As such, many of the ideas that were included were half-baked and never worked out. One cannot evaluate the CM as a theoretical document without reference to Marx's other work. Second, Marx was quite aware of the contradiction between individual capitalists and capital in general.
Individual capitalists seek to maximize profit at the expense of workers and other capitalists.
However, if each individual capitalist pursues his or her own individual interest without regard to others, the result is social chaos. Therefore, capital in general needs social stability. One of the major contradictions between indivdual capital and capital in general is the necessity to maintain a consuming class that consumes on the job and in private life. It also needs to monitor itself. The middle class fluctuates as capital pursues the contradictory goals of maximizing profits and maintaining social stability which guarantees profitability.