Justin Fair

Everyone knows production is necessary. The part you skip is what makes production possible. Tools, capital, ideas, machines, buildings, software, training, risk, coordination, and investment don’t materialize out of the void. Workers don’t show up to an empty field and magically produce iPhones. Ownership isn’t “extracting surplus value,” it’s creating the conditions under which value can exist at all. If workers want to control what they produce, great. They’re free to start a business, buy equipment, take the risks, attract customers, and compete. No one stops them. But socialists don’t want that. They want the results of ownership without the responsibility of ownership. They want to inherit productive assets they never built, never funded, never risked, and never could replace if they failed. Your entire frame assumes production is a collective artifact waiting to be claimed, instead of a private achievement that must be earned. You’re not against exploitation. You’re against the idea that other people earned what you want to seize. Read an economics book. Or better yet, start a company and prove you actually believe a word of what you just said.