Karl Marx
Marx will be discussed.
Capitalist system in Marx
According to Marx, the capitalist system was only part of the evolutionary cycle of society. Marx felt that this system was characterized by great inequalities, which were brought about by the issue of private property. He felt that the need to survive greatly influenced the need to amass wealth, which leads to great selfishness. This basic principle of the capitalist governments was the protection of private property. Capitalist system comes as an evolutionary stage after the tribal society becomes fully established. In this system, there is a great division of person in society. There is a group of persons who are considered as capitalists, and others considered as workers (Blackledge 158). Basically the capitalists are the ones who possess capital, in form of companies, industries and so on, whereas the workers trade their labor with the capitalists. This kind of arrangement does not go smoothly at all times. This is because the workers, who in all cases in a capitalist system, form the greatest percentage of the population. This population gets constantly exploited by the capitalist class. This kind of a society is composed of a great majority of unsatisfied individuals, and a small number of comfortable individuals.
A major offender in this system is religion. Religion becomes one of the greatest promoters of private property, and as such also possesses a lot of property. That is why the first step in the salvation of the masses must be the elimination of religion. Marx condemned religion as having been pacifying the poor, claiming to want the best for them, while at the same time it was the most ardent supporter of capitalism. It is important therefore, that religion be eliminated. In a capitalist system, work, which was so natural to the human persons, had become a worst form of alienation. Rather than be given the opportunity to work and be remunerated for the work done, society promoted capitalistic tendencies by allowing for disparities in remunerations, with the hardest working being given the least remuneration(Blackledge 157). People were therefore considered depending on the kind of work they were doing, rather than what they were, namely the human persons. Marx considered that this system was bound to fail, because the dissatisfaction among the poor would not continue forever. A point in time would come when the oppressed poor would rise up and fight back. This would according to Marx come of necessity. Change, according to Marx, was characteristic of society. The inequalities and the struggles within the classes, which resulted from the exploitative tendencies with regard to power and wealth, were the greatest nourishment for change (Fine 137).
Marxian understanding was basically materialist. In other words, Marx saw all that exists in as far as society was concerned, as being materialist. Everything else in society depended on the production means. Social relationships, as well as the political life, depended on the existing means of production. This reasoning gave supremacy to materialist tendencies over the existing system of the time, where reason was emphasized. In claiming that there was a materialist condition in every aspect of society, Marx was simply affirming the importance of capitalism. In other words, it seems that the argument ends in capitalism, the very system that
Marx moved to eliminate.
The Understanding of Politics in Marx
The understanding of Marx was that politics could only be understood on the basis of the struggles that existed between the classes. As a matter of fact, this struggle was the essence of all history. The bourgeoisie were the dominant class in every political system. They were the ones who owned land, and over saw the political dispensation in such a system (Berlin 184). The expansion of capital has a negative effect on the workers. This is because the labor which they provide loses value. This alienates them from each other, which in effect takes away the possibility of having a strong base in politics. The effect in this is that everyone in the workers class is forced to alliance with the bourgeoisie, in an attempt to survive. This means that the workers continually promote the endeavor of the capitalist class. It would be very important therefore, according to Marx, to bring about the destruction of the capitalist class. This would mean that the proletariat would yield the power that was previously held by the bourgeoisie. The tension that exists among the classes would eventually lead to a revolt. This would eventually sweep capitalism as a form of government out of place, replacing it with the communist government. Communist setting would be the best form of government, which would effectively eliminate the sufferings and the alienation which is bred in capitalism.
In a communist setting, the people would have the mandate of leadership (McLellan 178). They would be the ones leading, rather than the bourgeoisie. This system would ensure that everyone was not denied the possibility of working, or be remunerated unequally for work done. This would remove the evils that have been created by the capitalist system, and eventually create a system where equality is guaranteed for all. This understanding of politics in Marx has for a long time been rejected by political philosophers and scientist as being impractical. However, the prediction of the fall of capitalism has seemingly been taking shape with the current experience of the global recession. It seems that Marx may have been right after all. The kind of politics that would be practiced in a communist system would be the politics of care. There would be greater access to education, a thing that would be beneficial to generations of the future in terms of self determination. The practice of child labor was seen as an evil that would not be allowed in communism (McLellan 176). It would be important to eliminate the political protection of private property, because this leads to inequalities. It is for this reason that communism as a form of government serves the peoples best. Marx calls the proletariat to a new awakening, where they would experience the power that resides in them.
The Understanding of Power in Marx
Marx had a number of ways of understanding of power. Labor power was one critical kind of power according to him. The ability that is inherent in the proletariat to produce is the most important of all things. Marx posited that this kind of power was found in all of the human societies. However, it is applied differently in different situations. Labor power as such is a very essential part of capital. These powers appear as creative powers of capital in a capitalist society. The effect of this is that it loses its meaning, creating a situation where the workers are just seen as such. This does not recognize the important role it plays in the real sense. It is important to distinguish between labor power and labor. The former refers to the ability to engage in productive activities, while the latter refers to the effort that is applied in the production process. Marx makes an interesting statement regarding the idea of labor power relative to capital. He cautions that labor power is, to the individual who possesses it, not a form of capital rather, it is the commodity that should be continually sold in order to survive. It is only the buyer who can or may consider this power as capital (Berlin 224). It is understandable that every worker, from the point of view of the capitalist, is a capitalist. This is because there is that ability to continually engage in the sale of the labor every other day.
Marx was also opposed to the understanding of labor power, which claimed that this power was a commodity. This was the understanding that prevailed in a capitalistic system. The capitalists main interest is the reduction of the consumption by the workers. This aims at making maximum use of labor power, for a minimum pay.
According to Karl Marx, the proletariat posses power but do not seem to recognize it. This power becomes obscured by the restrictive nature that is brought about by the social inequalities. As already mentioned, the proletariat is divided by the expanding capital. This division does not provide them with the opportunity to understand what they are capable of. Power is in this case left in the hands of the rich, whose main aim is to protect their property. Marx therefore calls the people to a new awakening, where they can realize their potential (Blackledge 188). He claims that by virtue of their numbers, the proletariat are the most powerful, because they are capable of overturning the political system if they so wish. Marx mentions that it was vital that the proletariat understand that by rising to claim power, they did not stand to loose a thing, besides the chains that they had been long subjected to by the rich. This Marxian understanding is still very relevant today. The setting in most of the world countries is that there are a few who are extremely rich, with the greatest majority being plagued with abject poverty. These ones work tirelessly in the factories of the rich, where they are not sufficiently remunerated for whatever services they offer.
Due to the huge gap that exists between the rich and the poor, the poor do not, in most cases, consider themselves powerful. The call by Marx is still relevant today, for the poor to rise and speak in one voice, against all sorts of injustices, and more importantly, against all sorts inequalities and alienation. Today the gap continues to widen, and it only remains to be seen, whether the current economic recession will act as a catalyst towards a revolution and a change of hands in position of power and leadership in the modern world. A good example is the situation in most of the third world countries. Most of them are riddled in huge corruption cases. The rich, who mostly happen to be the political class, constantly abuse power, leaving the poor suffering and feeling rejected. Impunity is in most of these countries a common phenomenon. The level of unemployment has become too high, so that the alienation that was considered in Marx is very prominent (Fine 132). In most sectors of governance, the kind of money one has determines whether one gets services or not. All of these things point to the fact that Marx had very well captured the manner in which society operates. In this kind of situation, Marx would call them to respond to this situation by claiming power by means of a revolution.
Marx also made a distinction between powers that were considered essential from those that were considered merely political. He argued that there were inherent powers, which were essential in nature, in every man. The political powers are normally exercised over and above the essential powers. The elites are responsible for the exercise of this power. Ideally, Marx wanted to say that although individuals possessed powers, there were other powers, which acted as detractors, seeking to prevent the individuals from exercising their inherent powers. This understanding of power is based on the Marxian understanding of the divisions of society, that is, the dual division of society between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat (Gough 147).
There are some criticisms that have been leveled against Marxian understanding of the labor power. His understanding has been considered as having been too vague something that allows for various interpretations. Others argued that in coming up with this concept Marx was not saying anything that was unsaid before. The claim that Marx makes, that the individual who sells labor has to be the owner of it does not hold water. This is because it is possible for someone to sell labor as a third party. This would be possible for instance in the case of slaves. It is possible that a person who owns a slave can sell them to another person and be paid directly for the services rendered by the slave.
Conclusion
Marx has very interesting theories regarding the way society orders itself. As already indicated, he considers that society is in a constant state of evolution. There are changes taking place at all times in society. Basically, the capitalist society stems from the tribal one the reason for this being the maturity of the tribal society. However, the capitalist system is plagued with all sorts of evils. It is characterized by injustices and inequalities. These realities provide Marx with a projectile understanding of the future possibilities. The communist system is born of the rejection of the excesses of the capitalist system. This is why every proletariat society should understand the exact nature of its inherent powers. Marx considers that work is used as a form of alienation. He argues that this should not be the case, because work is the most natural thing to the human person. This is why society should reject the capitalist system in favor of the communist system, if the alienation is to be considered. Marx also considered that labor power is the most important of powers of the human person. This was considered the case due to the important role it played in production.
Basically, Marx was making a call to the proletariat to rise up and realize the powers that they had, which if properly utilized could lead to a great new change. This call remains not just a call to the society of Marxian time, but as well as those of the present times, especially where all sorts of inequalities prevail. This is why the reasoning and understanding in Marx was critical. It was also interesting to note that the prediction by Marx that capitalist system would fail is seemingly coming to realization. This consideration is informed by the current trends in the global economy. There is a serious failure in the capital establishments across the world, and this failure seems to be an indicator of the possibility of the collapse of capitalism whether the new system will be communist, as Marx predicted, remains to be seen.
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