This from the New Yorker profile of Simon: "“The Wire,” Simon often says, is a show about how contemporary American society—and, particularly, “raw, unencumbered capitalism”—devalues human beings. He told me, “Every single moment on the planet, from here on out, human beings are worth less.."

But Rhayader is right to point out that he's referring to "raw, unencumbered capitalism." This from a Simon interview with David Mills, posted at undercoverblackman: "I’m a social democrat. I believe in capitalism as the only viable motivating force to create wealth. But I believe that there have to be certain social frameworks that allow for a distribution of a share of that wealth throughout the classes. …"