Ideas Contained in the Marxist Theory - Essay Example

The Marxist Argument Marxism theory has its roots in the ideas of Karl Marx (18181-1883) even though theorist’s ideas become famous almost a hundred years after his death. Marxism first emerged in 1983 in at a time when the world political environment was undergoing a number of key changes with Ronald Reagan having won the presidency in the US as well as Margaret Thatcher being the new prime minister in Britain. This era brought with it an offensive by the class movement on the free market that was being championed by these western nations. This also came in the years following the end of Second World War with the world beginning to be divided into blocs of capitals and socialism as well as communism. It is argued that almost a half of the global populations claimed to be Marxists or living under Marxist authorities with the Chinese population alone being about one billion citizens. Due the influence of Marxist ideas in modern disciplines such as history, economics and sociology, Carl Marx has been notes among the greatest social scientists of the past two centuries. Before analyzing ideas contained in the Marxist theory, it is important to undertake a brief biographical study of the Carl Marx as the founder of the theory. Although his theory called for empowerment of worker king class, Marx was born in a high-class society where his father was a lawyer in the city of Trier. During his student years, Marx had intended to have a career as a professor in philosophy after getting his law degree. However, given the political climate in Germany at the time, Marx did not get the chance to live his dream as he was considered a radical figure during his university years. After graduation, Karl Marx began his career as writer for a liberal weekly newspaper, but the paper was shut down by the censor committee. Following the banning of his employer from publishing, Marx decided to become a freelance writer with most of his work featuring in the New York Tribune. However, Marx was exiled from Germany and stayed briefly in France before moving to London where he commenced his work on book Das Kapital that explored the weaknesses of capitalism with a view of overthrowing the concept as a dominant economic and political ideology of the time (Cates 23). An important aspect of Marxist theory is the notion of historical materialism that informs the analysis of the doctrine based on philosophy of history, economic doctrine as well as theory of social revolution. By materialism, Marx implies that the society is driven by economic forces that are very influential to the extent that they determine the consciousness of society. Therefore, Marxism claims that the mode of production in material life will dictate the manner in which important social, political as well as spiritual processes of life will be restructured within a given society. This theory asserts that it is not the consciousness of individuals that inform their way of life, but their social existence enlightens their consciousness. The Marxist analysis on how ideas are formed claim that individuals do not have the ability to think in an autonomous capacity but majority of individuals just repeat the dominant views of their time instead of having independent thoughts. Given that individuals who run the economy also have immense political powers, Marxism claims that majority of the population are just ape the rhetoric these ruling class (Sargent 187). According to Marxist historical materialism, human history can be explained and determined through an analysis of existing competition among antagonistic economic classes. The Marxists theory has at its corer the analysis of economical realties within a society and considers religious and political aspects as tools by which the dominant class in society control the masses. Consequently, Marxists view politics and religion as superstructures used by those in control of society to distort realties and keep them in the dominant position for the purpose of continued exploitation. This distortion is influenced by the fact that the social classes are always in competition for the control of the state given that the control of the Mode of Production is intertwined with state control. This emphasis on the importance of controlling economic aspects as a way of achieving political success explains why Marx did not concentrate on creating a deeper examination of state as well as political institutions (Sargent 185). Concentration on the economic as opposed to political life led to the development of the Marxist examination of economic structure within society. Based on this analysis, Marxists argue that ancient state slave owner’s passport for suppressing slaves while the feudal state provided the necessary mechanism for the nobles to suppress the serfs. In the same light, Marxists argue that the modern state has become an instrument used by those in control of factors of production to exploit the wage labor through capitalism. For Marxists, the existence of the state is to act as an instrument of coercion and therefore any fundamental change within political sphere of society can only be because of social as well as economic revolution. Given the Marxist assertion that political life is an illusion, they further note that all antagonism between various ideas such as aristocracy, democracy, and monarchy that are witnessed in a state are merely the deceptive notions since the real antagonism is between different classes struggling between one another (Sargent 194). Consequently, the real struggle in political life is that of what Marxist perceives capital against labor antagonism. Marxists argue that since democratic states are led by individuals in control of the means of production, workers should not expect that democracy would help solve their problems. This makes Marxism a theory that combines two basic concepts where in one hand, there is the mode of production while on the other is the assumption that the human history is typified by unending competition among different antagonistic social and economic classes who want to control this mode of production. Therefore, there will always be struggles among groups of people who are viewed as exploiters and those who are exploited as well as between those who own essential means of production against individuals must sell their labor for an income (Younkins 181). This distinction between exploiters and owners of means of production on one hand and the exploited and laborers bon the other led to the development of the concepts of the bourgeoisie and Proletariat. The industrial revolution provided the best ground for Marxists to point out a number of exploitative practices that was splitting the society at the time into two groups that was seen as being hostile to one another. The Marxists notion of the bourgeoisie is that they are capitalist, industrialists or management; a group that is in control of essential means of production while the proletariat represents the working class earning their income from wages derived from their labor to the industrialists (Patsouras 121). Where Marx concentrates his efforts is in the surplus labor, which the worker must render for the capitalist to get his profit. On basis of surplus labor, Marx sees the capitalist exploiting the workers, which makes him view the wage relation as contrary to exchange of equivalents (West 98). Marx notes that to claim that capitalists offer anything in exchange for labor-power, let alone something of an equivalent value is a mere illusion, semblance appearance and pretence given that the worker must perform more than is necessary for the amount of wage given at the end of the agreement with the capitalist. Sitton (p.6) notes the worker offers services in two parts during his production service to the capitalist. The first period is when labor is compensated while the second period the worker adds value to the product free of charge, which translates into a surplus. The additional labor is what some claim makes Marx sees as unfair thus leading to the conclusion that Marx saw capitalism as unjust. Further, it can be argued that Marx’s disapproval of capitalism is based on the view that it alienates the bourgeoisie from proletariat, which is a condition for social tensions. Marx notes that a man can truly fulfill his real self if one directs his motive for production to humanity instead of for himself. He gives the reasons for the collapse of capitalism through a revolution as the increasing misery of the proletarian as the capitalist seeks to extend the profit margins through exploitation of the workers in addition to declining profits, and periodic and deepening crises coupled with business cycles (Younkins 181). The alienation that leading to revolution is based on the belief that as wealth continues to be concentrated along the factory system, so is the revolutionary working class who are becoming more frustrated with their situation. Marxism asserts there is no escape from the pending social struggles that has been generated by intense rivalry and antagonism between the bourgeoisie and proletariat as well as capital and labor. There are scholars who have continued to critic ideas that are presented in Marxism with some supporting its beliefs about existing economic structures while others have opposed some or all of Marists hypothesis. An aspect in the Marxist theory that has been widely criticized concerns the view about social changes. Marxists had initially believed that it was only through a revolution that the economic troubles of the 1840’s would be solved. However, history has proven the Marxist wrong since there have been a number of changes in the capitalist states that have not been due to a revolutionary force. Such reforms include the extension of voting rights to the working class by the British parliament as well as efforts of industrialists such as Henry Ford who increased workers wages up to $5.00 for a day’s labor (Sexton 531). Further, the theory presented by Marxists do not include the consumer society who also play a role as overseers of the production process in order to identify ethical issues and therefore, prevent what Marxists had seen as rapacious behavior of the capitalist. Consequently, Marxist theory is a theory about economic exploitation of the proletariat who are the workers by the bourgeoisie who are the capitalists who pay wages to the proletariat in exchange for their labor. Marxists assert that political struggles are only illusionary since the realty about political antagonism, is the attempt by the different social classes to take control of essential means of production. Further, Marxism can be seen as a critic of the capitalist markets and their relations to democratic ideologies due to the view that capitalism and democracy are what enables the bourgeoisie to continue the exploitation of the proletariat. Although this theory has been found to have inherent truths about capitalist markets as well as how means of productions are controlled, some areas have been criticized for not presenting a true reflection especially with the Marxist vies on revolution as the only means to bring change in society. Works Cited Cates, David. Karl Marx: Philosopher & Revolutionary. London: ABDO, 2011. Print. Patsouras, Louis. Marx in Context. Lincoln: iUniverse, 2005. Print. Sargent, Lyman. Contemporary political ideologies: A comparative analysis. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2008. Print. Sitton, John F., ed. Marx today: selected works and recent debates. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Print. Sexton, Robert. Exploring economics. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. West, Roy. Marxs Labor Theory of Value. Lincoln: iUniverse, 2005. Print. Younkins, Edward W. Capitalism and commerce: Conceptual foundations of free enterprise. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, 2002. Print. Read More