Marxism and Capitalism
Discuss about the Critical Theory of Soviet Type Societies.
Marxism is the social, political, economic philosophy examining the effect of the concept of capitalism on the various social arrangements like labour, productive work, economic progress and so on. The Marxism theory stipulates that social classes have constant struggles among themselves. The Bourgeoisie and the Capitalists are pitted against the Proletariat and the Workers. Marxism defines the system, arrangement and progress of the state in terms of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. (Kubalkova, and Cruickshank 2015) The basic crux of the Marxism is that the bourgeoisie tries to keep control of factors of production from the masses and if the control is reduced or taken away , the economy gets free from private ownership and grows gradually and steadily.
Marxism is a mixture of social, political and economic ideologies. Marxism basically stemmed from the Marxian economics and criticisms of capitalism of Karl Marx. Karl Marx had several beliefs which he discussed at length in his famed book ‘Das Kapital’. (Ollman 2015) To understand Marxism and its theories and factors, the main elements brought out by Marx have to be understood.
Karl Marx viewed Capitalism as one of the steps of systematic progress of the economy. According to him, the following points elaborate the meaning of Marxism and Capitalism-
- The deep rooted inequalities of the Capitalism system lead to continuous tensions, tussles and crises between business owners and managers and the working classes and workers. Marx predicted that this situation will create a revolution where the private ownership will be abolished, collective ownership will take over and equality will be established between all classes.
- Capitalism, according to Marx, is related directly to the system and arrangement of commodity management. The worker’s labour is a form of commodity which needs value. Labourers do not own the means of production and business operations and hence get disregarded and are replaceable. This leads to unemployment.
- Business owners and managers and employers do not pay the workers the right amount. They profit, in Marx’s opinion, from the end product and deny the workers any credit. The benefits from the surplus value are shared among those who did not directly work or contribute labour.
- Marx felt that capitalism created an unfair lack of balance between the Capitalists and the Labour classes. The workers get to be unfairly taken advantage of and exploited, as per Marx. The worker does not get the due credit and personal stake in the share, and becomes isolated from the real profits, gains, benefits.
- Marx opined that the relationship between all the social classes and the socio-economic factors are all interrelated. The Labourers are reduced to fights for survival while the Capitalists are bent on creating increasing financial assets and profits. The economic polarity will, according to Marx, lead to serious social issues, eventually resulting in an impending revolution.
The Marxian economics is a school of thought which has emerged from Karl Marx’s Marxism. The school of thought further focuses on the role of labour in the development of economy as well the criticism of the various approaches and techniques of wage payment and productions. The specialisation of labour force, according to the Marxian economists, and the various factors like population and employment create a real value of labour which is too discredited or denied. Marxian economics is related closely to the concept of Marx’s theories of Marxism. It does not focus much less on political and social factors. (Panda 2015)
It is crucial to understand the concept of Capitalism in order to understand Marxism and its related factors, Communism and Socialism. Capitalism, from the perspectives of the general economics, is the economic arrangement where capital products and goods are owned by private individuals, businessmen and agencies. The products and services are created, produced and distributed on the system of demand and supply. The concepts of market economy and planned economy are the driving forces of the market. The pure form of Capitalism is the presence of Free Market, the Laissez-Faire Capitalism. There is no restraint in the dynamics of business, marketing, operating, investing, buying, selling, creating, producing and so on and so forth. Many countries have in practice the Mixed Capitalism System where there is both regulation and freedom of business and market.
Marxian Economics
Constructively, the concept of Capitalism is the process of creating a balance between economic production and resource distribution. (Thornton, 2017) Economic planning through Capitalism is more decentralised and based on individual decision making rather than centralised, politicised under the Marxist Socialism. One chief feature of the Capitalism is the private property ownership. Private ownership allows the owner to utilise own resources and maximise the value from these. The private property owner pays the values of the property. If the property is shared with or by the public, the commonness leads to market failure. The labour value of the workers would be spread out and dispersed among several, leading to a lack of connection between labour and value. There occurs, eventually, disincentives for increasing value and production.
Profits, gains, benefits are all closely related to the Capitalism, and so are losses and drawbacks. On becoming owners of private property, voluntary trade mechanisms come into play, and market, trade and commerce activities are centred around it. There is a balance in the system of supply and demand for proper distribution of resources. Economies are controlled by factors of production that are run by individuals and organisations. (Zhu, et al 2015)
The concepts of Marxism, Communism, Socialism are closely related. There are theories and practical applications that show different types of Marxism and its related factors-
- Marxist Communism consisting of Leninism, Stalinism, Trotskyism, Maoism, Dengism, Titoism, De Leonism and many others
- 21st century communist theories
- Non-Marxist Communism comprising Anarchist Communism, Christian Communism for instance.
Today the Marxist concept and its factors are studied through 21st century theories. The theorists basically share four common ideas in relation to Marxism- Voluntarism, Economism and Statism, Neoliberalism and Freedom and Equality. The Marxism concept has been a subject of several theories, debates, practical applications and ideas.
Closely related to the concept of Marxism are two concepts that emerged from Marxist ideas- Communism and Socialism. In order to understand Marxist theories, it is vital to understand the two concepts. (Gronow, 2016. )
Socialism is the populist, economic and political stream of thought, focusing on public ownership or collective or common ownership of property, means of productions and business. All resources are shared by the public and there is nil private ownership. The pure socialism theory stipulates that all production and distribution measures, decisions and techniques are determined and carried out by the government. According to Socialists, the shared ownership of resources and central planning create an equal distribution of good and services within a society where all classes are equal.
Common ownership involves several possible stages of conversion of the society, such as Technocratic society, Oligarchic society, Totalitarian society, Democratic society and so on and so forth. China, Cuba are two quite common examples of the contemporary Socialist societies. Socialism in the modern context is criticised as the utopian system, that is something that is not attainable and achievable. However, it is also believed, Socialism on a proper planning and execution can create equality among people and security in the society. The labourer’s value would be measured in terms of work hours and not the production limit. The ideals of Socialism focus on the production for use, equal distribution of wealth and resources, less competition in the market, free access to everything and availability of all conveniences to everyone. (Halliday, 2015)
Concept of Capitalism
Communism is the political and economic ideology that vehemently opposes the liberal Democracy and Capitalism. There is a strong demand for a classless society where the community owns and manages the means of production and the private ownership is severely reduced. Communism is basically an umbrella term and among other theories, is closely associated with Marxism and Socialism. The modern Communist Manifesto originated in the 1840’s, when thinkers like Marx and Engels developed their ideas about Communism.
The French Revolution gave rise to the idea that the Bourgeoisie or the merchant class was consolidating too much of power and misusing it to gain profits and exploit the working classes as much as possible. The aim of Communism is to have a normal social equilibrium in the society. Two countries are perfect examples of Communist societies running on the lines of Marxist Socialism- Erstwhile Soviet Union and China.
The Soviet Union first began with Marxist Leninism in the aftermath of 1917 Russian Revolution. Lenin introduced Karl Marx’s theories and developed his own style of Socialist Communism. The Russian Communism then converted to Stalinism, which was the extreme form of Communism. Stalin converted the country into a totalitarian society. In the 1950’s Russia became a one party Soviet Union. Communism helped the country recover from years of suffering and helped to an extent in increasing the progress of the economy. In the 1990’s, with the downfall of the Soviet Union system, Russia’s Communism lessened and restricted reforms were initiated to hasten the progress of the economy.( Banerjee 2016)
The Communist China began as a Maoist Communist nation. Mao’s Communism resembled the Stalinism of Soviet Union. The Communist China was extremely repressive and over obsessed with regards to its Totalitarian Communism. After Mao’s death, Communism in China was reformed and there were efforts to reduce the impact of the extreme Communism. There is still a restrictive Communism in the country.
The Marxism concept, together with other theories believed in the following-
- Capitalism is the blatant exploitation of the labour classes.
- Capitalism is a politically motivated system.
- Capitalism is based on the Surplus Profit, that is the profit difference between the value of sold goods and the reals cost of production.
- Capitalism leads to serious political, social, economic and cultural conflicts, thus splitting the society into unequal classes.
Marxists have noticed that Polarisation of the Classes is the possible process of structuring the societal classes so that they can be in the middle. (Morgan, and Patomäki, 2017) The modern world has seen the emergence and rise of the Middle classes, the balanced economic groups with the right resources and equality. The more polarised all classes become, the more the economy will improve, as opined by economists. It is predicted that the class system will be soon abolished, as the economy is becoming liberated every day. Today efforts are made to give everyone equal access to facilities, opportunities and situations. The Neo-Marxism ideas, which were originally developed by Karl Marx, stipulated that economic power leads to political power. It is taken as the right approach to resolve class differences.
Marxism, Communism, Socialism, and Related Factors
The Social and Political theorists have argued against the piling up of capital waste, leading to disruption in the society. They argue that Capitalism comprises irrational measures of trading in commodities and reducing resource generation. In their opinion, the essential principle of economic activity in Capitalism is investment in production means instead of prioritising the main labourers. Socialists, Communists, Marxists take private property as limitations of productive potentials. Excess in differences in income distribution creates social instability.
The various Marxist Schools of Thought have applied theories to governance, politics and social situations. (Hussain and Tribe, 2016) Some of the major ones are elaborated below-
- One of School of Marxist thoughts, under Gramsci, brought out terms to elaborate on Communist Socialism. For instance Cultural Hegemony concept was used to describe means of sustaining a state within the Capitalist arrangement.
- Structural Marxism approach was developed by Althusser to scientifically structure the society. The theory suggests that economy, the state and the society can be free from the control of the elite if the state utilises the production means and the profits generated for economic development.
- Humanistic Marxism stands by the idea that the labour classes should not be isolated from all means of production. The humanity angle approach is concentrated upon, where the interest of the working classes are considered alongside.
- Autonomist Marxism focuses on the capacity to organise the societal and the economic divisions into autonomous networks unlike unions so that the interests of the working classes can be looked after within the Capitalism structure.
Several writers, thinkers and theorists developed their own ideas, opinions and theories along the lines of Marxism, Socialism, Communism and related ideologies. (Sheehan, 2018) Some of the key Marxist thinkers are as follows-
- Engels- He was the co-founder of the Marxist theory alongside Karl Marx.
- Paul Lafargue- He believed that socialism should be revolutionary in nature.
- Karl Kautsky- He helped create German Social Democracy on the lines of Socialism, where the State while being Capitalist, had regulated control over the economy.
- DeLeon- He believed that democracy and socialism can be practised together, and suggested that the workers share control over the means of production.
- Leon Trotsky- A Russian political thinker and a revolutionary, his ideas were on the lines of Left Communism.
Conclusion
A little more than 150 years later, Marxism is still one of the most heavily debated concepts. Whether Marxism is relevant in today’s context or not is still a huge question. It is without doubt that the topic is discussed even today. The insights of the Marxism is crucial for understanding the way a balanced society can run. The central theme of the Marxist ideology is the use of the Capital. The Capital is not only a vital resource but is also factors of production that cannot be denied to the labour classes. (Arato, 2016) It is significant that the social relationship between the worker and the employer enables a constructive and productive utilisation of the Capital so that both sides benefit without exceeding the other.
The identification of three main principles can help in understanding how Marxism can be used for creating a balanced system in the society-
- Concentration of production and means is suggested to be social initiatives, where instead of being owned by any specific group, the ownership can be shared to a considerable extent.
- Labour is suggested to be segregated on the basis of division of work and duties.
- The world market creation can help in keeping everything globalised. Today globalisation is said to have resulted from the ideas of spreading and sharing the entire Capitalist arrangement.
The dynamic Capitalism is continuously creating new approaches of production. The accumulation of the finances is creating social and economic relations in today’s context. Karl Marx saw capitalism as a constant disequilibrium. The deep seated tension between the classes can be avoided. (Forbes 2015. )
The essential characteristic of the capitalist system, as described by Marx is alienation. The workers feel isolated when they are deprived of their credits, rights and the required wages. Workers should be able to have control over their work.
Karl Marx was a true revolutionary who almost correctly predicted the state of affairs brought about by the class distinction. The Communist Manifesto and the globalisation are two of the effects of what he had set out to theorise about. Marx’s key requirement was that the theory has to be applied and practised. (Tamdgidi, 2015) Marxism today is still very much relevant and a very important approach to understand the structure of the society.
References
Arato, A., 2016. From Neo-Marxism to Democratic Theory: Essays on the Critical Theory of Soviet-type Societies: Essays on the Critical Theory of Soviet-type Societies. Routledge.
Banerjee, A., 2016. Marxism: With and Beyond Marx.
Forbes, I., 2015. Marx and the New Individual (RLE Marxism)(Vol. 11). Routledge.
Gronow, J., 2016. On the formation of Marxism (p. 344). Brill.
Halliday, M.A.K., 2015. The influence of Marxism. The Bloomsbury Companion to MAK Halliday, p.94.
Hussain, A. and Tribe, K., 2016. Marxism and the agrarian question. Springer.
Kubalkova, V. and Cruickshank, A., 2015. Marxism-Leninism and the theory of international relations (Vol. 4). Routledge.
Morgan, J. and Patomäki, H., 2017. Contrast explanation in economics: its context, meaning, and potential. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 41(5), pp.1391-1418.
Ollman, B., 2015. Marxism and the philosophy of internal relations; or, How to replace the mysterious ‘paradox’with ‘contradictions’ that can be studied and resolved. Capital & Class, 39(1), pp.7-23.
Panda, A.K., 2015. Marxist approach to literature: An introduction. Browser Download This Paper.
Sheehan, H., 2018. Marxism and the philosophy of science: A critical history. Verso Books.
Tamdgidi, M.H., 2015. Advancing Utopistics: The Three Component Parts and Errors of Marxism. Routledge.
Thornton, H., 2017. The breakdown of capitalism: A History of the idea in western Marxism, 1883-1983. Routledge.
Zhu, X.J. and Shu, L., 2015. The Method of Marxism Popularization in the university.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
