Agreed. I have friends that are plumbers and friends that own factories.
Both plumbers and factory owners do indeed have opportunities to exploit people. But my plumber friend can only exploit one customer at a time, where as a factory owner multiplies that ability. Multiplication is a powerful operator.
The key word is that a plumber "can" exploit one customer at a time.
A plumber can exploit a customer by charging an exorbitantly high rate for work. They can choose to exploit their position of power as a supplier of services where a customer has an urgent need.
Exploitation is not charging a high rate for work. It is charging a higher rate when a customer is not in a position to shop around.
Of course there’s more ways to cheat people than skimming wages via capitalism. Marx point was that capitalism should be understood as a way to cheat people at scale.
> The plumber generally exploits one or two employees. But otherwise your point stands.
It's hard to know where to start with things like this. How does the plumber exploit employees? Why are you assuming anyone exploits anyone by default?
Labour generates value. An employee generates value and the employer pays the employee only a fraction of the value generated, after paying off all expenses. That is called profit. Marx defines exploitation in the amoral sense, like exploiting natural resources.
Customers don’t get exploited in this way. They generally are also employees of some company that does exploit them, but that is a separate relationship.
Both plumbers and factory owners do indeed have opportunities to exploit people. But my plumber friend can only exploit one customer at a time, where as a factory owner multiplies that ability. Multiplication is a powerful operator.