Capitalism Quote by C. Wright Mills
“For the corporation executives, the military metaphysic often coincides with their interest in a stable and planned flow of profit; it enables them to have their risk underwritten by public money; it enables them reasonably to expect that they can exploit for private profit now and later, the risky research developments paid for by public money. It is, in brief, a mask of the subsidized capitalism from which they extract profit and upon which their power is based.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Power Elite, 1956
Mills critiques corporate leaders using military metaphors to justify profit motives, masking subsidized capitalism and public risk.
In simple terms: Corporate profit hides behind militaristic language and public funding.
Key Takeaway
Question the true cost of corporate profit.
Themes
economics
politics
ethics
Mood
critical
inquisitive
Type
sociological
political
When to use this quote
- policy debate
- academic research
- public awareness campaigns
Key Concepts
subsidy
military metaphor
capitalism
power structures
Questions to Reflect On
- What are the ethical implications of using public money for private profit?
- How can societies ensure transparent funding?
A Different Perspective
Public may not see hidden subsidies.
![“...free enterprise, [is] a term that refers, in practice, to a system of public subsidy and private profit, with massive government intervention in the economy to maintain a welfare state for the rich.” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/93e/noam-chomsky-42_business_free-enterprise-is-a-term-that-refers-in_1769871.jpg)
![“Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a [Soviet socialistic] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants, lands, banks, means of transportation, etc., remain untouched there, and, therefore, capitalism in Germany and Italy…” quote by Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/411/joseph-stalin-1734_capitalism_neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-natio_1430.jpg)
