An Evaluation of Karl Marx’s Idea of Capitalism
Chapter One
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is to highlight the conceptualization of capitalism of Karl Marx with the view of showing that the postulation of socialism may not necessarily bring an end to class distinction. In other words this study aim at showing that socialism and communism could be a worse socio-economic and political agreement compare to capitalism.
CHAPTER TWO
KARL MARX’S BIOGRAPHY AND CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION OF CAPITALISM
LIFE AND WORKS OF KARL MARX
Karl Marx was born in May 5th, 1818 into a professional Jewish family in Trier in the Rhineland.1 His family later renounced the Jewish faith and embraced Christianity. At age 17, Karl Marx had entered the University of Bonn in 1935 where he studied law. Marx then moved to the University of Berlin in 1836 where he changed his study to philosophy and history. He concluded his university study in the University of Jenna in 1841 where he obtained his Ph.D. degree.2 Karl Marx married the aristocratic Jenny Von Westphalen, and converted to communism in Paris in 1844. In 1847 he wrote “the communist manifesto” with Friedrich Engel.
He took an active part in the 1848 revolution in Germany before settling definitively in London, where his family poverty was partly responsible for the death of three of his six children. His interest in the study of political economy issued in his book titled “capital”, which was first published in 1867.3 Karl Marx also wrote for the New York tribune which paid him one pound for each of his articles, this was his only regular income although he was helped financially by his friend Engel. Marx was the greatest socialist writer of the 19th century, socialism as an ideology was heavily influenced by Karl Marx view. He eventually died in London on March 14, 1883 two years after the death of his wife Jenny.4
INFLUENCE ON KARL MARX POLITICAL THOUGHT
Hegel was of great influence on Karl Marx, who held that Hegel’s principles are of three folds, thesis: that reality is an embodiment of ideas and spirits, anthesis: ideas and spirit moves dialectically, synthesis: reality moves dialectically.5 These made Karl Marx to be regarded as an Hegelian in both reasoning and thought. Marx however abandoned Hegelianism but held on to his dialectics principle, hence for Marx what moves dialectically is matter and not spirit or idea. Matter for Marx constitute the ultimate in reality.6
Another influence on Marx was Ricardo who was the most influential of the classical economist. He made a distinction between use value and exchange value. This concept was adopted by Marx in his attempt to show that capitalism was static but rather a historically relative system of class exploitation, by his idea of surplus value.7
Karl Marx theory of class struggle was influenced by Saint Simon. St Simon views history of human society as a history of human conflicts. He holds that society is replicated with classes, that is in every given society there are classes the lower and upper class. The chief importance of St Simon is what is called “stratification”.8
Ludwig Feverbach was another great influence on Karl Marx on his theory of materialism. Although his theory was not as popular as that of Hegel’s.9 Feverbach wrote that reality is an embodiment of matter, that is the basic stuff of being/reality is matter and not spiritual or ideas. Social development result from changes in material development and changes in material order are from simple to complex and leads to the changes in social order. Thus Marx held that matter is anything of objective reality aside the human mind.
Ricardo, St Simon, John Locke, Hegel and Feverbach all have different form of theories that they impacted in Karl Marx. With this fussion, Marx tends to analyze history that is how it is, how it must be and how it ought to be? This was why Karl Marx said his theory is scientific.10
CHAPTER THREE
KARL MARX CONCEPTION OF CAPITALISM
HISTORICAL MATERIALISM OF KARL MARX
Historical materialism is the application of the principle of dialectical materialism to the development of human society.1 Basically, Marx historical materialism was one of economics determinism, it attempted to account for social structure and social change in terms of the connection between people and the means of production. He held that the social class as a cooperate body poised one against the other and they developed among themselves a strong feeling of solidarity. For Marx, he believes that the social injustice where by the owners of the means of production exploit the workers can only come to an end when the working class overthrows the capitalist, which will eventually lead to a classes and collectivistic society.
History materialism is actually examining how one mode of production replaces another and the relations of production. The first stage includes.
- Primitive Communalism:2This is the stage in which the form of production was crude and collectively owned. Work was done in common and goods were shared out equally. It was a simple society bounded together communally and they where basically hunters and farmers.
- Slave society:In this society land was a major means of production and where largely controlled by the slave owners and the slaves worked on the lands. The slave provided the labor and they where also properties of their masters, they could be sold and they do not receive wages. The slaves basically had no skills they where expensive and land owners seeing their estates going into ruins decided to grant them legal freedom for which slaves where clamoring and the land owners exploited the labour of these free serfs by ensuring that they had no land to plough other than theirs.3 which resulted into another social relation of the landlord and serf or the feudal system.
CHAPTER FOUR
CRITICAL EVALUATION
CRITICAL EVALUATION OF MARX’S IDEA OF CAPITALISM
Karl Marx was basically the most important socialist philosopher of the 19th century who had great ideas that influenced many others. Marx pin-pointed the significance of class struggle, he developed a scientific socialism that is based on economic determinism. He was also aware of such evil that results in making workers mere minders of machines.
Marx claimed to have proved the existence of two classes in the society: the bourgeois and the proletariats. Marx intended a classless society in which there would be equality of all persons. But we know that trying to resolve the question of classlessness and equality even in communism is like pursing the wind.
Karl Marx contemporary supporters have argued that alienation is still a problem at large due to the fact that people refuse to adhere to the solution proffered by Marx.1 His postulation of alienation actually did not exhaust modern causes of alienation which Marx actually situated in the workplace. Alienation can also be viewed in the exploitation and expropriation of a peoples resources.
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION
The importance of Marx’s thought can not be undermined in our present day society even though we may not agree with most of his postulation. Marx intention was to raise human dignity that had become dehumanized in capitalist society. But we must state that capitalism is not all that evil as Marx would want us to believe. What we need to do is to improve on capitalism by trying to correct the abnormality in the system .We can also try to synthesize both capitalism and socialism by harnessing the good in both system.
ENDNOTES
- Baybrooke D. “Diagnosis and Remedy of Marx Doctrine of Alienation” Social Research, Vol.25, 1958, pg 60.
- Alafuro Spelle, Themes in Marxist Political Theory (Benin: Salam Publishers, 2006). Pg 122.
- Ibid, pg 391.
- Wright Mills, The Marxist, (published by Dell publishing co, ind.1962), pg. 111.
- Wright Mills, op. cit, pg 109.