Some "Libertarian" capitalists say yes to this question, arguing that the Labour Theory of Value (LTV) does not imply socialism but what they call "self-managed" capitalism. This, however, is not a valid inference. The LTV can imply both socialism (selling the product of ones labour) and communism (distribution according to need). The theory is a critique of capitalism, not necessarily the basis of a socialist economy, although it can be considered this as well. For example, Proudhon used the LTV as the foundation of his proposals for mutual banking and co-operatives, while Robert Owen used it as the basis of his system of labour notes. Marx, on the other hand, use the LTV purely as a critique of capitalism while hoping for communism.

In other words, though a system of co-operative selling on the market (what is mistakenly termed "self-managed" capitalism by some) or exchanging labour-time values would not be communism, it is not capitalism. This is because the workers are not separated from the means of production. Therefore, right-libertarians' attempts to claim that it is capitalism are false, an example of misinformed insistence that virtually every economic system, bar state socialism and feudalism, is capitalist. Some libertarian Marxists (as well as Leninists) claim, similarly, that non-communist forms of socialism are also just "self-managed" capitalism. Why libertarian Marxists desire to reduce the choices facing humanity to either communism or some form of capitalism is frankly strange, but also understandable because of the potential dehumanising effects of market systems seen under capitalism.

However, it could be argued that communism (based on free access and communal ownership of resources) would mean that workers are exploited by non-workers (the young, the sick, the elderly and so on). While this may reflect the sad lack of personal empathy (and so ethics) of the pro-capitalist defenders of this argument, it totally misses the point as far as communist anarchism goes. This is because of two reasons.

Firstly, "anarchist communism . . . means voluntary communism, communism from free choice" [A. Berkman, ABC of Anarchism, p. 11], which means it is not imposed on anyone but is created and practised only by those who believe in it. Therefore it would be up to the communities and syndicates to decide how they wish to distribute the products of their labour and individuals to join, or create, those that meet their ideas of right and wrong. Some may decide on equal pay, others on payment in terms of labour time, yet others on communistic associations (we have indicated elsewhere why most anarchists consider that communism would be in people's self-interest, so we will not repeat ourselves here). The important thing to realise is that co-operatives will decide what to do with their output, whether to exchange it or to distribute it freely. Hence, because it is based on free agreement, anarchist communism cannot be exploitative. Members of a co-operative which is communistic are free to leave, after all. Needless to say, the co-operatives will usually distribute their product to others within their confederation and exchange with the non-communist ones in a different manner. We say "usually," for in the case of emergencies like earthquakes and so forth the situation would call for mutual aid.

Secondly, the so-called "non-workers" have been, or will be, workers. As the noted Spanish anarchist De Santillan pointed out, "[n]aturally, children, the aged and the sick are not considered parasites. The children will be productive when they grow up. The aged have already made their contribution to social wealth and the sick are only temporarily unproductive." [After the Revolution, p. 20] In other words, over their life time, everyone contributes to society and it so using the "account book" mentality of capitalism misses the point.

The reason why capitalism is exploitative is that workers have to agree to give the product of their labour to another (the boss) in order to be employed in the first place (see section B.4). Capitalists would not remain capitalists if their capital did not produce a profit. In libertarian communism, by contrast, the workers themselves agree to distribute part of their product to others (i.e. society as a whole, their neighbours, friends, and so forth). It is based on free agreement, while capitalism is marked by power, authority, and the firm hand of market forces. As resources are held in common, people have the option of working alone if they so desired.

Similarly, capitalism by its very nature as a "grow or die" system, needs to expand into new areas, meaning that unlike libertarian socialism, it will attempt to undermine and replace other social systems (usually by force, if history is any guide). As freedom cannot be given, there is no reason for a libertarian-socialist system to expand beyond the effect of a "good example" on the oppressed of capitalist regimes.