Did Marx Think That Capitalism Is Unjust - Essay Example

? Did Marx think that capitalism is unjust? Table of Contents Introduction 3 Discussion 3 Conclusion 7 Introduction The theory of Karl Marx popularlyknown as Marxism as opposed to Capitalism looks at the society from a socio- economic perspective and emphasises the concept of class struggle. The main proponents of this philosophy were Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The theory of Marxism is based on the materialistic theories of Economics and productions. The four forces of production form the basis of this theory, namely, Land, Labour, Capital and Organisation. The theory of Base and the Superstructure is also a part of this theory. The capitalist society made of human beings form the base over which the Superstructure of the social, political, legal or religious institutions of the state is built (Friedman & Friedman, 1962, p. 42). The ownership class dominates this superstructure but the economic base will have its effect on the operation of the Superstructure. When a conflict between the social relations of the base and the owners of the forces of production takes place, it leads to a change in the superstructure (Lukes, 1987, p.47). The distinctiveness of a social class will depend on the relationship it has with the forces of production. This particular theory of Marx led to various controversies in the modern times. Discussion Capitalism theory discusses about an economic structure in which there is private ownership of means of production and the owners have the sole motive of profit maximisation (David, 1987, p.72). The main components of capitalist society are accumulation of capital, competition in markets and labour who would be paid wages. At the end of feudalism, capitalism has evolved in the Western countries. Marx explains that a Capitalist Society can be classified into two classes such as the Bourgeois and the Proletariat (Dahrendorf, 1959, p.21). The Bourgeois or the Capitalist class are the ones who owned the means of production, which include the land, raw materials, machinery which are required to produce the final product. The Proletariat on the other hand are those who do not have possession of these means and hence trades of their labour in return of wages. According to his theory the ownership class and the working class are dependent on each other in a view for exchanging mutually while the production process would go on (Brass, 2004, p.23). The ownership class would need the labour class for the production with the use of their physical labour. The working class would get the opportunity to work and earn wages which is necessary for their survival (Schumpeter, 2013, P.36). This relation is however governed by exploitation and conflict of interest. Karl Marx claimed that the so called capitalists would be able to earn profits by exploitation of their workers. Profits are accumulated by the capitalist's requisition of surplus value formed by unstinted labour of the workers (Carver, 1982, p.43). Put in a different way, the wages that the labourers were paid were way less than the value that they contributed to their employers. The theory states that the workers work for a period of necessary labour and they return back the same worth of production as the wages they are paid. The concept of surplus labour comes here. The period of time when the workers produce in excess of the necessary labour is the capital gain for the employers. They make no equivalent outlay in return of this. Thus the rate of surplus value would be the degree of exploitation the employers impose on their labourers (Bengo, n.d., p.9). Marx regarded this phenomenon as a system where there was exploitation of labourers systematically. Marxism incorporated the concept of non reciprocal benefit where one party benefits the other but the other does not reciprocate in the same way. Thus one party remain wrongly exploited by the unjust. This according to Marx is exploitation and Capitalism is unjust. Marx held that a worker was ethically entitled to the product of his own labour with certain deductions like the establishment cost of the production or for the welfare of the differently able (McLellan, 2007, p.27). According to him in a socialist society there would be no inequality prevailing and the workers would get remuneration of exactly what they produced. In a capitalistic society this does not take place and the labourer gets wages of lesser value than what they produce. The surplus value goes straight into the possession of the owner class. The disabled, however, are entitled to a part of this value from a moral perspective. One school of thought also believes that the owner class imposes coercion on the workers in order to extract unilateral benefit from them. Marx posited that the bourgeois class exploit the working class (Bottomore, 1979, p.37). They do not make any contribution to the production explicitly or implicitly. Hence he proposed that it is the labourers who are entitled to the entire output produced. Marx argues that Capitalism has distinctive characteristics. It is not just a commodity exchange scheme but also capital development in monetary terms with the sole motive of earning profits by procuring commodities and their improvisation into final products which can earn higher compensation. The basic idea of this philosopher relies on the fact that the Have not’s are exploited by the have classes. Marx formulated the theory of labour value, which supports that value of a particular commodity is the necessary labour time capitalised in it. While making the production set up, the owner class buys the labourer’s power to work, i.e., his capability to labour, for a particular day. This according to Marx is a commodity and has some value. This value is determined in the same manner as the values of the other commodities are determined. This would essentially be the value of the commodities that the labourer would need on a particular day that would keep him alive for that day (Kolakowski, 1976, p.62). If it is assumed that the first four hours of a typical working day is exhausted in producing commodities equivalent to the wages of the labourer, then that component of his production would be regarded as the necessary labour. If a worker performs production in excess of this it would be regarded as surplus labour and the Value of production would be surplus value which would be taken away by the Capitalists (Avineri, 1968, p.43). This surplus value gives rise to profit for the bourgeois class. Marx argued that labour is the only commodity has excess capacity of production. In Marx’s opinion this is also called variable capital. With more mechanisation of the industry, the constant capital is used more and the variable capital is used less hence the rate of profit would fall. Marx held that in the development of the society the transformation from Capitalism to Socialism is essential. The proponents of Marxism hold that a socialist society would be advanced than the Capitalist counterpart (Trigger, 2007, p.35). The theory of Marx faced several criticisms. The supporters of Democratic Socialism do not agree with the theory that socialism is achievable through class struggle. Some of the anarchists argue that there should be an intermediate phase between these transitions. Others have cited that this kind of process would give rise to coercion. The renowned Economist Alfred Marshall had criticised Marx by saying that the production in a factory is not only the product of the labour of the workers but also a joint product of the performance of the managers and the capital and the raw materials employed. Keynes has described the book of Karl Marx as inapplicable to the modern day. The supporters of Egalitarianism disagree that the concept of sharing of income diminishes the incentives or enthusiasm of the individuals to work and thus incomes cannot be generalised. Each person should be rewarded as per his performance (Mill and Bentham, 2004, p. 11). Empirical Analyses across countries and over time advocate the fact that Marxism had failed to explain the social evolution theory. Marx could not even implement it successfully in his own country, though it had some significance in Russia and China where the principles of Marx have been implemented. Some academicians argue that the predictions of Marx have failed because he had predicted that the revolution would start in those countries with the most advanced capitalistic societies (Althusser, 1967, p.12). But that remained in the books as a theory only and did not happen in reality. Conclusion Marx himself believed that capitalism should be encouraged to a certain extent because it would help in the economic and technological progress of a society. However it also has the potential to destruct a society because it is an abominably unfair and unjust setup where the have not’s were exploited by the have’s. There is unequal distribution of power and wealth and an inclination to move towards monopolisation. The theory proposed by Marx gave rise to various other theories in the years to come. It gave rise to many revolutionary movements which would lead to a change in the different societies across the globe. His works also inspired and laid the foundation of various other communist ideas. The modern age supporters claimed that this theory actually explained the reasons for the economic inequality that is still existent in the society. However it has very little practical implications when empirically tested. References Althusser, L., 1969. For Marx. London: Penguin. Avineri, S. ,1968. The Social and Political Thought of Karl Marx. London:Cambridge University Press. Bengo, F. M., No. Date. Marxist Theories of Class and Class Struggle. The Essen.Ce of Marxist Theory and Class Struggle, Vol (3), no.1, pp-9-42. Bottomore, T., 1979. Karl Marx. Oxford: Blackwell. Brass, C. M. et. Al., 2004. Act assessment: The Best Test Prep for the Act. Capitalistic Views. Research & Education Association. Carver, T., 1982. Marx's Social Theory. New York: Oxford University Press. Dahrendorf, R., 1959. Class and Class Conflict in Industrial Society. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. David, C., 1987. 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