Final answer:
The cartoon suggests that business owners have significant control over their workers and may exploit them for profit, as described by conflict theory and historical critiques like those by Karl Marx.
Step-by-step explanation:
The cartoon implies that business owners control workers and their wages in a capitalist society. The cartoon's message echoes the views of conflict theorists who believe that capitalists get rich while workers remain poor. This reflects the ideas presented by Karl Marx in Das Kapital, where he discussed the exploitation of labor and the creation of enormous corporations that exert considerable control over industries and workers. Such control could result in economic practices where workers are paid less than the value their labor generates and become indebted to the company, limiting their ability to leave and find other employment opportunities.