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Contribution Of Marxist Analysis

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The body of work produced by Karl Marx during his life in the eighteenth century is primarily an explication of the Capitalist mode of production. Through his development of a thorough analysis of the workings of the system, Marx delved into the structures of the economic system and found it to be inherently qualified by contradictions. It is the aim of this essay to present the structures, as extant in Marx’s analysis, and subsequently examine what these contradictions are and how they operate in the function and dysfunction of Capitalist society. The analysis will take the form of a detailed exploration of several interpretations of Marx himself, and Marxist thought as it has developed over the last two centuries. Finally, a connection will …show more content…

To properly outline the structural components of Capitalism, one must begin with its smallest functional unit founded in the material world – the commodity. As Capitalism is a system orientated towards wealth (Marsh, 1996), the commodity’s being ‘the elementary form of Capitalist wealth’ (Mandel, 1976), means that true clarity can only be achieved by understanding such an entity. They are such entities which, in primitive society, operated as subsistence objects, produced for the survival of humans (Ritzer, 2000). The extent to which the commodity achieves this, the amount it can function in the process of use, is known as ‘use-value’ (Best, 2003). However, under Capitalist production, the commodity takes on a monetary value, an ‘exchange value’ (Best, …show more content…

The major structural contradictions can be identified in the issue of commodity value (Best, 2003), class conflict and exploitation (Marsh, 1996) and the effects this has on the worker (Harlambos & Holborn, 2008). Marx argues that use-value is the only significant worth of a product, however, the Capitalist society has conflated this with exchange value – a worth based on abstract market fluctuations rather than material reality (Best, 2003). As the exchange value is not set, it is only the realisation of profits – of the difference between labour costs and the amount paid for the commodity – that benefit the Capitalist. This creates a situation where the Capitalist is over reliant on an unstable situation (Best, 2003). Herein lies one of the foundational contradictions of Capitalism to which Marx accredits the system’s over all

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