The Capitalisaur: Capitalism, Ecocide, and Mass Control in the Age of Totalitarianism

• In Event: Roundtable: Policing Perspectives

Abstract

Capitalism is not merely an economic system—it is a devouring beast, a “Capitalisaur” that leaves inequality, environmental devastation, and human degradation in its path. This talk exposes how global capitalism has mutated into a parasitic force built on centuries of colonial plunder, ecological destruction, and systemic exploitation. In today’s era—marked by the rise of Trumpism, looming fascism, perpetual war, and ecocide—the Capitalisaur thrives by commodifying everything: labor, land, knowledge, and even life itself. Mass incarceration, migrant deportations, and the militarization of police serve as tools to maintain this predatory system, criminalizing the marginalized while shielding the architects of global misery. Drawing on Smedley Butler’s War is a Racket, critiques of the neoliberal university, and data on wildlife extinction and environmental collapse, I argue that policing today functions not to protect the public but to discipline dissent and uphold capitalist power. This presentation calls for dismantling the machinery of oppression—from corporate profiteers to authoritarian regimes—redirecting law enforcement away from targeting the vulnerable and towards holding the powerful accountable for their political, economic, and environmental crimes. The Capitalisaur cannot be reformed; it must be disarmed.

Author

• Peter Marina, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse