relationalanthropology.wordpress.com
Commodification, Captivity, and the Making of Masters:
How Resource‑Gated Access Produces Dependent Classes Introduction In societies where essential resources are commodified, access is never neutral. It is structured, rationed, and controlled. When access to survival resources — money, housing, education, communication, transportation, and digital connectivity — is contingent on payment, permission, or lineage, the system produces masters and dependents by design. This article examines how commodification creates captive classes, how childhood dependency becomes a lifelong vulnerability, and why individuals with restricted access have almost no defense against infrastructural control.