I always find this one interesting. I think Capitalism as en entire system isn't necessarily cancerous in total. Marx probably didn't have the vision of cancer we have today, but I think his analogy about the vampire was still better. Capitalism as a system is hard to just call a cancer because it is productive, because its laborers are productive. Capital as cancer in the system is closer, but still not as good. So saying that capital is a vampire, and so capitalism is a society dominated by vampires, is a better analogy. It is dead, but can only keep itself moving and growing by consuming the living (labor). In doing so, it grows and gets more hungry, and continuously needs to balance a need to consume more versus to let the living (labor) produce (so that it can be consumed). Cancer has no such mechanism to protect itself and no desire to stay alive and growing. Capital is mindless but the system gives it interests and mechanisms to act within the system in its own interest.

I guess my point is that cancer as an analogy underestimates capital and the system in which capital functions as the organizer of labor.

Long rant, no real reason I wrote this out except I was kinda bored. Calling it cancer is fine too lol