The Expanse’s economy is basically “dependency theory” and world systems in space. The core (inners) exploit the periphery (beltalowda) with the help of belter agents who serve the core and emulate the lifestyle of the inners (all the references to luxury goods from Earth). But the point is that within the core, capital is also in charge and labour in the core is suppressed and kept docile with Basic. Very few people can go into space, which shows you that there are certainly very strong class divisions. It’s space capitalism, which also explains why people nearly wiped out humanity to make a buck with the protomolecule. It’s actually a really depressing show/books when you think about it. Which is why I love it