Marxs Objections to Capitalism

Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?

We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.

You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

The body of doctrine created by Karl Marx and, to a lesser extent, Friedrich Engels in the 19th century does not lose its popularity to this day. Marx refused to see his teaching as pure philosophy: if anything, he criticized other philosophical movements for their alleged inability to shift from interpreting the world to transforming it. The primary object of Marxs critique was capitalism, a socioeconomic system that arose in Europe and North America due to the emergence and expansion of certain legal freedoms. The question is whether Marxism can still stand the test of time and offer logical arguments. This essay describes and evaluates Marxs three main objections to capitalism and criticizes them on the grounds of his underestimation of capitalisms creative force and the plurality of its manifestations.

As a successor of German philosophical traditions that emphasized labors importance, Marx argued that productiveness was an important event of human existence (Dasein). However, the innate human drive to create and produce was stifled under capitalism. To describe the capitalist workplace dynamics, Marx introduced the term alienation that describes the detachment of self from its attribute and the loss of control and agency over the work process (Pike & Barber n.d., p. 126). Pimenta (2020) writes that Marx pointed out three dimensions of alienation: the product of the labour, the act of production, and relation to species-being.

The alienation of the labour product occurs when the worker perceives it as existing outside the realm of his or her power. Neither producers or consumers choose the design of a particular product as it is the prerogative of the capitalist class. The latter accommodates the intellectual labour of workers and designers as well as the manual labour of workers to only act in the interest of the bourgeoisie. It is these dynamics that make every individual involved in the creation of a product obediently fulfil the will of the ruling class. In Marxs words, workers put their lives into the object, but by doing so, they lose both their autonomy and control over the said object. Drawing on these assumptions, Marx put forward the notion of commodity fetishism in which labour becomes subject to transaction and could be bought and sold with no regard to human ontology.

The second dimension of alienation is the externalization of the very act of production. According to Marx, under capitalism, the generation of products, goods, and services can only be accomplished through repetitive, mundane tasks and motions from which workers derive little to no psychological satisfaction (Pike & Barber n.d., p. 127). Work activities do not aim to develop workers potential but rather at erasing their individuality and deadening them (Pimento, 2020). However, the working class has to play by the rules set by the ruling class according to which the alternative to challenging the intolerable job conditions is unemployment and starvation. Hence, while capitalism is the prevailing socio-economic system, any labour is coerced labour. Because work activities are not voluntary, workers feel as if their skills, talents, bodies, and minds do not belong to themselves but rather at the disposal of the people in charge of their wages. In essence, alienation from the act of production becomes an alienation from oneself because productive labour is part of human nature and cannot be a discrete, external element.

The two forms of alienation those of the product of labour and the act of production give rise to the third dimension, which is the alienation from species beings. Capitalism alienates humans from the object in which they put their productive effort and their own functions. As a consequence, a persons life transforms into a never-ending process of satisfying individual needs (Pimento, 2020). Such individualism is to blame for the system where workers do not work toward mutual economic interests but rather compete against each other for higher wages. The ethical argument in favor of Marxs view revolves around the issue of the exploitation of workers under capitalism. Because the bourgeoisie makes the rules and takes control of the economy, workers have little to no control of the profit they make from their production (Pike & Barber n.d.). Therefore, the working class can never have enough negotiating leverage to make deals on their own terms. Moreover, because the means of production are at the ruling classs disposal, workers have to make a choice between starving or selling their labour. The alternative to laboring for capitalists is poverty and death, which is why one cannot argue that any work arrangement is completely voluntary. It should be noted that under capitalism, labour is another commodity like oil or gold. Therefore, the cost of labour is largely determined by its cost of production. In other words, a persons work costs exactly the amount that is required to keep the said person alive and producing (Zwolinski & Wertheimer 2017). It is this inhumane logic that justifies subsistence wages that only cover bare necessities.

Marx argued that capitalism is not only an inhumane and psychologically torturous system but also an unsustainable one. The philosopher assumes that under capitalism, workers have to settle for a minimum standard of living, which implies a subsistence or a below subsistence level. In turn, capitalists seek to maximize profit indefinitely, but their race to the bottom may come to an end. To describe the working classs state of being, Marx uses the term immiseration that refers to both the psychological and physical struggles (Pike & Barber n.d.). As per Marxs the downfall of capitalism is not going to be linear but rather comes in waves (Gronow 2016). After an economic crisis subdues, workers wages may rise again, but now that they have grown scared of losing means for survival, they may settle for worse conditions and become trapped in the situation. Hence, the solution for resolving the problem of the proletariats desperation lies beyond capitalism.

Today, some events indicate the strength of Marxs prediction regarding the future of capitalist society. For instance, despite corporations resistance, in Canada and the United States, workers found and advanced unionization movements. Their goal is to demand better social protection, health benefits, and working conditions. For example, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) united 1.3 million Canadian workers and gave weight to their initiatives to fight back against the gig economy. As per UFCWs 2020 announcement, Toronto Uber drivers will be the first to unionize in Canada. At the moment, the workers can longer tolerate not being recognized as employees, working unpaid hours. They also seek to ensure just cause protection and make Uber adopt legally binding grievance procedures. This example is one of the many that show the precision of Marxs predictions regarding capitalisms capacity to sustain itself.

For all the strength of Marxs argument, his theory also has quite a number of gaps and false assumptions. He assumed that all workers are universally alienated from the product and the act of their labour as well as from each other. It could be that living in the 19th century, decades after the onset of industrialization, the thinker could not quite fathom the diversity of jobs and occupations that may emerge in the future. The American Enterprise Institute (2016) writes that technological development empowered by the free market created more jobs than it destroyed. In particular, it helped to move from exhausting and dull muscle work to more fulfilling intellectual labour because many manufacturing and agricultural tasks were now done by machines, not humans. This dramatic shift has arguably freed up more time for entrepreneurial activities in which the man could act on his urges to purposively produce.

Another generalization that Marx made and that may not be entirely true is that exploitation is the prerequisite for capitalisms existence. As per Marxs labour theory of value, the price of a commodity, including work, is worth the labour it requires to produce it. However, it may not be the case of how a persons potential for contributing to a business entity is evaluated. A workers compensation is an investment that may be proportionate to the return on investment. In other words, a specialist who adds to a companys revenue or success in non-monetary terms not only receives compensation that covers more than the subsistence needs but also has the power to negotiate their employment. Furthermore, when defending the interests of the working class in regards to the compensation that they receive for their work, the philosopher appears to ignore the property owner. He or she does not merely reap the benefits of other peoples labour but rather manages capital necessary to maintain the premises in which the said people work.

Marx vehemently opposed capitalism and argued that capitalist society survives only because of the exploitation of the working class. Under capitalism, workers are alienated from the product and act of labour as well as from each other, which challenges the very ontology of human nature. Marxs arguments are relevant today: they explain the rise of the gig economy, mistreatment of workers, and corporations greed for profits that makes them minimize costs at the expense of the individuals. Yet, some of Marxs assumptions may have been sweeping generalizations. History has shown that capitalism built more prosperous societies, and the labour market turned more toward the workforce and its interests. Besides, the free market system empowered technological development that, in turn, reduced the number of mundane, manual jobs and offered a more diverse labour market where people can act on their natural inclinations.

Reference List

American Enterprise Institute 2016, Dont tell Bernie Sanders, but capitalism has made human life fantastically better. Heres how, Web.

Gronow, J 2016, The theory of immiseration, socialist consciousness and the intellectuals in J Gronow (ed), On the formation of Marxism, Brill, Atlanta, GA, pp. 57-71.

Pimenta, TL 2020, Alienation and fetishism in Karl Marxs critique of political economy, Nova Economia, vol. 30, no. 2, pp.605-628.

UFCW Canada 2020, Toronto Uber drivers first to apply for unionization in Canada, Web.

Zwolinski, M & Wertheimer, A 2017, Exploitation, in EN Zalta (ed), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.

Click Here To Order Now!

Marxs Objections to Capitalism

Reference List