[__MatrixMan__]

A hammer is a poor example of the means of production now that they're so easy to come by. The chokepoint is elsewhere.

A more relevant example would be influence over the information that people consult when they're deciding which carpenter to hire. You need both a hammer and a place to swing it that gets you paid--and nobody is trying to restrict access to hammers to protect their position.

This is why many of our most valuable companies are ad companies--you operate at a disadvantage unless you give them a cut of your profits.

[robertlagrant]

In your example the means of production is an advertisement? How would the worker own the means of production? Hammer and newspaper? Or hammer and all the newspapers?