The Corporate Destruction Of Capitalism

Introduction

My friend Annie wrote a recent book review and remarked on how the price of books is increasing. You can read the article here:

That got me thinking about how we got into this position, which is mainly because those with the means have taken advantage of most people's reluctance to "Rock the Boat".

I wrote a Vocal piece with a poem and a link to a video by one of the good rich men in the world, Nick Hanauer. If you have not seen it, watch it and open your eyes.

The music is "Give Me Everything" by Magazine

Capitalism No Longer Exists - Why?

This is a Google definition, and if this were the situation today, we would probably be in a far better place.

Capitalism is an economic system where private individuals or businesses own the means of production (factories, resources, etc.) and operate for profit, driven by market forces like supply and demand, competition, and capital investment. Key features include private property, profit motive, wage labour, and market competition, leading to innovation and growth.

Capitalism only thrives for everyone when there are no monopolies. Certain things should be national monopolies like power, water, health, education and transport infrastructure (road, rail, and waterways).

Since the 1970s, due to mergers and governments preferring corporations over their nations due to the "contributions from said corporations, the world economy is becoming dominated by effective corporate monopolies, which is the antithesis of the capitalist model. Monopolies mean there is no competition, so corporations can charge their buyers whatever they want to charge.

This is what has happened in the food we buy

The world's top supermarkets, ranked by sales, consistently feature retail giants like Walmart, German discounters such as Schwarz Group (Lidl/Kaufland) and Aldi, American players like Kroger, Albertsons, and Costco, and European powerhouses like Ahold Delhaize, Carrefour, and Tesco, though rankings shift with recent data, highlighting global dominance in groceries.

Here's a general list of leading global supermarket players, often appearing in the top tiers based on recent analyses (by revenue/sales):

Walmart (USA): The undisputed leader, known for its Supercenters.

Schwarz Gruppe (Germany): Owns Lidl and Kaufland, major European discounters.

Kroger (USA): A huge presence in the U.S. grocery market.

Aldi (Germany): A massive global hard-discount chain (Aldi Nord & Süd).

Costco (USA): A leading warehouse club with global reach.

Ahold Delhaize (Netherlands/Belgium): Operates many brands across Europe and the US (e.g., Albert Heijn, Stop & Shop).

Tesco (UK): A dominant force in the UK and Asia.

Carrefour (France): A major international hypermarket and supermarket chain.

Albertsons Companies (USA): A large U.S. grocery operator.

Seven & i Holdings (Japan): Parent of 7-Eleven convenience stores, a global food retailer.

The fact that there are so few players in any market gives them the power to charge what they want. The following is taken from the piece I shared at the beginning of this article.

If you were at a table with a corporation, it would just grab everything for itself, whether it was hungry and needed food or not.

• A corporation is defined as “a large company or group of companies authorised to act as a single entity and recognised as such in law,” and as such, its only loyalty is to itself. It only exists to serve itself; nothing else matters.

Another couple of definitions are

• A corporation is a legal entity that is separate and distinct from its owners. Corporations enjoy most of the rights and responsibilities that individuals possess: they can enter into contracts, loan and borrow money, sue and be sued, hire employees, own assets, and pay taxes. Some refer to it as a "legal person."
• A corporation is a legal entity that is separate and distinct from its owners. Corporations enjoy most of the rights and responsibilities that individuals possess.
• An important element of a corporation is limited liability, which means that shareholders may take part in the profits through dividends and stock appreciation, but are not personally liable for the company's debts

As you can see, corporations are not subject to any moral compass.

Conclusion

The fact that the world is becoming controlled by corporate monopolies with backing from governments that they effectively own means that prices will continue to rise. The only solution would be governments with the best interests of their nations, rather than their corporate sponsors.

There are also outdated methods of calculating power costs in the UK. Renewable electricity is cheaper than fossil fuel power, but is still charged at the cost of gas, which is enabling power companies to make exorbitant profits from their customers.

Thank you for reading, and hope it has given you food for thought.

In case you were wondering I am a Green Socialist, but I can see the benefits of small business capitalism.