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Economic and political philosophy of Karl Marx
Economic and political philosophy of Karl Marx
Economic and political philosophy of Karl Marx
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In Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts and several notes excerpted from his other works, Karl Marx offers an interpretation of history based on the socioeconomic dichotomy between rich and poor. He classifies history as a record of the way a society organizes itself in order to satisfy the material needs (food, shelter, clothing etc.) of the people during any given point in time. Furthermore, Marx investigates the relationships among people caused by these material conditions, in order to better understand the effect a government. His theory asserts that the populace of a society stratified into social classes will experience a level of social estrangement that is dissimilar to our human nature, and the perceptible, concrete thing is considered …show more content…
That is, everything else in a society that does not directly pertain to modes of production (legal systems, family, education, etc.). Though, it remains that the superstructure also reflects the interests and ideology of a class society, thereby preserving the economic system of private ownership. This system favors the bourgeoisie society insofar as it exploits the proletariat by paying them wages of less than the market value of the goods they produced. This principle is necessary in order for the capitalist class to maintain the cycle wealth generated by this relationship; wherein, revenue is earned through made investments, which enables further investment for the bourgeois, and so on. Thus, it is not the driving goal of the capitalist to produce for the sake of use, nor as means to increase his or her personal consumption. Production, to the capitalist is the equivalent to money, as means of accumulation for more …show more content…
The problem with the liberal state and ideology is that it reflects the ways in which capitalism is codified; the structure of capitalism is such that you have people who must sell their labor, because they do not own their own means of capital or investment; and those who do have the necessary means to advance their capital, may then in turn exercise control over the market—thereby exploiting and thus alienating the worker. Furthermore, this division of labor inhibits the worker’s ability to make or shape their own nature; or from their ‘species-being,’ as Marx would put it. “Man lives on nature...That man's physical and spiritual life is linked to nature means simply that nature is linked to itself, for man is a part of nature” (Marx 62). Here, Marx refers to humanity as a whole in describing the essence of its productive nature—man as
Marx, Karl, Friedrich Engels, and Robert C. Tucker. The Marx-Engels reader . 2d ed. New York: Norton, 1978. Print.
this study on alienation there will be a micro-study which will attempt to ascertain Marx's
He took his concepts of economics and philosophy and applied them to the social world, giving people a better understanding of the infrastructure and its effect on society. Marx discusses class divisions as one of the defining reasons for the infrastructure of society and the people of society clashing on multiple accounts. Class divisions occur because of a person’s position to the modes of production, which are typically aligned with the interests of the elite power due to the access of influence and money that is needed in order to be in these positions capable of structuring, influencing, and obtaining the modes of production. Marx describes those with the modes of production and those without as the bourgeoisie and the
Karl Marx’s article titled Estranged Labor as found in his 1844 Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts pays significant attention to the political economic system, which is commonly referred to capitalism. He further delves into nature of the political economy with a keen focus on how it has negatively impacted the worker or laborer. Therefore, the laborer forms the subject of his critical and detailed analysis as tries demonstrates the ill nature of the political economy. To start with Karl Marx portrays how the political economy as presented by its proponents has led to emergence of two distinct classes in society; the class of property owners and on the other hand, the class of property less workers. According to Karl Marx (2004), proponents of the political economy have introduced concepts such as private property and competition indicating without providing any form of analytical explanation but rather just expecting the society to embrace and apply such concepts. In particular, political economists have failed to provide a comprehensive explanation for division that has been established between capital and labor. Estranged Labor clearly depicts Marx’s dissatisfaction as well as disapproval towards the political economy indicating that proponents of such a system want the masses to blindly follow it without any form of intellectual or practical explanation. One area that Karl Marx demonstrates his distaste and disappointment in the article is worker or the laborer and how the worker sinks to not just a commodity but rather a wretched commodity (Marx, 2004). This is critical analysis of Karl Marx concept or phenomenon on the alienation of the worker as predicted in Estranged Labor in several aspects and how these concepts are ...
Marx, Karl, Friedrich Engels, and Robert C. Tucker. The Marx-Engels reader. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1978. Print.
Because of the conditions that the wage-workers worked in, Marx described it as exploitation. Marx felt that the wage workers were being exploited. The capitalist, also known as the bourgeoisie, were exploiting the wage workers, the proletariats, because of their cheap labor. They were essentially using them to create and increase their own profit. This in turn brought up alienation. Basically, alienation, also known as estrangement, is when a person is separated from their work, what they produce, themselves, and their environment. Marx’s theory of alienation was used to describe workers laboring under the capitalist society. The workers, also known as wage laborers, were commodities—things that are bought, sold, or exchanged in the market. They were selling their labor which means that they were being alienated from what they were doing.
Bender, Frederic L. Karl Marx: The Communist Manifesto. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ed. 1988.
In his Manifesto of the Communist Party Karl Marx created a radical theory revolving not around the man made institution of government itself, but around the ever present guiding vice of man that is materialism and the economic classes that stemmed from it. By unfolding the relat...
"SOCY 151 - Lecture 12 - Marx's Theory of History." Open Yale Courses. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto. Trans. Paul M. Sweeny. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1998.
Karl Marx’s critique of political economy provides a scientific understanding of the history of capitalism. Through Marx’s critique, the history of society is revealed. Capitalism is not just an economic system in Marx’s analysis. It’s a “specific social form of labor” that is strongly related to society. Marx’s critique of capitalism provides us a deep understanding of the system to predict its pattern and protect ourselves from its negative sides.
To revisit the sub-super structure notion – Marx considered all ideology derived from human consciousness (art, religion, culture, philosophy, law, media, politics, education, etc.) to be part of the social superstructure. The superstructure is in charge of maintaining the economic substructure whilst being shaped by it. The economic substructure consists of the means and relations of production, including both the division of labor and forms of property. The substructure is the more dominant of the two as society cannot stand without an economy, just as a house cannot stand without a strong foundation. The division of labor represents a
According to Marx class is determined by property associations not by revenue or status. It is determined by allocation and utilization, which represent the production and power relations of class. Marx’s differentiate one class from another rooted on two criteria: possession of the means of production and control of the labor power of others. The major class groups are the capitalist also known as bourgeoisie and the workers or proletariat. The capitalist own the means of production and purchase the labor power of others. Proletariat is the laboring lower class. They are the ones who sell their own labor power. Class conflict to possess power over the means of production is the powerful force behind social growth.
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.
Karl Marx had very strong viewpoints in regards to capitalism, making him a great candidate for this assignment. People constantly debate over whether his ideologies held 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 about a lot of issues. As a matter of fact, his teachings can definitely be applied to today’s society. This paper will give a summary of Marx’s political philosophy. It will also discuss a contemporary issue: the current economic crisis— and how Marx believed racism played a crucial a role in it. Finally, through the lens he has developed, I will explain how Marx would analyze this issue and how one can argue that it spurred the current movement known as Occupy Wall Street.