History is Always Repeated - Assignment Example

Teacher: TOPIC: Describe and comment on one ‘’bad’’ aspect (e.g. slavery) and one ‘’good’’ aspect (e.g. modern science and technology) of the emergence of capitalism in Western Europe in the 17th to the 19th centuries. Introduce the view of two world philosophers. Capitalism is the economic system surviving and prevailing until today, proven the strongest economic and social system that have existed ever, actually meeting human nature in all standards. Capitalism is the most ancient economic system linked with human existence upon its appearance in organized form of dependent work and its ruling relationships. It has to do with collective form of dependent work, within a frame of freedom and free development from all points of view. As the great philosopher Marx had said, being against capitalism, ‘’History is always repeated, but in different forms, structures are being transformed, but in fact they are always the same in content, and only their form changes, the way they appear and adjust to each era, in the frame of ‘’competition and striving between social classes’’, (Karl Marx 1976). The existence of social classes is a consequence of economic system of capitalism, that according to Marx will someday lead to ‘’Marxist and Communist society in a determinist way’’, (Karl Marx 1976). The first scale of Marxist theory has been verified already, and we are not sure if some day, the rest of his predictions will come true. It’s true that Capitalism had appeared in ancient years, in places such as Athens, and Rome in the form of slavery. Slavery continued to exist, despite of appearance of Christianity later, and Christ claimed on ‘Equality of all human beings’’. Of course Christianity, influenced history to a large extent, but really people did not change. As individuals make one system as units of it and parts of it, then an individual is influenced by the system where is born and developed, thus one’s ‘’social conscience is defined by society’’, (Karl Marx 1971). During Middle Ages, slavery was developed within Feudal system. Feudal slavery, was really a kind of slavery and has to be called so, as it was based on relationships between seigniors and slave, surviving from the old days of Ancient Roman Empire and as a consequence to it. Then in the 17th century, with the discovered New World, by Christophe Colombo (in the end of 15th century and hence), Vasco De Gama, etc, there was a necessity of slavery more than ever and expansion of colonialism. These were the main features of late middle Ages. Then with appearance of Enlighten and its period, in the 18th century, and after Renaissance in the 17 century, the attitude towards slavery changed. Upon French Revolution also in 1789-1793, feudalism disappears little by little, with the upcoming of Civil Class, based on new forms of trade and trading relationships, national and international trading, and new means of production. Thus the richest merchants, who achieved in the end, to own, means of production, became the richest people all over Europe, and development of industry and industrial society started little by little, that led Europe to the state of nowadays, thus going through 19th and 29th century, until the rise of 21st century, and new forms of capitalism. –Also the ideas of Letters and Elucidation, after Renaissance influenced thinking of large numbers of people all over Europe, and all prevailing mentality, of liberal economy, which is based, on dependent labor, ‘’human exploitation, and non surplus of human labor’’ (Karl Marx, 1976). This is according to Marx, the weak point of capitalism, but what actually makes it strong: Human slavery and exploitation, and economic power of those owning the means of production, and the ‘’non paid surplus human labor, in terms of exploitation’’. In the mean time, and for two centuries, while capitalism got rooted, in Europe there were several events happening, wars, destruction, expansion of populations, and rising of new social structures, within an economic system of liberalism, that based on free economy, enhanced the spirit of capitalism, as a necessity already. After the I World War, with some new inventions, by means of research, more and more capital had to be accrued for growth and development and more investments in capital had to be made, to enhance trading and industry, with the new appearing means based on industry, and research. Thus after ii World War, Europe was devised to two blocs; The Eastern Communist Bloc, and Western bloc based on pure capitalism. There were many events that occurred during the 19th century. The Civil Class that gave birth to the Proletariat, in the same was that Feudalism had given birth to the Civil class round two centuries ago. Poor proletariat lived from wages, that during the 20st century becomes salary, and working class gained some rights and entitlements little by little: The first strike, had been in a factory of matches in England in 1819, when badly paid women went on strike for first time to claim some labor rights. Then the Commune in Paris in 1871, with Leon Bloom, failed, after the end of Napoleon wars, and little y little, Europe came through a period of instability for the next few decades, leading t the I World War. Then after the ii World and division of Europe in two blocs, things really started to change radically, and led to the era of today globalization, and multi-cultural society in terms of strict capitalist development. As long as social changes, started happening in Europe after 17th century, as described above, social upheavals, culture transformation, the society started changing radically, until it gained its today form. Needs in replacing destructions from wars, and expansions as well as changes of populations, urged for more strict capitalist relationships, development in trading, urged for more industrial development, and the need for investments in research and growing technology appeared to be more a necessity than just need. This developing system, leading to growth and evolution, in terms of free economy, influenced thoughts of many philosophers in a positive way that become big enemies of Marxist system, and defended free trading and liberal economy, with the main argument that ‘’free development leads to progress anyway, even with some disadvantages, that may have and the capitalist system is the only healthy economic system, that means evolution, and human progress. That each economy has to be developed nationally, this means locally, and then trading and technology will develop internationally, to lead to a society of prosperity’’. There’s no wealth that can be produced with no capital invested, for the further distribution of wealth’’ (Adam Smith, 1978). Also later, ‘’man should care for his own profit; there’s nothing bad in being individualist, and not care for our own profit. Those who can will win, and ‘’this is the mere human nature, human nature is like this, want to have, and to evolve, thus capitalism leading to growth and development. There are always some who will work for others, everybody cannot have the same with others, thus employers and employees will exist forever, as all people are not the same. Because being equal means you are the same, but are we all the same? Judging objectively, one cannot say that capitalism is the perfect system for humans. We have experienced many bad consequences from capitalism. ‘’our society is the way it is because the previous centuries led things to this point. However It’s the only system that is healthy, and is linked to human nature, as it leads to constant progress and evolution, while closed societies lead to stagnation.’’. (Heilbronner, 2007). There are many bad consequences of capitalism humanity bears until today, thus creating economic inequalities, social disparities, unfair distribution of wealth, thus leading to poverty of majority and wealth, in the hands of minority. Imagine all individuals living in the capitalist system today would everyone evolve if one lived in another system. Of course one who is wealthy today, would probably be a little less rich, and one too poor would be probably more prosperous. This is due to the unpaid surplus of labor, that in fact the most powerful financially of this world, according to the opposite point of view base their wealth in the exploitation of majority, thus constituting minority, while gap between rich and poor is still increasing. All wars during the last decades, and most of wars in generally are due to economic reasons. A worker should be always paid what one produces, this is fairer. On the other side, if does not money accrue and accumulate, there cannot be a redistribution of the wealth produced, and reinvestments that will produce more funds and so on. Capitalist system is based on freedom and thus evolution. When you live in a society where you are free then you can produce mentally, thus led to progress. Open economies advanced, because they developed first in national terms and then expanded in international terms. Social structures can advance towards progress, upon exchange of cultural product, this leading to globalization, and multi-cultural society little by little, but it’s equal to advancement, and progress of means of productions, since being financed by those owning them, they will be reinvested and give prosperity. Then who would be able to finance technology and research in sciences, more chances for a wide education for everybody, if not capital accrued? This is a matter of policy of a state of course and policy of governments, how they want to distribute funds, produced in terms of a national economy. The way of taxation of course should be based on general social needs and more fair distribution of wealth produced, for the well being of all members of a country, and for a life of dignity. With free thinking, the mental horizon of people is widened, and as long as more thinking is produced, more inventions may be done, more progress and technology advance, as well as investments in science and education. If we admit that all people are not the same, then everyone should develop one’s own personality, and is entitled to believe what man wants, by respecting freedom of others of course, these being a feature of a mature and sane personality. In other words, then term capitalism is identified to evolution, a step further in History. System is reproduced, as long as existence is reproduced, but as said in the beginning, with always new structures, rather structures in a new form, and always leading to somewhere else, though repeated. If we want to comment on ex communist countries, then these countries may even have not applied, Marxism the way Marx had defended his theory. A system based on close economy, is condemned to fail. Because this system, at least the way it is applied, will crash on the human nature that is born to be free, and think free. Thus this fake close system, will led to stagnation, be being stagnated itself. People who are not entitled to individual property, and work for something impersonal only that is ‘state for them’’, will have no motivation for working, there will be no production then, nothing to be redistributed, no investments, for research for technology, thus human personality is restricted to a repeated system, and social structures, nor even to free thinking, and it’s better to be deprived of bread than social, political, economic and spiritual freedom. Then progress stops, and evolution is too slow. No one could ever live in such a system, we saw this too early in history, upon Russian Revolution, in 1917, with the counter revolution of the workers of Rostand In Russia also: Workers who revolted against the Red Terrorism, even before Stalin speared, with the rise of Communism, when their big factory was closed. If we want to keep something from Communism then this is: “from each one with one’s possibilities to all the others in regard to their needs’’. This is a sane aspect of Communism at least. Capitalism could be saner, if the interest of minority worked more to the profit of majority. Work Cited Robert L. Heilbroner and William Milberg. (2007) The making of economic society, 12th edition, USA: Prentice Hall. Robert L. Heilbroner. (1999) The Worldly Philosophers, The lives, Times, and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers, 7th Edition, USA: Simon & Shuster. Robert L. Heilbroner (Editor). (1986) The Essential Adam Smith, USA: Norton & Company Ltd. Marx, karl. (1971) Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, Tr. S. W. Ryanzanskaya, edited by M. Dobb. London: Lawrence & Whishart. Marx, Karl, (1867, 1976) Capital: A critique of Political Economy, Vol. 1, New York: Penguin Books. Read More