The profit motive works both ways--employees seek to maximize their wages.
But only a fool would claim that employees individually have the power to sway someone who owns the means of production. With thousands of employees, you think they care about one individual?
The power imbalance is real. That's why labor unions are a thing, and why we use government to regulate the worst offenders. It's also why we have a...or at least some of us try to have...a progressive tax system to counter-balance the relatively free economy.
Most people are workers, and workers often times have almost no bargaining power individually. Also, those workers who are weakest at competition, run the risk of being extremely poor and needing assitance...assistance which we can afford (in our weathliest of economies of the world), to give them.
Your OP premise is mostly true though, that we mischaracterize capitalism...but we also mischaracterize Democrats and progressive policy ideas too...misinformation abounds in our society.
Far worse than capitalism, would be a system that put for example, Republican political appointees in charge of our means of production. Can any Democrat/Liberal imagine life like that? Of course not, it would destroy the nation.
Same if it was a political Democrat in charge. In fact, politics right now is not nearly separated from business, as it should be. Look at our news media, its become political to the point of absurdity. Look at citizens united, ensuring that the biggest powers of our nation can dramatically influences politics in ways that your average voter cannot (with just a vote). Look at how both sides, but especially Republicans, buy corporate sponsorship by reducing corporate/wealthy taxes....
I think capitalism has proven to be a bigger driver economically, and technologically, than most other ideas.
But we've also seen that certain areas like healthcare, seem to provide better outcomes AND lower prices, when government has a bigger role.
And we obviously need safety nets...we could be doing more there with education, healthcare, and minimum wage....and higher taxes on the biggest earners.
Capitalism is a great engine...and supporting it should be good regulations that limit the extremes, limits on political influence, taxes that allow for the basics like healthcare and education.
We could also do with a smarter American culture...we suffer from political misinformation and distortion to the degree that it makes it harder for our society to function that it should be, compared to our peer nations.
It's not a contradiction to both support capitalism and social safety nets, higher taxes, etc. It's sensible IMO. And none of that is "communist", like the morons often claim.
