Suppose There Were No Capital; Suppose We Rejected It
Suppose capital had never existed. What would the world look like? Would human civilization stop developing?
Without capital, human society would still possess abundant goods, daily life would still be convenient, and the world would continue to function. Yet in many aspects, it would be profoundly different from the world we know today.
Without capital, there would have been no global colonization by modern capitalism, no overseas expansion driven by profit, no large-scale plunder of resources, no slave trade, no battle for markets, nor would a global economic order centered on capital accumulation have emerged.
Without capital, today’s financial system would not have taken shape. Transnational capital and vast commercial empires would not have come into existence. The West might not have dominated the world, and global hegemony would have been far less likely to emerge.
People would not be oppressed by capital as they are today. Debt and borrowing would not be nearly as widespread, nor would the gap between rich and poor be so vast. People would most likely still have land to cultivate. Production would probably remain centered on agriculture, handcrafts, and family workshops, with far less industrialization and mechanization, while trade would remain largely regional and self-sufficient.
Scientific and military technologies might have advanced at a slower pace, but not necessarily to a lesser degree. They might instead have developed in ways that were more people-centered, environmentally sustainable, and less capable of manipulation or destruction.
Thus, without capital, many of today’s problems would not have arisen or intensified. However, it is equally important to recognize that other problems would still exist. Social hierarchy, inequality, and distinctions of rank would persist. Corruption and darkness would still emerge. Political power would remain unstable. Wars could still occur. Ordinary people would continue to suffer from time to time. Social issues would not be fundamentally resolved.
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So, was the emergence of capital merely an accident? Perhaps not. Ever since money emerged, society has already seen the hoarding of wealth, the oppression of the poor by the rich, and the manipulation of society. The rise and development of capital merely intensified those tendencies. What capital ultimately pursues is, in essence, the very same thing that hierarchical systems uphold. This suggests that the rise of capital was marked by a certain historical inevitability.
The above considers a world without capital. Now imagine another scenario: Once capital emerged, and colonial expansion had come to dominate the world, what would happen if a country rejected capital completely?
First, if this country lacked the ability to resist, rejection would be impossible. After capital emerged in Europe, it rapidly propelled the Industrial Revolution. Industrialization brought not only wealth, but also overwhelming productive efficiency, military strength, and the ability to expand across the entire globe. If such a country possessed abundant land and rich resources, in the face of such disparity, this pre-industrial nation would most likely face invasion, plunder, or subordination to the capitalist system.
Even if this country possessed the strength to resist capital, the international environment it faced would remain extremely severe. Militarily, capitalist nations would continuously manufacture weapons and wage wars, forcing non-capitalist nations into a constant defense. If this country occupied an important geopolitical position, armed conflict would be nearly unavoidable. Technologically, capital-driven innovation would continue to widen the gap, forcing the country to choose between “adopting technology and being infiltrated by capital” and “rejecting technology and falling behind.” In trade, even if the country itself did not seek capitalist expansion, it would still be surrounded by markets, financial systems, and an international division of labor dominated by capital. Culturally and demographically, the prosperity and personal opportunities displayed by the capitalist world would continually attract talent abroad while weakening the country’s own values and sense of identity.
The situation would improve if several powerful countries united to resist capital. These nations would need to achieve self-sufficiency and mutual support in food, economy, resources, technology, and defense, forming a resilient system capable of shielding itself from the infiltration of capital and greed. However, hierarchical systems in every country inevitably contain corruption and darkness, and internal forces can easily collude with external capital. A single misstep could open the door to infiltration and corruption. Especially during periods of rapid capitalist expansion, pressures on every front would leave these countries under constant threat of invasion and capitalization. Therefore, in a world dominated by capital, completely rejecting and isolating oneself from capital is extremely difficult.
History confirms this. The disasters and oppression brought by capital are global. No country or region has remained untouched as though it were a paradise beyond the world.
Yet the possession and manipulation of capital are ultimately limited. After frenzied expansion, decline is inevitable. Capital is an illusion at its core. Once people see through the tricks of wealth extraction, societal manipulation, and systemic enslavement, its system and order will accelerate toward collapse. It is like removing the foundation of a skyscraper: No matter how high it rises into the clouds and how solid its steel and concrete, it will inevitably crash down in an instant, reduced to ruins. Today, capital stands at the edge of that collapse, where even a seemingly insignificant event could cause the entire system to fracture and disintegrate.
The distorted development of capital teaches us that countless things can develop in distorted ways. Humanity must learn to draw broader lessons from this. Having climbed out of the pit of capital, people should avoid falling into other traps. What might those other traps be? They could be anything that becomes widely pursued and celebrated. Such things often appear “beneficial” at first, then gradually become tools of possession and control, and eventually evolve into distorted systems like today’s capital.
The globalization of capital’s development also shows that the world is an interconnected whole — its fortunes shared, its losses shared. Therefore, freeing humanity from the constraints of capital and guiding civilization back onto its proper path is something every country, every nation, and every society must accomplish. No one can mock another or look down on another, nor can anyone stand idly by on the shore, watching the fire burn from afar.
