Karl Marx and His Critique of Capitalism Essays - 1569 Words

The definition of utopia is an ideally perfect place especially in its social, political, and moral aspects (dictionary.com). This paper will discuss the changes in capitalism since Marx’s critique in 1848. Marx’s fundamental critique remains correct today. Marx is still correct about his critique of capitalism because even though there have been changes made to capitalism to prevent some abuses, capitalism still produces inequality, reduces the family relationship, destroys small business, and enslaves. In 1848 Karl Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto which was a formal statement of the communist party. â€Å"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles [†¦] we find almost everywhere a complicated†¦show more content†¦People are slaves to the machine and the bourgeoisie because they need to work more hours daily for lower wages because the jobs become more simplistic and automated. A modern example of this is people on an assembly in Detroit, where cars are made. Things are now to the point were you can learn a job in a week when in the past it would have taken years to learn the same job. Marx believes that to sustain market growth capitalism becomes more automated for the giants of industry. Due to this â€Å"machinery obliterates all distinctions of labour and nearly everywhere reduces wages† (Cohen and Fermon, 454). In capitalism people are enslaved for lower wages, as the work becomes less appealing. Marx believed, â€Å"As the repulsiveness of the work increases, the wage decreases† (Cohen and Fermon, 453). Marx said that due to the global market and market growth â€Å"the place of the manufacture was taken up by the giants† (Cohen and Fermon, 448). Industry taken up by the giants meant that local companies would be lost to international conglomerates. For example, in New Orleans there was a local drugstore named K and B that had been there for more than seventy-five years, it was bought out by Rite Aid a national corporation because it could not compete with the prices Rite Aid was charging. Marx also discussed free trade as a freedom replacing other freedoms one might enjoy inShow MoreRelatedKarl Marx and Capitalism Essay880 Words   |  4 PagesKarl Marx, in the Capital, developed his critique of capitalism by analyzing its characteristics and its development throughout history. The critique contains Marx’s most developed economic analysis and philosophical insight. Although it was written in 1850s, its values still serve an important purpose in the globalized world and maintains extremely relevant in the twenty-first century. Karl Marx’s critique of political economy provides a scientific understanding of the history of capitalism.Read MoreThe Communist Manifesto And Das Kapital1151 Words   |  5 PagesKarl Marx was a philosopher, economist, socialist, and journalist in the 18th century. He is most famous for his books the Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital. Among his theories he discussed ideas involving the economy, politics, and social relations. Some of his most important phrases most central to Marx’s thinking were alienation, freedom, surplus value, and social relations of production. The new ideas he presented regarding politics and economics, his critiques of other theories and politicalRead MoreMax Weber And Karl Marx On Modern Capitalism1510 Words   |  7 Pages Max Weber and Karl Marx on Modern Capitalism Anna Thor Sociology 475: Classical Sociological Theory Capitalism has continued to affect the way our society works as it is vital to our society. 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Marx defined capital as a social, economic relation between people. In many of his writings, Marx had implied that revolutions within the proletarian society would be inevitable and the proletariat would become the ruling class all over the world (Kreis, S 2000) Marx proposed this theory of revolution based on Hegelian concepts of the dial ectic. The philosophical and ideological aims put forward were to bringRead MoreThe Contribution Of Karl Marx Essay1337 Words   |  6 Pagescontribution of Karl Marx to the study of sociology, throughout this essay I will be discussing what Marxism is, how Marxism has affected today’s society as well as academics that did not agree with Marx’s theories. Marxism is the social and economic system based on the theories of Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels. Karl Marx was born in Trier, Germany in 1818, Marx studied law and Berlin University but later changed to philosophy until finally perusing his interest in journalism. When Marx finished his studiesRead MoreKarl Marx And The Communist Manifesto1453 Words   |  6 Pagesideology of communism itself, Marx declared that the â€Å"history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles† (Marx, Karl and Frederick Engels). As a man who spurred resentment of governments and inspired revolutionaries, Karl Marx is often regarded as a man who led to the rise of 20th century tyrannical dictators such as Stalin and Mao to take power. His ideas are regarded as failures and, by some, are seen as pure evil. However, the ideas of Marx were not evil and did not solely