For what it is worth, Marx spoke of the expenditure of "nerves and brains" as well as simple physical labor. As for the means of production, the game has clearl

For what it is worth, Marx spoke of the expenditure of "nerves and brains" as well as simple physical labor. As for the means of production, the game has clearly changed in our sector, where the most important tool has come down so far in price. But still, there has been no complete transformation. For example, the startup I work at needs every scrap of capital it has, as servers and bandwidth are not cheap. Neither is the feeding and housing of all the engineers, and the sales team... You can wave your hands about the ready availability of capital, but generally speaking, it will be in the hands of others, available for use only at their whim. Young people with no dependents and some bravery and disregard for their health can build an idea on a shoe string budget, but there is still usually a large gap between the product of this kind of endeavour and a self sustaining business. For the vast majority of software developers particularly those with a family to raise, the deal will be the same as it is for anyone else. Freely barter your skills and labor with those who would employ it - the holders of capital. And surely enough, the profits from these labors will accumulate with these same people, those who hold the capital. The trade off is sustenance, "security", in exchange for all profit. If you think capital itself is a virtue that is entitled to the profits of all labor, then I suppose you are in turn entitled to hold that opinion. So long as the lives of those who are in thrall to capital have a "reasonable quality of life", yes? I won't even go down the road of opportunity inequality here, but I will just say I disagree with how readily you discount environmental factors in the development of people, and how readily you discount the influence of privilege.