Capitalism's Fatal Omissions: A Study in Deflection

The provided text is an excerpt from a philosophical essay titled 'Excess Deaths Attributable to Capitalism: A Case Study in Deflection' published on the 'Philosophics' blog on November 8, 2025. The author, Bry Willis, argues that when critics point out that capitalism causes deaths through bureaucratic neglect and systemic issues, defenders of the market reflexively deflect by citing atrocities committed under historical socialist regimes like the Holodomor or the Great Leap Forward. Willis contends that while socialist atrocities were explicit, capitalism kills implicitly 'by omission', abstractly causing deaths through lack of healthcare or housing, which he labels as 'market externalities'. The core argument is that both systems cause death, but capitalism’s method is more deniable and insidious, comparing the systemic death of a healthcare CEO’s policy to that of an individual murderer. 👉 https://philosophics.blog/2025/11/08/excess-deaths-attributable-to-capitalism-a-case-study-in-deflection/