Capitalism Is A Good Idea In Theory, But It Just Doesn't Work In Practice
Capitalisms Death Toll
Those in power rarely subject capitalism to the same moral scrutiny applied to other systems. Moreover, when they do, it is a sleight of hand of right-wing populism by con artists, with us, working-class people, as the mark. Critics of communism routinely cite the death tolls under Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot—figures ranging from 80 to 100 million. However, capitalism has been enforced globally, continuously, and violently for centuries. If we are to count the bodies, we must count all of them.
In practice, capitalism has inflicted immense suffering across every continent—through slavery, war, famine, poverty, denied healthcare, and ecological collapse. By conservative estimates, over 150–250 million people have died as a direct result of capitalism—and the number keeps rising.
In the 20th century alone, capitalist policies contributed to 100–150 million deaths by imperial wars, colonial famines, anti-communist coups, poverty-related mortality, and environmental destruction. The 21st century has already added tens of millions more through climate chaos, extractive wars, austerity, and privatized healthcare. If current trends persist, climate change alone could claim over 80 million lives by 2100.
Colonialism
Capitalism is driven by the relentless commodification of all aspects of life: land, labor, resources, time, and even survival. In its highest stage—imperialism—capitalism dominates through monopolies, finance capital, and the export of surplus capital in search of profit. Imperialism is expressed through colonialism, both settler and extractive. It is one of imperialism's primary mechanisms of domination through expropriation, resource extraction, and forced displacement, all in service of capital accumulation.
From the Virginia Company, Dutch East India Company (VOC), and British East India Company to the conquest of the Congo and India, early capitalist enterprises were private, for-profit corporations with military power backed by imperial charters. These ventures carried out mass land theft, genocide, and human enslavement in the pursuit of raw materials and wealth accumulation. Conservative estimates from historical demographers suggest that 60 to 80 million people died globally during the colonial era due to war, slavery, famine, disease, and displacement. Research suggests up to 100 million excess deaths under British rule in India alone during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Settler colonialism, the form of colonialism in which settlers replace Indigenous populations, describes places like the United States, Canada, Australia, and Israel. Colonialism more broadly includes extractive and exploitative control without full settlement, such as in India, Indonesia, the Congo, or Algeria, where imperial regimes imposed economic subjugation, cultural erasure, and military rule without necessarily resettling en masse.
Neocolonialism describes the use of debt, military occupation, and economic policy to sustain control over the Global South. U.S. and NATO invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, Israel's ongoing occupation of Palestine, and multinational land grabs across Africa and Latin America reflect contemporary imperialist projects. So, too, do Western-backed coups, exploitative mining and oil contracts, and austerity programs imposed by the IMF and World Bank. These tools create dependency, displace communities, and ensure continued resource flow to the Global North.
Estimated death toll: 60–100+ million (with ongoing consequences through neocolonial systems)
Famine
Capitalist famines are not natural disasters. In British-occupied India, between 1769 and 1947, over 30 million peopledied in a series of famines in India. These crises were worsened by British policies that prioritized grain exports and cash crops, such as indigo and cotton, over local food security.
During the Bengal Famine of 1943, between 2 to 4 million people died while Winston Churchill's government diverted food to imperial stockpiles and military operations. During Ireland's Great Famine (1845–1852), approximately 1 million people died while food continued to be exported to Britain.
In the late 20th century, the IMF and World Bank's structural adjustment programs imposed austerity. They promoted export agriculture across Africa, thereby undermining food security in regions such as Nigeria and the Sahel.
During Ethiopia's 1983–1985 famine, food aid was politicized, sold off, or delayed, worsening a crisis already intensified by Cold War geopolitics and global grain markets.
In every case, food existed—it simply was not accessible to those who could not pay.
Estimated death toll: 30–35 million
War & Coups
Wars and coups are often justified by ideological narratives such as anti-communism, counterterrorism, or democracy promotion. However, these pretexts obscure the material motives of resource control, market access, and profit, particularly for the fossil fuel industry, arms industry, and agribusiness and mining sectors. Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, military interventions and covert operations have served to defend the interests of transnational corporationsand preserve global capitalist domination.
The Vietnam War was waged under the banner of containing communism but also aimed to protect U.S. strategic and commercial dominance in Southeast Asia. Billions of dollars were funneled to private contractors, including RMK-BRJand other firms tasked with military construction, infrastructure, and logistical services—cementing the region's incorporation into U.S.-aligned economic systems.
The Iraq War (2003) was launched under the guise of neutralizing weapons of mass destruction and promoting democracy, yet quickly shifted to securing access to oil reserves and awarding no-bid contracts to U.S. corporations. Halliburton and its subsidiary KBR received over $39 billion, while Bechtel and others secured massive reconstruction deals. The privatized war effort embedded Iraq into a global network of U.S.-backed resource extraction and military dependency.
The United States has backed dozens of coups and regime change operations targeting democratically elected governments that challenged capitalist orthodoxy or nationalized key industries:
Iran (1953): Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh was overthrown after nationalizing the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now BP), threatening British and U.S. oil interests.
Guatemala (1954): President Jacobo Árbenz was deposed by the CIA for implementing agrarian reforms that threatened the United Fruit Company's landholdings.
Congo (1961): Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba was assassinated after seeking sovereignty over Congolese resources like uranium and cobalt, central to Cold War nuclear geopolitics.
Chile (1973): Socialist President Salvador Allende was overthrown in a CIA-backed coup after nationalizing copper, leading to Pinochet's neoliberal dictatorship.
Indonesia (1965): A U.S.-supported military coup ousted President Sukarno, initiating mass purges that killed 500,000 to 1 million people and opened the economy to Western capital.
In the 21st century, the behavior continues:
Honduras (2009): President Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a military coup after raising the minimum wage, proposing a non-binding constitutional referendum, and challenging the interests of corporate elites. The coup was backed by Honduran oligarchs and tacitly legitimized by the U.S. State Department under Hillary Clinton, preserving the dominance of Dole, Chiquita, and other multinational agribusinesses.
Haiti (2004): President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who had raised wages and resisted IMF-led privatization, was forcibly removed in a U.S.- and French-backed operation following pressure from international lenders and local elites.
Venezuela (2002 & ongoing): President Hugo Chávez was briefly ousted in a coup after nationalizing oil and redistributing wealth. U.S. officials were in contact with coup plotters, and Washington has since imposed devastating sanctions while supporting opposition efforts.
Bolivia (2019): President Evo Morales, who had nationalized lithium and natural gas and significantly reduced poverty, was forced to resign under military pressure following a disputed election. The Organization of American States (OAS)—largely funded by the U.S.—released a misleading report that helped justify the coup, clearing the path for a right-wing interim government favorable to foreign mining interests.
In each case, ideological justifications served to promote efforts to maintain capitalist dominance and defend the profits of transnational corporations. The true through-line has been the suppression of governments seeking to redistribute wealth, nationalize resources, or pursue economic independence from U.S.-led global capitalism.
Estimated death toll: 5–10 million
Privatized Health and Wellness
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) – Article 25
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care, and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted by the United Nations in 1948, affirms that health is a fundamental human right. Article 25 states that everyone is entitled to medical care, housing, and social services adequate for health and well-being, especially in times of sickness, unemployment, disability, or old age.
However, under capitalism, healthcare is administered not as a right but as a commodity—bought, sold, and distributed according to one's ability to pay rather than one's need.
Healthcare in the United States
In the U.S., an estimated 35,000 to 45,000 people die each year due to lack of health insurance—nearly half a million over the past decade. These deaths are not caused by a shortage of medical knowledge or technology but by financial barriers that block access to care.
Regular doctor's visit (uninsured): ~$400
Specialist visit: $250–$600
Ambulance ride: $940–$5,000+
ER visit: ~$2,700
Hospital stay: $10,000+ per day
Prescription meds: Hundreds to thousands monthly
Even those with insurance often face excessive out-of-pocket costs. Many plans have deductibles ranging from $3,000 to $7,500—meaning individuals must pay this amount upfront before insurance begins covering most services. For families, deductibles can reach $15,000 or more. Routine surgeries, hospitalizations, or emergency care can financially devastate people who technically have coverage. High co-pays, coinsurance, and limited provider networks cause many to delay or avoid care entirely.
Cuts to Medicaid have a ripple effect beyond low-income populations. Medicaid helps fund services for children, seniors, people with disabilities, and rural hospitals—many of which rely on these reimbursements to survive. When Medicaid is slashed, entire communities lose access to essential care, including middle-class families who depend on local hospitals.
Globally, health systems have been impacted by IMF and World Bank structural adjustment programs, forcing many governments in the Global South to reduce public health spending, impose user fees, and open markets to foreign investors. The result: understaffed clinics, medical deserts, and millions of deaths from treatable conditions.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, while public funding helped develop vaccines, private companies like Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca retained exclusive patents, refused to share mRNA technology, and made record profits—Pfizer alone earned $37 billion in 2021. Meanwhile, low-income countries were left behind:
By mid-2021, less than 2% of people in poor countries had received a single vaccine dose.
Wealthy countries hoarded supply.
Programs like COVAX floundered.
Patent laws and export bans constrained manufacturers, such as the Serum Institute of India.
The resulting pharmaceutical nationalism and corporate hoarding leave treatments for HIV, cancer, diabetes, tuberculosis, and hepatitis out of reach for millions—driven by inflated prices, patent manipulation, and efforts to block generic alternatives.
As public trust in healthcare erodes, a multi-trillion-dollar wellness industry has filled the vacuum. Offering detox teas, therapy apps, biohacking tools, spiritual retreats, and self-care products, this sector promises empowerment and healing but often commodifies distress. While some wellness offerings are genuinely valuable, far too many rely on pseudoscience and spiritual bypassing. Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop markets questionable items, such as jade vaginal eggs and psychic sprays, under the guise of ancient wisdom. On the conspiratorial right, Alex Jones built a $165 million supplement empire through Infowars, while Trump-appointed FBI director Kash Patel promoted unproven COVID “detox” pills. Influencer Teal Swan has faced serious allegations of cult-like coercion, drawing in trauma survivors through emotionally charged, mystic branding.
This vastly unregulated landscape fosters exploitation through cultural appropriation, MLM schemes, and unlicensed trauma coaching, targeting vulnerable populations. It reframes structural issues as personal failings or energetic imbalances.
Estimated Preventable Healthcare Deaths (Global): 10–12 million per year
If we are to judge systems by their death tolls, capitalism cannot be exempt. Its defenders deflect, distort, or obscure the consequences of a system that has normalized mass, preventable death—from famine and war to unaffordable healthcare and ecological collapse. It is a system that sacrifices human life for profit—efficiently, globally, and without remorse—driven by extremist ideologies propagandized as common sense. Let's call it what it is. Capitalism is a good idea in theory, but it just doesn’t work in practice.
Capitalists Who Engineered Death
Cecil Rhodes
Architect of British imperialism in Southern Africa; his mining empire and policies led to mass death and entrenched apartheid.
Estimated deaths: ~20,000+King Leopold II
Enforced brutal rubber quotas in the Congo Free State, resulting in mass killings, starvation, and mutilations.
Estimated deaths: 1–10 million (most plausible estimate: ~10 million)John D. Rockefeller
Financed American eugenics programs and violently suppressed labor uprisings. No direct death count is known, but his influence contributed to systemic harm.Henry Ford
Employed forced labor under Nazi collaboration and published antisemitic texts that influenced fascist ideology. No formal death toll, but significant ideological and economic impact.Jeff Bezos
Amazon warehouse conditions linked to preventable deaths and injuries; union-busting efforts intensified unsafe labor conditions. No documented total, but risk and exploitation are widely reported.Elon Musk
Fired pro-union workers, mocked humanitarian aid workers, and reportedly played a role in closing a USAID office.
Estimated deaths: Not quantifiable, but humanitarian interference is documented.Bill Gates
Defended vaccine patent monopolies during COVID, delaying global access for millions in low-income nations.
Estimated impact: Indirectly tied to millions of preventable deaths, especially in the Global South.Peter Thiel
Co-founded Palantir, supplying predictive policing and ICE technology used in deportations and surveillance of migrants. No formal death toll, but significant harm through state violence.Charles & David Koch
Funded climate change denial, anti-union laws, and white supremacist-linked networks. Climate-related deaths are in the tens of thousands annually, potentially hundreds of thousands over time.
Corporate Death Machines
Nestlé
Repeatedly accused of using child labor and extracting water from poor communities. Tens of thousands of children impacted.
Estimated deaths: Unclear, but systemic exploitation documented.ExxonMobil / Chevron
Responsible for oil spills, pollution, and fossil fuel emissions. Linked to resource wars and environmental crises.
Estimated deaths: Tens of thousands+ globally.Dow / Union Carbide
Caused the 1984 Bhopal disaster in India, killing 15,000–20,000 people
Estimated deaths: 15,000–20,000Monsanto
Manufactured Agent Orange (used in Vietnam), linked to cancer and birth defects; also produced carcinogenic pesticides.
Estimated deaths: Tens of thousands (indirect).Raytheon / Lockheed Martin / Boeing
Arms dealers for wars in Iraq, Yemen, Gaza, and Afghanistan.
Estimated deaths: Hundreds of thousands of civilians across conflicts.McKinsey & Co.
Advised Purdue Pharma to “turbocharge” OxyContin sales; implicated in the opioid crisis with over 500,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. ([NYT, court filings]).
Also advised ICE on deportation strategies.