"The commercial capitalist sought profits from the exchange…" — Carroll Quigley (#c36)

Card #c36IR // #c36Synthesis

The commercial capitalist sought profits from the exchange of goods; the industrial capitalist sought profits from the manufacture of goods; the financial capitalist sought profits from the manipulation of claims on money; and the monopoly capitalist sought profits from manipulation of the market to make the market price and the amount sold such that his profits would be maximized.

— In our words · Source: Tragedy and Hope (Carroll Quigley)

[Use when]

When classifying a business or an era — ask where the profit actually comes from, not what the brochure says.

[Why it matters]

Quigley's cleanest taxonomy: each stage of capitalism is defined by where profit is extracted — and each stage's profit source becomes the next stage's target for capture.

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