If they own the business itself and can use that position of ownership to control how their employees work they're still capitalists. Capital doesn't have to be a physical thing, you just need some legal structure that the state recognizes and will enforce with violence for you. (Like, workers can't just declare this is a co-op now and set their own rules, eventually the police show up. The slip of paper that says the police are on the owner's side is capital.)
Every rung of capitalist is under constant threat of being casually tossed aside by a bigger capitalist, until you get to the top of the hierarchy and they need to grow their empire as fast as possible lest someone else do it faster and put them back into that situation. It's a pretty shitty system even for them. (Though of course, they're under threat of becoming smaller capitalists or being reduced to working class, not the threat of death from exposure like the working class is.)
If they own the business itself and can use that position of ownership to control how their employees work they're still capitalists. Capital doesn't have to be a physical thing, you just need some legal structure that the state recognizes and will enforce with violence for you. (Like, workers can't just declare this is a co-op now and set their own rules, eventually the police show up. The slip of paper that says the police are on the owner's side is capital.)
deleted by creator
Oh sure.
Every rung of capitalist is under constant threat of being casually tossed aside by a bigger capitalist, until you get to the top of the hierarchy and they need to grow their empire as fast as possible lest someone else do it faster and put them back into that situation. It's a pretty shitty system even for them. (Though of course, they're under threat of becoming smaller capitalists or being reduced to working class, not the threat of death from exposure like the working class is.)