Capitalism arises from human nature. Economic systems cannot be intrinsic of course. The reason capitalism as we know it did not arise until the Enlightenment is that those who had power before capitalism "capitalized" on their power to such a degree that they became royalty. The royalty sought to continue their wealth and power. Marx's second and third stages of history arose from the successes of certain leaders' rational self-interest. In that way, capitalism has always been with us, when capitalism is thought of only as capitalizing.

Absent democratic oversight, capitalism naturally leads to monopolism and, eventually, monarchism. Whoever has the biggest army wins. Today, wars are fought with dollars more often than with swords, but struggles to maintain and expand power persist.

I see no mechanism other than democracy to curb the excesses of mankind's greed, but I believe a balance will be struck where individual effort is rewarded with economic influence proportional to the shrewdness of the businessperson. Self-interest, in my view, is innate to humans and not necessarily evil, but can, when left unchecked, lead to all kinds of evil. Self-interest has produced all sorts of good things that I think communists benefit from and take for granted.