--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think we need to think of capitalism as…" description: "\"I think we need to think of capitalism as a very bad way of organizing communism. Much of what we do is already communism, so just expand it.\" — David ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddc/david-graeber-4667_capitalism_i-think-we-need-to-think-of-capitalism-a_1803832.png" --- # I think we need to think of capitalism as a very bad way… ![“I think we need to think of capitalism as a very bad way of organizing communism. Much of what we do is already communism, so just expand it.” quote by David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddc/david-graeber-4667_capitalism_i-think-we-need-to-think-of-capitalism-a_1803832.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddc/david-graeber-4667_capitalism_i-think-we-need-to-think-of-capitalism-a_1803832.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddc/david-graeber-4667_capitalism_i-think-we-need-to-think-of-capitalism-a_1803832.png) > “I think we need to think of capitalism as a very bad way of organizing communism. Much of what we do is already communism, so just expand it.” [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A provocative claim that capitalism is a flawed form of communism, urging a radical expansion of communal principles. **In simple terms:** Capitalism is a bad version of communism; expand communism. Key Takeaway Reimagine economic systems toward shared ownership. Themes economics politics critique social theory Mood critical thought‑provoking Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy debates - activism - academic discussion - community building Key Concepts marxism anarchism collectivism Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of capitalism could be reformed? - How would a fully communal system address individual needs? A Different Perspective The statement conflates distinct ideologies and may oversimplify complex economic realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Communism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communism/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“The winner takes all mindset at the root of capitalism is a poison if left unchecked. That’s not to say capitalism is bad per…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morcan/the-winner-takes-all-mindset-at-the-root-of-capitalism-is-a-poison-if/) [James Morcan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morcan/) > [As a businessman, Frank Lorenzo gives capitalism a bad name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/as-a-businessman-frank-lorenzo-gives-capitalism-a-bad-name/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [We don't live in a capitalist totality. 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The proletariat is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/what-is-communism-communism-is-the-doctrine-of-the-conditions-of-the/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [The Islamophobia phobes, (ph) the writers and the editors and the talking heads who deny an existence of evil while blaming those who speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/the-islamophobia-phobes-ph-the-writers-and-the-editors-and-the/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [Let's not talk about Communism. Communism was just an idea, just pie in the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-yeltsin/let-s-not-talk-about-communism-communism-was-just-an-idea-just-pie-in/) [Boris Yeltsin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-yeltsin/) > [You cannot solve the problem by turning to communism, for communism is based on an ethical relativism and a metaphysical materialism that no Christian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/you-cannot-solve-the-problem-by-turning-to-communism-for-communism-is/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I don't think capitalism can survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/i-don-t-think-capitalism-can-survive/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) ## More by David Graeber > [People don't have an ongoing relation unless it's a form of debt because everything is an exchange, so ongoing relationships are incomplete exchanges, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/people-don-t-have-an-ongoing-relation-unless-it-s-a-form-of-debt/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [I would like, then, to end by putting in a good word for the non-industrious poor. At least they aren’t hurting anyone. Insofar as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/i-would-like-then-to-end-by-putting-in-a-good-word-for-the-non/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“But if Smith was right, and gold and silver became money through the natural workings of the market completely independently of governments, then wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/but-if-smith-was-right-and-gold-and-silver-became-money-through-the/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“A revolution on a world scale will take a very long time. But it is also possible to recognize that it is already starting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/a-revolution-on-a-world-scale-will-take-a-very-long-time-but-it-is/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“money has no essence. It's not "really" anything; therefore, its nature has always been and presumably always will be a matter of political conten­tion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/money-has-no-essence-it-s-not-really-anything-therefore-its-nature/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [We don't live in a capitalist totality. Capitalism couldn't survive as a totality anyway. 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It cannot be overemphasized that in a small community,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-criminalization-of-debt-then-was-the-criminalization-of-the-very/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [If you imagine that everything is an exchange, then we're supposed to just transact and walk away. 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Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [Corporations have nothing to do with values, and they know it, and sometimes say it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kierans/corporations-have-nothing-to-do-with-values-and-they-know-it-and/) [Eric Kierans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kierans/) > [Both fact and logic seem to me to support the view that savings invested in privately owned economic tools of production amount to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-a-harper/both-fact-and-logic-seem-to-me-to-support-the-view-that-savings/) F. 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