatically put food into the hands of those who need it.
These figures show resource use and waste. They do not, by themselves, prove that every wasted item was caused by capitalism or that an overproduction crisis occurred.
08 / STUDY
Stakeholder capitalism is the idea that businesses should serve workers, customers, suppliers and communities as well as owners and investors.
In 2019, 181 CEOs signed a Business Roundtable statement supporting this broader purpose. The World Economic Forum also promoted the idea. Supporters argue that treating people well helps businesses succeed over time.
Sources: [9] Business Roundtable, Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, August 2019 · [10] World Economic Forum, The Davos Manifesto: Towards a better kind of capitalism (2019)
The key question: if a company’s promise conflicts with its profits, who can make it keep the promise?
128 U.S. public companies studied
600+ company documents reviewed
2 years checked through August 2021
Lucian Bebchuk and Roberto Tallarita examined company rules and other documents. They found little change showing that the pledge had become a firm commitment in how these companies were governed. They concluded that the evidence better supported a public-relations explanation.
This finding concerns those companies and that period. It does not prove that every social promise is false.
Sources: [11] Bebchuk & Tallarita, Will Corporations Deliver Value to All Stakeholders? (2022)
The Bible connection: Jeremiah warns about saying “Peace, peace” while the wound remains. As an allegory, this asks whether caring language is covering a continuing injury. Read Jeremiah’s words and their context.
Look for better pay, safer work, enforceable rights and a real say in decisions. Those are stronger evidence than a slogan.
09 / STUDY
New machines and better methods can let workers produce more in an hour. That is called higher productivity. But workers’ income may grow more slowly.
Total growth over the period reported by the ILO in September 2024. Zero baseline; axis maximum 60%. These are growth rates, not shares of GDP.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Real labor productivity | 58% |
| Real labor income | 53% |
Sources: [12] ILO, September 2024 report press conference, UN Geneva transcript
Read the chart: from 2004 to 2024, global output per hour rose 58%, while real labor income per hour rose 53%, according to the ILO’s September 2024 estimates. “Real” means adjusted for price changes.
Both rose. The point is that workers’ income did not rise as fast as what each hour of work produced. The difference between those growth rates is 5 percentage points.
The ILO estimated that workers received 52.3% of total global income in 2024, down 1.6 percentage points since 2004. The measure includes an estimate for self-employed workers’ labor income.
The ILO and OECD identify technology, international economic changes and weaker worker bargaining power among the factors involved. The figures do not tell us how much each factor contributed.
Sources: [13] ILO / OECD, Policy measures to address inequalities and increase the labour income share (2025)
The Bible connection: James directly condemns withholding workers’ pay. A falling labor share is a different measure and does not itself prove wage theft. Both raise a question about what working people receive. Read James 5.
10 / STUDY
Do not judge a system only by its promises. Ask whether people have enough to live, whether workers are treated fairly, and whether communities have power over decisions that affect them.
From the scientific socialist perspective used here, people who do the work should have a real say in how production is organized and how its benefits are shared.
| Demand | What it means in everyday life |
|---|---|
| Fair work | Pay workers what they are owed, protect safety, and defend the right to organize. |
| Public help with public benefit | When public money supports a business, require clear obligations and public oversight. |
| Access to necessities | Build affordable housing, food and essential services, including accountable public and cooperative options. |
| Share the gains from technology | Use higher productivity to improve pay, reduce working time and protect livelihoods. |
| Less waste, more care | Make durable, repairable goods and direct resources toward genuine needs. |
These are proposals for collective action. Reforms can improve lives. To make gains last, people need independent organizations and rights that cannot disappear when a company changes its message.
Three questions to carry forward: What changed beyond the words? Who benefited? Who now has the power to hold decision-makers accountable?
11 / STUDY
The economic sources from the original report remain below. This study uses dated evidence, mainly from publications issued in 2022–2025. It is not a live data feed.
Charts use rounded source figures. The resource increase is calculated as (106 ÷ 30 − 1) × 100, or about 253%. Photos illustrate the subject; they are not evidence of misconduct by the businesses shown.
Bible quotations and complete chapters are KJV text. Modern explanations are separate from the quotations. The comparisons are allegories, not claims that ancient authors were describing modern capitalism.
Bible reading source: BibleHub, King James Version. Each passage above links to its full KJV chapter on BibleHub. Public-domain text; traditional verse numbering retained.