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Compare Marx's Theory Of Capitalism And The U. K.

678 Words3 Pages

Valeria Ramos
Professor Nolen
Intro to Philosophy
4 December 2017
Capitalism and the U.K. Capitalism has been an ever increasing ideology in the modern world ever since the fall of the Iron Curtain. The purpose of this essay is to apply Karl Marx’s theory of Capitalism on the Brexit vote in 2016. The united kingdom’s vote towards brexit was a case of self interest. Karl marx published works on capitalism provide insight relevant to the events leading up to the decision for the EU withdrawal.
Founded only 25 years ago, the European Union was formed on the inspiration and ideals of a peaceful and prosperous union. It currently consists of a total 28 member countries including Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and other Mediterranean countries. …show more content…

Marx gathers seven criticisms towards capitalism and categorizes people as being either Bourgeoisie or Proletariat. The bourgeoisie are the rulers in a capitalist system, the corporate elite. The proletarians are the working-class people. In the first criticism, Marx points out the economic greed and inequality of a capitalist system, a system that possesses the resources to provide but won’t give because the owners of that system do not want to suffer profit losses. The second criticism states that the proletariat, the working-class are the reason the system have the necessary resources but are not given the privilege to own or afford the same, if any, luxuries the bourgeoisie own. This system demonstrates the relationship between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat in which the the bourgeoisie has built it against society. As a result, this establishes a culture of conflict and self-interest where society convinces itself that each individual is a threat to the other, institutionalizing political, economic and social competition. This conditions humanity to alienate themselves from one another, instilling a cynical view of the world around them. The same culture mentioned in the first criticism is the same culture that can be seen anywhere in the U.S. The U.S. values money and exploitation of labour workers whether it be through tax breaks, 60-cent wages for manufacturing overpriced athletic apparel or a basic human necessity

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Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great classes directly facing each other: Bourgeoisie and Proletariat” (Marx, Engels, 1888, p.80) Marx had identified that the proletariat and the bourgeoisie had both different and opposing objectives. He concluded that the bourgeoisie oppressed the proletariat in their desire to create surplus value through control of the mode of production. In order to generate profit, the ‘oppressive’ employers attack the ‘oppressed’ workers by keeping wages low in order to reduce deficit. This is an example of how class conflict is created, as the proletariat’s objective to earn a sustainable wage is severely affected by the bourgeoisie’s need for surplus value.

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It wastes, exhausts, and murders itself” (“Quotes”). The people of London society, controlled under a dictator, know nothing of democracy and neither do they care. This suppression of the freedom of thought aligns with Marxist principles, founded on socialism and is historically anti-capitalist. Capitalism, a social system based on individual rights where all property is privately owned, is the exact opposite of the government structure in Brave New World (“Capitalism Tour”). Mustpha Mond relates capitalist sentiments to his own agenda as, “Liberty to be inefficient and miserable.

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In Karl Marx’s 1848 political work The Communist Manifesto, he outlines the problems he observes in existing economic, political, and social structures while also expressing a desire to destroy those structures. Marx’s writing places heavy emphasis on class barriers in particular, exploring the discrepancies and class antagonisms between the “proletariat” laborer class and the “bourgeoisie” ruling class. The manifesto proceeds to provide an alternative to these existing sociopolitical class structures: “an association, in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all.” (Marx 244) The problem with this proposed structural goal is not the fundamental idea of eliminating class antagonisms, but rather that

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Wealth is a universal desire, and for many would provide endless opportunities in life. With numerous possibilities regarding education, location and luxury, this would entail a life of simplicity and ease. Yet, this is far from the truth and few people ponder the realistic implications of such a prosperous life style. However, a socioeconomic method of analysis, called Marxism, addresses the materialistic means by which wealth holds power over others and creates distinctions between classes. This approach was developed by a German philosopher, Karl Marx, who focuses on the power relationships and the differences in social status between the oppressed and the oppressing, or the privileged bourgeoisie and the hardworking proletariat.

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In this essay I am going to highlight some of the key issues that Marx focused on and why he believed that capitalism was doom to failure because of these issues and that eventually at some point it would have to come to an inevitable end. Marx is a socialist and a communist who believes that the material conditions of society shape the social structures and culture by the means of production and relations of production which he also believes are flawed in themselves which I will go on to discuss. In other words, means of production and relations of production equal mode of production which is the type of society we have due to capitalism. Capitalism works in a way in which those who have ownership have the power to control the way in which our economic system works (Adam Smith, Karl Marx & John Maynard Keynes p.68). He was very critical about capitalism, although not in the way that people may think, he did not necessarily believe that

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It is argued that social inequality occurs because of the conflict between the upper-class and the working-class, or as Marx defines it, the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. Based on the Manifesto of the Communist Party (Marx and Engels, 1848), the divergence emerges because the aim of the Bourgeoisie is to obtain a surplus-value that is produced by the work of the Proletariat. On the other side, the Bourgeoisie provides the Proletariat with the minimum required, such as a place to live and a minimum wage, in order to keep the society under control and avoid a rebellion. However, Marx did predict a revolt of the working-class that would eventually lead to a communist regime. When it comes to applying this theoretical approach to reality, it is evident to notice that no global revolt in regards to capitalism has occurred.

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Marx argues that the method of exploitation built into the capitalist economic system is the source of social dislikes that will eventually lead to the demolishing of capitalism itself. Marx distinguishes ordinary money from capital. A commodity is transformed into money, which is then transformed back into a commodity, and then sold for money and then that money is used to buy a commodity and so on. His concern with the exchange-value of labor power is to show that origin of surplus value is not about cheating the workers during the sale of their labor-power, but to show that surplus value may occur in an equal exchange.

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Capitalists are motivated not by social but by private interest. Capitalists have the power to exploit labour because they live without engaging in economic activity whereas workers have to sell their labour to survive. It is not society that remunerates labour but capitalists. Capitalists are individuals who concern themselves not with social interests but their own. In this Durkhein reflects Adam Smith’s “hidden hand” where self interest is the driving force of wealth creation.

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Marx and Engels look at capitalism with seriously negative opinions. They regard the system as extremely unsuitable, and are deeply concerned with getting rid of it. In a capitalist society, capitalists own and control the main resources of production - machinery, factories, mines, capital, etc. The modern working classes, or proletariats, own only their labor. Proletariats work for the capitalists, who own the product that was produced and then sell it for a profit.

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Capitalism is understood to be the “economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.” In modern society, capitalism has become the dominant economic system and has become so integrated that it has resulted in a change in the relationships individuals have with other members of society and the materials within society. As a society, we have become alienated from other members of society and the materials that have become necessary to regulate ourselves within it, often materials that we ourselves, play a role in producing. Capitalism has resulted in a re-organization of societies, a more specialized and highly segmented division of labour one which maintains the status quo in society by alienating the individual. Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim theorize on how power is embodied within society and how it affects the individuals of society.

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The proletariats are the wage earners or the labour class, in a capitalist society the proletarians don’t have much wealth, and their main asset is their labour power. The bourgeoisie is the class that owns the means of production, their class interest lies in the value of property and the preservation of capital, and this ensures their perpetual economic supremacy in society. According to Marx, in the capitalist mode of production, a worker slowly loses the power to decide upon his or her life and destiny, they lose their Gattungswesen (“species-essence”), and this is a consequence of living in a socially stratified society, where human beings become a mechanistic part of a social class. Even though human beings are self-conscious and autonomous, in a capitalist society they are nothing but an economic entity whose acts are dictated by the bourgeoisie, with the aim

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Marx believed that the current capitalist society is separated into two classes, the Proletariat society, and Bourgeois society. The Proletarians, as perceived by Marx, are part of the working class that only possess one significant material value, that is the ability to work, or labour power. The Bourgeoise, on the other hand, is the societal class that owns the means of production and hence rule over the Proletarians. As I quote from Marx’s book, “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” (Marx and Engels, 1988, p. 473)

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According to Edwards et al. (2006) Marx thought that within capitalism there would be an increased divide between the bourgeoisie class and the proletariat class in the future. The proletariats are lower of the two classes, the people who have to work for wages in order to survive. The bourgeoisie are the people in society who controlled and owned the means of production in a capitalist system.

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Capitalism, according to Karl Marx is divided into two major social classes: the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. The Bourgeoisie, which is the minority of the class system, own the means of production such as land, machinery, factories and raw materials whereas the Proletariat, which is the majority of the class system, having no means of their own production and have to work to earn wage for a living. Karl Marx has his own theory that history is made up by class struggle which he mentioned in his book – Manifesto of the Communist Party: “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” (Marx and Engels, 1848) and had predicted that the Proletariat would lead a revolution to overthrow the Bourgeoisie. Karl Marx believed that there will be intrinsic conflict like exploitation, alienation of labour and commodity fetishism between both of the classes.

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