The general definition of capitalism, for me, is an individual or group of individuals owning the means of production and producing with the intention of reaping maximum profit.
With such things as 3D printers production seems to be coming more and more into the hands of the people. Do you think capitalism can continue to exist without support through force if no longer controlling production?
One wonders if we may not be approaching the point of ultra-abundance of which Marx spoke. He envisioned the point of such great abundance that the State would not be required as all as all would have enough according to their needs. Kind of takes the shine off of capitalism if such a point could be reached. We are seeing it created artificially with the covid payments in the US where workers are being paid more to not work than to work. If we substitute abundance for the monopoly fiat monies being given out then capitalism would find the same dilemma... unmotivated workers.
It seems to me we are seeing something that could be termed post-capitalism. It still has a free market fringe of a centrally planned economy, like we see in China. One doesn't need central planning to run restraunts, hotel and taxis however high production industries like steel, energy and natural resources should be in the hands of the people not capitalists in my opinion.
I am totaly with you, that what passes for capitalism today could not be maintained if there was no threat of violence to support it. But unlike the marxist theory, I think better capitalism would flourish instead.
I totally buy the notion of having co-ops for restaurants, hotels, and taxies. I think that'd be a great alternative to pure capitalism. Not a replacement, but having them both simultaneously. I think they could co-exist. And if security was not provided by threat of violence, but funded voluntarily (with and without co-ops), I think we'd be better off.
3D printers is a great example. But there are still plenty of things that need to be researched and produced that cannot be made even with the best 3D printers. If those things are worth doing, they are worth investing, voluntarily.
We are not approaching ultra-abundance. Even if we had Star-Trek-style replicators, we would still encounter limitations like energy production and information theory. Even in a culture of ultra-abundance, we would still require innovators. And we still won't need a State for that, if we're smart.
I am not a statist, but I'm also not a socialist. I'm fine calling it post-capitalism as long as whatever follows is voluntary.