Characteristics of Capitalist Society - Essay Example

NAME : XXXXXXXXXX TUTOR : XXXXXXXXXX TITLE : XXXXXXXXXXX COURSE : XXXXXXXXXX INSTITUTION : XXXXXXXXXX @2009 Characteristics of Capitalist society Capitalism is a mode of production in which capital and means of production are privately owned, goods and services are produced to be traded in market and profit is invested in technologies and industries. Capitalism enforces an economic system which calls for minimal state involvement. The primary unique characteristic of capitalism according to Marx is market exchange. In a capitalist society, input and out of production are produced for market, that is, for sale in an open market. In the capitalist mode of production, inputs and outputs are treated as commodities and are only supplied through the market. It is through sale of output that the capital owner can acquire claims to the surplus-product of human labor and realize those claims as profit. The owners of capital and the labor power owners act as two parties in the market. Each of them needs the other in order to survive. Similarly, the means of production are supplied through the market. The laws of supply and demand are used to govern the prices of these inputs and outputs (Marx and Engels 2006). In a capitalist society, the means of production are privately owned. Consequently, all decisions concerning investment are made by these private capital owners. The workers do not have any say in a capitalistic system. These private capital owners acts independently from each other and because of business secrecy and competitive pressures, they cannot co-ordinate their activities as per the collective, conscious planning. The absence of conscious coordination has resulted to social alienation among individuals in a capitalist society. Each enterprise is in a position to set their output prices as per the laws of supply and demand manifested through the market (Jessop 2002). A capitalist society is also characterized by wage-labor. Wage-labor is one of the many ways in which surplus labor is appropriated and distributed. The wage earners are forced to sale their labor because they don’t have access to any other means of subsistence and can acquire means of consumption only through market transactions. Workers in a capitalist society are free in a double sense: they are free from ownership of means of production and they are free to decide who will employ them. In a capitalist system, workers are forced to work for many hours while as they are paid low wages. To generate surplus labor, the capitalist since he/she owns and controls production and owns the product of labor make sure that the workers generate more value in production than he/she pays them. The ratio between necessary labor and surplus labor is what we call exploitation and it is which creates the surplus value. Workers are used as means to an end, profit maximization and capital accumulation. Wage-labor is treated as a commodity in a capitalist mode of production. The existence of wage labor in this modern era is a proof that capitalism still exits (Morton 2005). Capitalist production is characterized by competition, which is apparent between owners of capital for profits, between employers and workers over wages and between workers over employment opportunities. The owners of the means of productions are in constant competition as each try to overdo the other. The employers and the workers are in competition over wages as workers struggles to reduce the work-day and to increase wages the employers are seeking ways to lower the wages as low as possible and to increase the work-day both in length and intensity. This has led to formation of trade and labor unions to protect the interests of the workers. The limited employment opportunities inherent in capitalist system made workers to compete for one to secure one (Marx and Engels 2006). The main aim of capitalist production is to maximize net profit and to accumulate capital and obtain productive or non-productive assets. Enterprises in a capitalist society are driven by private interests. They maximize net profit by lowering production costs, increasing sale, monopolizing markets and supply and privatizing supply and consumption. One way, in which capitalism low production cost is by paying low wages to their workers, making them to work for long hours and intensifying their work-day. The inherent characteristic of capital accumulation in a capitalistic society is the increased exploitation of workers. They reinvest a large portion of the surplus-product of labor to ensure capital accumulation and output growth. Capitalists purchase commodities with the aim of making more money, additional value and surplus value. All these culminate into more profits which is their main goal. For capitalists, all that matters is to accumulate capital. The development of technology of production is driven by the profitability criteria (Jessop 2002). Capitalist mode of production creates a class society made up of the bourgeoisie and who own capital, the proletariat who possess nothing but their labor which they have to sell in order to survive, the different intermediate classes, for example self employed and the middle class made up of the educated or skilled professionals. The proletariat or the working class possesses neither the material goods to sell nor the means of production to produce commodities to sell in the market. They therefore have no alternative that to sell their labor-power to the bourgeoisie or the owners of the means of production. The working class works under the direction, control and supervision of the capital owners. The workers have the right to sell their labor but their do not have the property right in the product that result from their activity (Morton 2005). The fact that capitalist mode of production is privately initiated in a socially uncooperative and unplanned manner, leads to another dominant characteristic of capitalism over-production. This implies that a vital portion of the output cannot be sold at all or can only be sold at a price which cannot lead to maximization of profit, which is the primary goal of capitalism. On the other hand, over-production leads to over-accumulation of productive capital. This results to more investment of capital in production which cannot obtain a normal profit. The end result of these is low economic growth (recession) and in severe cases negative real growth (depression). Consequently, we experience mass unemployment, a situation which is apparent in today’s world. A capitalist state is mainly financed from taxes levied from the population and from credit. A capitalist state does not have an independent economic basis, for example landholdings or state-owned industries, which can give them enough income to sustain their activities (Marx and Engels 2006). Capitalism and modern international relations Capitalism has significantly influenced modern international relations. Most characteristics of capitalism are still common in most societies. International relations between states in this contemporary era have tended to reflect capitalist relations. Between European states, international relations have tended to be competitive and conflictual, whereas, the relationship between European states and the developing countries have been exploitative in nature. Europeans countries have control over the global means of production. The class relations of production are imminent among states in this modern era. This has led to the development of the core-peripheral relations. Modern international relations are characterized by unequal division of labor between the developed and developing countries. This critical characteristic of modern international relations has not only led to the widening gap between the wealthy and poor countries but also to the development of dependency relationship (Morton 2005). The capitalist system has led to development of international division of labor, the dependent states and the dominant states. The dependent states export primary commodities, minerals, agricultural commodities and labor, at a cheaper price to the dominant states who manufacture these commodities into products which they sell back to these poor countries at a high cost than they bought them. The dependent states have also served as repositories of surplus capital and outdated technologies. Although money, good and services flow into these dependent states, their distribution is determined by the economic interests of the developed countries rather than their economic interest. Industrialized states are both politically and economically powerful than the non-industrialized states. The structure of the international system is economically determined. It consists of the core and the periphery. The core include the developed countries with United State as the most powerful state followed by others such as Russia, China, Japan, France, Germany, Europe and Britain. The periphery include the developing countries such Latin America, Asia and Africa (Jahn 2006). The international system is an integrated capitalist system which seeks for capital accumulation. In their quest of power, the developed countries have made their way into the developing countries in order to incorporate them into the capitalist system so that they can exploit their natural resources. They have successfully done this by use of political consultants, missionaries, experts and Transnational Corporations (TNCs). The increase in foreign investments in developing countries is capitalistic in nature. Developed countries have moved on and invested in developing countries in their search for cheap labor and natural resources so that they can make more profit and accumulate capital. Foreign investments in developing countries have not led to development of these countries as it had being speculated. This is because they are exploitative in nature as they have tended to pay low wages and salaries to workers and have over-exploited natural resources in these countries. They also plough back into their country the profit which they get rather than use it to develop these countries. The developed countries have thus developed at the expense of the developing countries (Hobden and Richard 2001). Modern states are another kind of class relation which constitutes international capitalist relations. In this modern era, the ruling class which constitutes the state, does not only own the means of production but also controls them. It uses non-economic institutions, such as the media, educational systems, religion, sports and grants, to uphold its power and position. The struggles between states can be understood in the same sense as the struggles between capital and labor. These struggles assume the characteristics of the national power of capital over labor. The antagonistic and crisis brought about by capitalism has led to development of national states. Rather than solving the crisis associated with capitalism, National states have served to improve their position in the hierarchy of the price system by raising the effectiveness of capital exploitation operating within their boundaries. The state therefore is an active contributor to the formation of social relations which leads to development of class struggles. These have promoted disorganization of labor worldwide. The bourgeois social relations are apparent at all level starting from supervisors to directors, international agencies and treaties between states. These relations are based upon the capacity of the capital to exploit and control the power of labor within the limits of the commodity-form. The social relationships between states are antagonistic in nature and have led to development of class relations (Bruce and John 2001). Capitalism also helps us understand the rise of monopolies in developed countries and their extension into global cartels. The intense international competition over land and markets can be understood in terms of capital accumulation manifest in capitalistic societies. The pursuit for surplus accumulation has been the driving force behind globalization. The uneven allocation of wealth and income through globalization and global markets is a source of constant source of conflict among modern states. The creation of classes is the principal actor in international relations and worldwide politics, with the developed countries being the major actors (Hobden and Richard 2001). Capitalism also helps us understand the instability imminent in international systems. Most states often experience intracapitalist conflicts over territorial boundaries. Competition for markets and territories in this modern era has aggravated interstate relations. The growth of economic interdependence has made most states to be insecure, vulnerable and develop resentments against foreign political and economic competitors. The leading trading nations, namely the developed countries, have come up with international laws meant to protect their own interest such as rights for private investment and trade. In the international level, states interact within an international capitalist system which makes them prone to military violence and reluctant economic collaboration. Capitalism is the driving force behind the development of nationalistic movements and terrorist organizations in this modern world. A good example is the Al Qaeda and its terrorist network, which were a creation of the patriotic response to Western imperialism (Jahn 2006). Modern states have served to maintain the exploitative system of the capitalist society. They act just like the bourgeois class in protecting their own interests and in facilitating economic expansion. The relations between two states depend upon the degree to which each has developed its means of production, division of labor and internal intercourse. Therefore, the relations between states are just but the expression of a certain economic organization. These relations are prone to change when the organization changes (Morton 2004). The sovereign states system does create holders of private property. Indeed, state sovereignty entails exclusive control over property. Private ownership of property brings with it antagonism and alienation. Therefore, the system of sovereign state is compatible with the core principles of capitalism, whereas, the sovereignty of the state is an essential feature of the international system. A sovereign state has the power to exclude those outside it from its material wealth. These characteristics of the state lead to alienation. International relations are characterized by conflict, change, struggle and dialectic of power. All these are characteristics inherent in a capitalistic society. International relations form an exchange society, in which individual states are free to pursue their own interests (Boucher 1998). The emergency of dominant states and subordinate states is as a result of the development of capitalist world system. Some states have benefited from the development of capitalism, while others have not. Developing countries have thus continued to depend upon advanced industrial societies. Capitalist and workers in developed countries are in a superior position as compared to their counterparts in developing countries, and they strive to maintain that advantage. The state, international organizations, political parties and interest groups exist to serve the interests of the ruling class. The ruling class uses the state to manage their local and international affairs, by enhancing and enforcing property rights. The ruling class interests dictate and dominate national interests. In the international level, the wealth and politically powerful countries dominate the poor and politically weak countries. International relations are therefore inherently conflictual and are a zero-sum game rather than a positive-sum game (Stephen 1998). In conclusion, the characteristics of the capitalist society include private property ownership, market exchange, and wage-labor, classes, private interests, competition, capital accumulation and profit maximization. The nature of international system is capitalist as it is characterized by domination and subordination. The internationals system is also characterized by classes with the ruling class or the state acting as the principal actors. The primary aim of the state is interest maximization, whereas its agenda is dominated by economic issues. Economics determines the nature of politics in international relations. References Boucher D. 1998. “Marx and the Capitalist world system”, Chapter 15 in political theories of international relations, from Thucydides to the present. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Bruce Russet and John O’Neal 2001. Triangualizing peace: Democracy, interdependence and international organizations. New York: W.W. Norton and Company 2001. Hobden, Stephen and Richard Wyn Jones 2001. “Marxist Theories of International Relations”, in John Baylis and Steve Smith, eds., The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations, 2nd edn. (New York: Oxford University Press) pp. 200-221. Jahn Beate 2006. Classical theory in international relations. Cambridge University, Cambridge. Jessop Bob 2002. The future of the capitalist state. Cambridge: Polity, pp344. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels: The Communist Manifesto (1848), Chapter 1: Bourgeois and the Proletariat, 3rd edition. Harcourt Brace, New York. Morton, A. D. 2004. ‘Latest follies on the position of globalization discussion’ in Analysis of International Studies, 30:1, 133-147. Morton A. 2005. ‘The era of autocracy: capitalism, the modern states-system and International relations’ in Analysis of International Studies, 31, 495–517. Stephen M. Walt 1998. International relations: One world, Numerous theories: Foreign policy No. 110. Spring. pp29. 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The ratio between necessary labor and surplus labor is what we call exploitation and it is which creates the surplus value. Workers are used as means to an end, profit maximization and capital accumulation. Wage-labor is treated as a commodity in a capitalist mode of production. The existence of wage labor in this modern era is a proof that capitalism still exits (Morton 2005). Capitalist production is characterized by competition, which is apparent between owners of capital for profits, between employers and workers over wages and between workers over employment opportunities.

The owners of the means of productions are in constant competition as each try to overdo the other. The employers and the workers are in competition over wages as workers struggles to reduce the work-day and to increase wages the employers are seeking ways to lower the wages as low as possible and to increase the work-day both in length and intensity. This has led to formation of trade and labor unions to protect the interests of the workers. The limited employment opportunities inherent in capitalist system made workers to compete for one to secure one (Marx and Engels 2006).

The main aim of capitalist production is to maximize net profit and to accumulate capital and obtain productive or non-productive assets. Enterprises in a capitalist society are driven by private interests. They maximize net profit by lowering production costs, increasing sale, monopolizing markets and supply and privatizing supply and consumption. One way, in which capitalism low production cost is by paying low wages to their workers, making them to work for long hours and intensifying their work-day.

The inherent characteristic of capital accumulation in a capitalistic society is the increased exploitation of workers. They reinvest a large portion of the surplus-product of labor to ensure capital accumulation and output growth. Capitalists purchase commodities with the aim of making more money, additional value and surplus value. All these culminate into more profits which is their main goal. For capitalists, all that matters is to accumulate capital. The development of technology of production is driven by the profitability criteria (Jessop 2002).

Capitalist mode of production creates a class society made up of the bourgeoisie and who own capital, the proletariat who possess nothing but their labor which they have to sell in order to survive, the different intermediate classes, for example self employed and the middle class made up of the educated or skilled professionals. The proletariat or the working class possesses neither the material goods to sell nor the means of production to produce commodities to sell in the market. They therefore have no alternative that to sell their labor-power to the bourgeoisie or the owners of the means of production.

The working class works under the direction, control and supervision of the capital owners. The workers have the right to sell their labor but their do not have the property right in the product that result from their activity (Morton 2005). The fact that capitalist mode of production is privately initiated in a socially uncooperative and unplanned manner, leads to another dominant characteristic of capitalism over-production. This implies that a vital portion of the output cannot be sold at all or can only be sold at a price which cannot lead to maximization of profit, which is the primary goal of capitalism.

On the other hand, over-production leads to over-accumulation of productive capital. This results to more investment of capital in production which cannot obtain a normal profit. The end result of these is low economic growth (recession) and in severe cases negative real growth (depression). Consequently, we experience mass unemployment, a situation which is apparent in today’s world. A capitalist state is mainly financed from taxes levied from the population and from credit. A capitalist state does not have an independent economic basis, for example landholdings or state-owned industries, which can give them enough income to sustain their activities (Marx and Engels 2006).

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