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A basic outline of Marx’s theory
Karl marx basic essay
Essay about Karl Marx
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KARL MARX When an object is seen as a value in use, it could be appreciated for its properties capable of satisfying human wants, produced by the human labour by changing its natural form into a useful shape. However, when the object becomes a commodity, a price is attached to the object; similarly when human labour is seen as a commodity, then a price is attached to the labour. This destroys social relationship and are not seen for their physical properties, instead the human labour is seen a thing or an object. Commodities are things produced by the human hands to be exchanged in the market. Marx calls this Fetishism , products of labour, when they are produced as a commodity becomes inseparable from the production of commodity. Articles …show more content…
Performance of their labour to the other, is considered the mutual personal relationship existing in the society. Division of labour in family and society was based on age, sex and social relationship existing in the society. Total product of commodity, is social product of commodity; a part is used by the individual and the rest for the society based on productive relationship in the community. Commodity share of each individual would be proportionate to his labour time, labour time depends on the different work to be done and various wants of the society. In Asiatic mode of production, when individuals are reduced to producers of community, their status in society is reduced; but the social relationship between people is not separated. There is respect for human beings and nature, and this is seen in ancient religion worship of nature. When society developed process of production was given more value, than the time spend by the laborer in producing the commodity, and thus value of man diminished. Mode of production, where products become commodities is also the bourgeois production. Commodities have a value, but use value is the utility of man, but when it becomes commodities are exchanged then its value becomes exchange value. Marx, critiques Smith for not giving importance for the value of thing in itself, but a thing is given value only as a
Under the oppression of the bourgeoisie, the proletariats, who composed the mass majority, only owned one resource—their labor. However, the bourgeoisie could not continue to exist without the instruments of production. Since the common worker lived only so long as they could find work, and could only work so long as their labor increases capital, they continued to be oppressed by the bourgeoisie, who controlled the capitalist society by exploiting the labor provided by the proletariats. People sell their laboring-power to a buyer, not to satisfy the per...
Marx believed that society was beginning to break away from nature as a source of economical support. In the past, humans had relied heavily on agriculture to support themselves but with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, new technology began to replace old farming techniques and created new factory jobs in cities. Marx had rather extreme views on the extent to which nature in his time had become humanized as a result of human labor.[1] He commented that, “ Even the objects of the simplest “ sensuous certainty” are only given him through social development, industry and commercial intercourse.”[2] "Throughout their labor, humans shape their own material environment, thereby transforming the very nature of human existence in the process.”[3]
As a result, labour is objectified, that is, labour becomes the object of mans existence. As labour is objectified, man becomes disillusioned and enslaved. Marx argues that man becomes to be viewed as a commodity worth only the labour he creates. and man is further reduced to a subsisting animal void of any capacity of freedom except the will to labour. For Marx, this all leads to the emergence of private property, the enemy.
Using phrases such as" innocent and childlike fantasies," Karl Marx unambiguously attacks the Hegelian philosophy preponderant during his time, citing in its concept of history an irrevocable divorce with reality. For Marx, history is exactly what it seems to be: a succession of human events in which ideas such as the division of labor, production, and revolution replace their immaterial Hegelian counterparts, if even such counterparts exist. In fact, Marx accuses the token historian of ignoring the fundamental aspects of actual human activity while instead concentrating upon non-actualized ideas at best and imaginary metaphysical concepts at worst.
Commodity fetishism has blinded people into believing that value is a relationship between objects, when in reality, it is a relationship between people. This in turn, prevents people from thinking about the social labor condition workers have to endure; they only care and value about how much objects costs. They think that the source of the value comes from the cost, but it truly comes from labor (FC). Through this objectification stems alienation and estrangement. Marx starts with the assumption that humans have an intrinsic quality. As human beings, individuals like to be create and manipulate his or her environment. Creating is a part of people; therefore, people their being into their creations. However, Marx postulates that capitalism and specialized division of labor separates that working class from their creations in four ways- through alienation from the product, the labor process, one’s species-being, and humanity itself. The working class suffers through this hostility to make create more wealth for owners of factories. They get trapped in a cycle to make products for profit, but as automation advances, machines begins to take over people’s jobs; therefore, there less employment opportunities available, which in turn allows factory owners to decrease wages and exploit and devalue the working class (EL). In the The Poverty
This video can also be used to teach and distinguish among Marx's notions of use-value and exchange-value, as well as his concept of surplus-value, which is the surplus or profit earned by the capitalist, above and beyond the use-value (labour power) required to produce the
The latter part of the nineteenth century was teeming with evolved social and economical ideas. These views of the social structure of urban society came about through the development of ideals taken from past revolutions and the present clash of individuals and organized assemblies. As the Industrial Revolution steamed ahead paving the way for growing commerce, so did the widening gap between the class structure which so predominantly grasped the populace and their rights within the community. The development of a capitalist society was a very favorable goal in the eyes of the bourgeoisie. Using advancing methods of production within a system of free trade, the ruling middle class were strategically able to earn a substantial surplus of funds and maintain their present class of life. Thus, with the advancement of industry and the bourgeoisie's gain of wealth, a counter-action was undoubtably taking place. The resultant was the degradation of the working-class, of the proletarians whom provided labour to a middle-class only to be exploited in doing so. Exploitation is a quarrel between social groups that has been around since the dawn of mankind itself. The persecution of one class by another has historically allowed the advancement of mankind to continue. These clashes, whether ending with positive or negative results, allow Man to evolve as a species, defining Himself within the social structure of nature. Man's rivalry amongst one another allows for this evolution! through the production of something which is different, not necessarily productive, but differing from the present norm and untried through previous epochs.
In his work, Marx presents the amount of power exchange-values impose upon the economy, as he states “As use-values, commodities are, above all, of different qualities, but as exchange-values they are merely different quantities, and consequently do not contain an atom of use-values” (Marx 54). It is with this analysis that Marx is able to present the link between labor and the productions that result from a worker 's dedication. As a result, it becomes evident that exchange-values possess an extraordinary amount of influence with regards to the worth of an object and a worker’s salary. However, this worth changes with time and depends on the usefulness of the product. This is especially made evident when analyzing the twenty-first century business world. In 2015 a report by Sorensen was published, discussing the role of exchange-values in the American economic-system. Thus, demonstrating the neglect of use-values, while highlighting the power of exchange-value as Sorensen writes, “Most
According to Marx, the 'capitalist mode of production' is a product of the 'industrial revolution' and the division of labor coming from it. By virtue of this division,...
One of the greatest debates of all time has been regarding the issue of the freedom of mankind. The one determining factor, for Marx, it that freedom is linked with class conflict. As a historian, Karl Marx traced the history of mankind by the ways in which the economy operated and the role of classes within the economy. For Marx, the biggest question that needed to be answered was “Who owns freedom?” With this in mind, Marx gives us a solution to both the issues of freedom and class conflict in his critique of capitalism and theory of communism, which is the ideal society for Marx. His theory of communism is based on the “ultimate end of human history” because there will be freedom for all humankind. Marx saw communism as the ideal society because it is "the genuine resolution of the conflict between man and man- the true resolution of the strife between existence and essence...between freedom and necessity" that capitalism fosters. Marx was also committed to the notion that theory and action go hand in hand. Marx dismissed earlier thinkers because they (philosophers) "have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it." He also stated "Ideas cannot carry out anything at all. In order to carry out ideas men are needed who can exert practical force". However, Marx would have been appalled by the way his theory of communism was misused. It can be said, though, that Marx's theory of communism was clearly open for interpretation because he failed to offer "principles or guidelines of even the most general kind" for how the system of communism was to be fully established. It was this opportunity for interpretation that made Marx's theory of communism doomed for failure when it was used in practice.
Inspired by the works of Karl Marx, V.I. Lenin nonetheless drew his ideology from many other great 19th century philosophers. However, Marx’s “Communist Manifesto” was immensely important to the success of Russia under Leninist rule as it started a new era in history. Viewed as taboo in a capitalist society, Karl Marx started a movement that would permanently change the history of the entire world. Also, around this time, the Populist promoted a doctrine of social and economic equality, although weak in its ideology and method, overall. Lenin was also inspired by the anarchists who sought revolution as an ultimate means to the end of old regimes, in the hope of a new, better society. To his core, a revolutionary, V.I. Lenin was driven to evoke the class struggle that would ultimately transform Russia into a Socialist powerhouse. Through following primarily in the footsteps of Karl Marx, Lenin was to a lesser extent inspired by the Populists, the Anarchists, and the Social Democrats.
The Adam Smith theory of value asserts that a commodity worth is equal to the amount of labor it commands in others. This includes value in trade and value in use. Value in use refers to the utility of a commodity while the value in trade refers to the price in exchange of another commodity. Smith established that labor is the real measure of the price of all commodities. Some opponents of the labor theory of ...
As one of greatest figures in human history, Karl Marx introduced not only Communism but also historical materialism to us. According to historical materialism, the mode of production would determine and foster mankind’s ideas, values, and beliefs. Many opponents of Marx attacked his “impossible” Communism but neglected his contribution in defining the relationship among important production elements. This paper would explain the theme of historical materialism and probed the relationship between consciousness and mode of production. Then, this paper would analyze how division of labor affect mode of production and conclude that historical materialism was realistic and applicable.
As a German philosopher, a politician, and an important figure within the Communist League, Karl Heinrich Marx birthed a new way of looking at things through his beliefs, ideas, and writings. Karl Marx was considered to be “…certainly one of the most important minds of modern times”(1). He wanted to know more about philosophy, so that he might understand the political and social system better.
Workers of the World Unite: You Have Nothing to Lose but Your Chains. Karl Marx, Communist Manifesto. Karl Marx had very strong viewpoints in regards to capitalism, making him a great candidate for this assignment. People constantly debate over whether his ideology holds any grain of truth to them. I believe that although not everything Marx predicted in his writings has come true (yet), he was definitely right on a lot of issues.