“Relevance of Marxist Ideas in Today’s Society”
Is there any reason to read Marx or Marxist literature in today’s world? Many would argue that there is no such reason since virtually every Communist society has fallen or is in the process of decay as we speak. The majority of the world views Marx as synonymous with communism, yet they are either unaware or chose not to be aware of his other works, mainly on Capitalism. Marxist ideas have also influenced sociologists and the field of sociology immensely, thus it is a good idea to understand the ideas of Marx. It is true that the vision presented in “The Communist Manifesto” is all but dead, but this does not mean Marx’s critique of Capitalism is also wrong. The pitfalls of capitalism which Marx pointed out shall be explored and critiqued in the follow essay.
Before one
can fully understand the critiques of capitalism put forth by Marx one must
understand the nature of capitalism and its definition. Webster’s Dictionary defines capitalism as
follows, “an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of
capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by
prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by
competition in a free market.” As one
can see capitalism, as an economic system, imposes minimal restrictions on the
individual. Yet Marx argues that this is
just another veil put up by the bourgeoisie to pacify the proletariat. The basic unit of the capitalist system is
the “cell”, the commodity form (Garner 28).
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class
struggles” (36). These are the opening
words to the “Communist Manifesto” which upholds communism while damning
capitalism. Marx viewed society as a
dichotomy of the exploited (proletariat) against the exploiter
(bourgeoisie). Marx believed that those
who lack “modes of production” would unite and create a revolution in which
classes would be destroyed. Obviously
history has shown us this has yet to happen, but Marx’s critique on “modes of
production” and classes are useful to us today.
In today’s world a select handful of individuals control the majority of
the world’s wealth. “The assets of the three
richest people in the world exceed the combined GDP of the 48 least developed
countries.” (Sernau 33). While this
distinction was not present at the time Marx was writing similar ones were, and
this is what lead Marx to view the proletariat as uniting and revolting. With the emergence of the
Next we come to the issue of inequality, which still exists today as it did in Marx’s time. Marx argued that inequality arose from the exploitation of the masses and as such was not a natural state. Yet, conservative theorists have put forth another idea, inequality is a natural state. They argue men by nature are endowed with certain qualities, some are better at certain things. It is this which creates inequalities among men, and not exploitation. Marx also argues that technology is furthering the gap in classes by creating a large unskilled labor pool. Technology replaces human labor and thus allows the capitalists to produce more goods with fewer workers. In Marx’s view this will create a large sector of unemployed workers who will revolt against the system. Yet as we can see today this is not the case. Technology has increased jobs and the need for skilled workers proficient in certain technologies. Furthermore, Marx was wrong in his prediction that capitalism will fail, and as some theorists have argued it was because Marx was arguing against competitive capitalism while today we have monopoly capitalism, where a few control the majority of capital and are able to protect themselves.
Finally, one cannot overlook the impact Marx has had on both society and the field of sociology. Nearly every sociologist to come after Marx was influenced by him, either arguing in favor of Marxist ideas or refuting Marxist ideas. Few sociologists have had the notoriety Marx has had even so long after his life. The ideas put forth by Marx have inspired many changes in our own society, such as: minimum wage; welfare; labor unions; the abolition of child welfare; and the setting of a standard work week. All of the aforementioned items were effects of “mini revolutions” carried out by believes in the Marxist ideas.
Whether one views Marxist ideas as relevant or not in today’s society is actually irrelevant in and of itself. One must see the importance of the contribution Marx made to sociology regardless of their stance on his opinions. The areas with which Marx has contributed are so broad it would be futile to try and list them all in this essay. Furthermore, one must take into account the time in which Marx was writing before critiquing his work. The era in which Marx predicted a classless society is as foreign to us today as is the idea of humanity living like cavemen. And whether Marx was correct in his predictions of capitalism or not are still yet to be seen. Theorists have debated the accuracy of his ideas of centuries and in all likelihood will continue to do such.
Works Cited