Capitalism is "an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state" (Amadeo, K). The United States is a capitalistic society along with many other countries. It is often critiqued due to the large separation between property owning classes and property-less classes. Karl Marx, a German philosopher is a widely known critic of the capitalistic system and wrote "Manifesto of the Communist Party" and "Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844" explaining the faults of capitalism and provides communism as a solution. Currently in the United States, specifically New York, there have been an influx of nail salons employing immigrants and violating federal …show more content…
labor laws. Due to the capitalistic society of the United States, it has put many individuals in the lower classes in a desperate situation where they have to look for entry-level jobs that alienate and exploit them from our true purpose in society. Marx is a firm believer that capitalism is the cause of conflict between socioeconomic classes. Specifically, he divides these classes into the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, in which the proletariat labor for the bourgeoisie for a wage (Tomczuk, S). He also labels these classes as property-owners and the property less owners. He claims that without the privatization of property and property ownership, we would not have such a divide between classes and would no longer have capitalism (Marx, K). The interests between the two classes oppose each other due to the bourgeoisie caring about capital and surplus, whereas the proletariat care about exchanging their labor for wage for survival. Due to opposing interests between the classes there is often a great amount of conflict. The bourgeoisie wants to exploit the proletariat in order to make as much surplus as possible and the proletariat just wants to make a living wage (Tomczuk, S). The relationship between the classes is weakened, and further worsened by the appropriation of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie appropriating the proletariats by taking advantage of their need for work and survival. Class consciousness is a product of the polarization of the classes, and one could argue that is it also a catalyst of further separation between classes. Class consciousness is when one is aware of their socioeconomic status, the structure of the class that they are in and their classes limitations (Marx, K). Marx hopes that the proletariat will gain class consciousness and change how they produce and work (Tomczuk, S). Commodification of labor further worsens relationships between the classes by alienating workers from their labor and from human species (Tomczuk, S). Commodities in Marx' terms are objects of exchange (i.e. clothing, food, entertainment) that meet human needs and wants. Commodities often reflect the labor that went into them and represent a monetary value. Marx believes that wage labor commodifies human workers in capitalism. When labor is commoditized, it takes individuals away from the true purpose of the species being and alienates them from societies' purpose. Capitalism leads to workers to become estranged and alienated from their labor; Alienation of labor being when the worker is distanced from his labor. This in turn estranges them from Marx' definition of species being which is what it means to be human (Tomczuk, S). Workers experience estrangement and alienation from the world because they put their life into an object, but due to not owning the product of their labor, the worker will become more estranged the more they produce. Work is a means of survival and is done for the purpose of someone else, which in Marx' view is alienation within itself. People are not meant to solely work for survival and to obtain material commodities. In the article, "The Price of Nice Nails" by Sarah Maslin Nir, the author discusses the life of nail salon workers in New York.
With Karl Marx's theory, I will begin to analyze the causes and consequences of this type of labor. In the case of nail salons, the owners are the bourgeoisie and the workers are the proletariats of varying levels, and the bourgeoisie continuously take advantage of the workers by not paying them a wage until they have proved their worth to the company, which sometimes can take months. Many women and men are immigrating from other countries, without knowing how to speak English and with only a limited amount of money in their pockets. They look for jobs that are entry level and will pay a wage that will suffice for survival. Many of the nail salon owners are aware of the desperation of the workers need for survival and provide them a place to work. Many of the salons start new employees off with zero wage, and even make employees pay expenses to begin working. Beyond that, after months of working with no pay, the owners will decide whether to keep the workers or not, and then will increase their pay to $10-$30 a day (Tomczuk, S). Not only are wages extraordinarily low per day, these workers are also working long hours each day, ranging from ten to twelve hours per day. Due to the property owners taking the workers' labor for their own use and profit, it in itself is appropriation of the workers
labor. Beyond working in terrible conditions with poor pay, the workers are also being alienated from their labors. In class we discussed four types of alienation: alienation from the object of labor, the process of labor, from other workers, and from species. In this scenario, the workers are fully being estranged from their labor. The workers are purely working in the nail salon to receive a wage that will allow them to survive. Not many of them, if any at all, actually enjoy the work and get to appreciate the fruits of their labors. They are also alienated from the process of labor due to the hostile work environments provided and the factory design behind nail salons. The clients come in, get their nails done, and leave after paying. There is little room for conversation and appreciation of the labor. The article discussed a nail salon worker from Ecuador that worked at a Korean-owned salon. The author explained, "…she and her Hispanic colleagues were made to sit in silence during their entire 12-hour shifts, while the Korean manicurist were free to chat" (Maslin, S). There is obvious tension and alienation from other workers in these kinds of environments due to the bourgeoisie's high regard for certain workers and lack of respect for others. Finally, the labor that these workers are completing goes against everything that Marx thinks we are here on this Earth to do. They are alienated from species being. Species being is the ultimate purpose of why we are living and why we labor, due to commodification of workers labor we have gone away from laboring for the pure joy of creation, to laboring in exchange for a monetary value. It is debatable whether the consequences of working in a nail salon in New York, which is over populated with nail salons, is worth it in the long run. On one hand it provides a job, a resource, and experience for an individual, leading to further opportunities for success in life. On the other hand, many workers experience physical and mental ailments due to the working conditions and earn such a small wage they have to share one-bedroom apartments with six to seven other family members. This career field fully supports Marx's view of capitalism, and what it has created, due to the workers being alienated, appropriated, and commoditized. In this scenario, Marx is spot on with his theory of capitalism and its faults, there are other limitations that his theory does not account for. Many immigrants come to the United States to look for work and leave their communist societies. While many jobs are unavailable to them due to their status and often inability to speak the native language in the U.S., there are certain jobs in agriculture and nail salons that provide a purpose and a way of survival for these individuals. These jobs provide experience, wages, and protection for these individuals, which is something that they would not be able to get otherwise. One could argue that due to the capitalist society we embrace, these people only have to find these types of jobs because we require monetary exchanges for survival. Another could argue that even though these immigrants are barely surviving in the United States with low wage and exploited jobs, it still may be better than the country that they originated from. Regardless, due to the nature behind the capitalist society, workers in nails salons are taken advantage of and work in less-than ideal conditions.
An economic and political system in which a country 's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state is known as Capitalism. Many components make up a capitalist society such as the factors of production are privately owned. The economic transactions take place in markets where buyers and sellers interacts, and many business and employees are free to pursue their own self interest. The United States is known to follow the ideals of a capitalism throughout the years but as many as 32 recessions have taken place in the last 150 years. The economy seems to be unstable and the question arises, why is capitalism so dynamic and unstable? In the novel “The Rise and fall of Neoliberal Capitalism”, David M Kotz analyzes and answers the many
The factory workers are stuck in a complicated position where they are taken advantage of and exploited. While “exploitation occurs on any level” these factory workers do not have the opportunity to exploit others because they are the ones being exploited (Timmerman 7). Tension is created between the corporations, factory owners and workers, because the factory owners force the workers into harsh labor and intense working conditions that they were told
In 1800s, the industrial revolution spread across the United States, which significantly change the way of manufacturing and labor society function. More and more Europeans were transferred to America, which increased the population of America. In addition, the larger transportation and communication made the old type of labor conventions and household manufactory became outdated. At that time, the “Artisan Republicanism” was extraordinary popular in the United States, people work depended on their workmanships, and people were also able to be their own boss on the job. However, factory based workplaces replaced the traditional patterns of work, which significantly increased the efficiency of manufactory industry, but on the other hand, labors met big problem, not only on the status of a master in their field, but also on the lower wages and longer working hours. American workers found that they had become “wage slaves”. In response of these changes, laborers started protesting the new revolution, resisted changes of older traditions of work,
This therefore creates an incentive to keep costs low and selling prices high which results in instability making these workers further reliant on the capitalist who buy their labor. This is a form of oppression and domination of the workers because the boss profits based on the exploitation of workers. Once these workers are being alienated, dominated, and oppressed there is a progression that happens. They are first alienated from their own labor; they are a part of just one piece of the labor that goes into making the product. This makes their jobs menial and tedious, the workers do not find joy or fulfillment in their jobs and no longer see their labor in the product. They are also alienated from one another, in this system people are placed in competition with one another and therefore they only look after themselves to make sure they get the best benefits. They are then alienated from their product labor, they work for a product that does not matter to them and that they have no passion for. The last form of alienation is that they are alienated from themselves; by being apart of this system, it does not allow us to contribute
Most importantly for those who Marx feels capitalism has an adverse effect on, the proletariat. Marx in The Communist Manifesto explains what capitalism is and what it is to be a capitalist: "To be a capitalist is to have not only a purely personal but a social status in production. Capital is a collective product, and only by the united action of many members, nay, in the last resort, only by the united action of all members of society, can it be set in motion." (Marx, K., Engels, F. and Berman, M. (2011)). Through such a definition of capitalism, he adamantly stresses that capitalist state is selfish, one that has been manufactured by the desire of individuals to have a greater material wealth than his societal
This is because it allowed for the emergence of the powerful Bourgeoise, "In one word, for exploitation, veiled by religious and political illusions, naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation.” As Marx explained , the Bourgeois exploited the Proletariats through the means of the long hours the laborers had to endure to receive very low wages, which maximized Bourgeois profits. Furthermore Marx claimed that "The conditions of Bourgeois society are too narrow to comprise the wealth created by them ...it has also called the into existence the men who are wield to those weapons -the modern workers.” The elites have created a very exclusive market, In order for the market to be placed effectively; the Bourgeoisie depended on the exploitation of others to remain wealthy. Marx perceived this tactic that allowed the bourgeoisie to overthrow their predecessors could be used against the bourgeoisie in the long term. Nevertheless, the way to abolish the Bourgeois was for the Proletariats to revolt against the factories in their areas and destroy the technology inside the factories, this allowed for the return of skilled
The Communist Manifesto was published in 1848, a period of political turmoil in Europe. Its meaning in today’s capitalistic world is a very controversial issue. Some people, such as the American government, consider socialism taboo and thus disregard the manifesto. They believe that capitalism, and the world itself, has changed greatly from the one Marx was describing in the Manifesto and, therefore, that Marx’s ideas cannot be used to comprehend today’s economy. Others find that the Manifesto highlights issues that are still problematic today. Marx’s predicative notions in the Communist Manifesto are the key to understanding modern day capitalism.
To begin with, capitalism is a type economic system. Simply put, capitalism is the system where workers work for the capitalist and receive wages for their labor. In, Wage-Labour and Capital, Marx explains the exchange between the capitalist and their workers in regards to wages and labor. He wrote:
Due to the large increase of immigrants in the United States in the 1800s, sweatshops started to develop in the East Coast cities. The immigrants that were mostly targeted to work in sweatshops came from European countries. These immigrants were not forced to work in sweatshops with poor working conditions, but they had few other choices because most of them were unskilled laborers in a new country. This situation facilitated the growth of sweatshops. Social and economic conditions in cities made it possible for sweatshops owners to choose from a large desperate population of workers willi...
In The New York Times article “The Price of Nice Nails,” the story of the manicurist/pedicurist Jing Ren reveals the terrible working conditions, underpaid salary, extensive working hours and common workplace discriminations in the nail salon business in New York. Moreover, the story of Jing Ren and her remarks regarding the nail salon business lead to the longstanding confusion about the racial distribution in the nail salon business. Based on the statistics data of nail industry ethnic distribution, the Asian Americans occupy about 48% of the total nail salon professions. Yet, they are perfectly clear about the mistreatments and are also well aware that they demean their self-esteem by
Producing goods or services are dictated not by employees but by their employers. If profits exist, employers are the ones that benefit more so than the regular worker. “Even when working people experience absolute gains in their standard of living, their position, relative to that of capitalists, deteriorates.” (Rinehart, Pg. 14). The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Hard work wears down the employee leaving them frustrated in their spare time. Workers are estranged from the products they produce. At the end of the day, they get paid for a day’s work but they have no control over the final product that was produced or sold. To them, productivity does not equal satisfaction. The products are left behind for the employer to sell and make a profit. In discussions with many relatives and friends that have worked on an assembly line, they knew they would not be ...
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.
As a matter effect capitalist have been very clever about their system we can say they created economy or they make industrials while they have been used working class however Marx focus was on the development of capitalislism,
Karl Marx was a philosopher, a sociologist, economist, and a journalist. His work in economics laid a foundation for the modern understanding of distribution of labor, and its relation to wealth generation. His theories about the society, economic structure and politics, which is known as Marxism led to him developing social classes. He later on showed how social classes were determined by an individual’s position in relation to the production process, and how they determine his or her political views. According to Karl Marx, capitalism was a result of the industrial revolution. Capitalism is a system that has been founded on the production of commodities for the purpose of sale. Marx defined the
Karl Marx was a German philosopher and political theorist. He developed the socio-political theory of Marxism. One of his most famous works is The Communist Manifesto that he co-wrote with Friedrich Engels. In The Communist Manifesto, Marx discusses his theories on society, economics and politics. He believed that “all societies progress through the dialectic of class struggle”. He criticized capitalism, and referred to it as the "dictatorship of the bourgeoisie". Marx believed that capitalism was unfair because the rich middle and upper class people manipulated the system and used it for their own benefit while we get the short end of the stick. We, being average Americans— like myself— who go to college full-time, juggle a job, and yet are constantly struggling just to make ends meet: the unappreciated, exploited and underpaid every day h...