Term Paper on "Marx Capitalism and Class"

Term Paper 15 pages (4740 words) Sources: 10 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Capitalism and Class Ecdriesbaugh

Capitalism and Class

Marx and Engels stated, "The class, which is the ruling material force of society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force. The class which has the means of material production at its disposal has control at the same time over the means of mental production, so thereby, the ideas of those who lack the means of mental production are subject to it..." (Marx & Engles, 1848, pg. 64). In other words, the class with the most money has the means to strongly influence the economy; therefore, this ruling class has the power to affect the lives of anyone categorized in a class that is deemed lower than the dominating group. But class is not just a group of people with similar socioeconomic characteristics. Class also could be defined as societal mass consciousness in which people believe that certain people are better than others, nobler and more worthy of respect. This phenomenon requires people to presume that the rich deserve wealth and the poor deserve poverty. The upper classes are "educated," "cultured," and more "refined." Likewise, the lower class is perceived to be "crude," "rude," and "uncivilized." Meanwhile, the middle class lives on hope and strives to become members of the elite upper class -- and class struggles continue on and on. Class consciousness is characteristic of the capitalist system.

Capitalism was the driving force behind the Industrial Revolution. The term Industrial Revolution defines a time of momentous changes in trade, production, and technology. The phrase was born in France in 1837 and was introduced into common terms by Arnold Toynbee in his Lectures on the Industrial Revolution. After the first rumblings of industrialization in Britain between 1760 and 1830, the American Industrial Revolution revealed itself roughly between 1790 and 1860 (Ellens, 2007). It was called a revolution because the entire way of life changed in response to it.

Before the Industrial Revolution, commodities essential for daily life were created mostly in homes or small workshops. Hand utensils and simple machines utilized by skilled artisans produced fabrics, clothing, pottery, glass, tools, and furnishings. The owners of these small businesses typically worked next to their apprentices, who often lived in the same residence. Individuals and families using unsophisticated machinery worked agriculture on small farms. The results were generally high prices for somewhat crude, usually handmade, commodities. However, the Industrial Revolution brought key advancements in resources and tools and an enormous rise in productivity (Ellens, 2007).

The two major factors responsible for the increased productivity were the enhanced production of iron and the discovery of steam power. These innovations allowed for the creation of automated textile factories with machines to quickly do the work. Tool manufacturing changed completely with the invention of grinding machines and drill presses. Methods of agriculture also changed with the introduction of new and improved agricultural tools. These modern inventions brought increased production of consumer commodities and lower prices; hence, granting a higher standard of living for whole societies (Ellens, 2007). More goods were produced and thus more were available to buy. The owners of these new industries became very rich indeed.

Many social changes happened as a consequence of industrialization. Factory work was wearisome and employment was unreliable. Laborers toiled long hours for low wages, and working conditions were usually very dangerous. Child labor was widespread, and urbanization often brought crowded and unsanitary living conditions. Workers lived in squalor. The gap between the rich and the poor increased as capitalists engorged themselves with titles of upper and upper middle classes, while the common man, employed as worker for low wages, found it nearly impossible to escape poverty (Ellens, 2007). It is here that we introduce Karl Marx. Marx saw and wrote about the unfairness inherent in the economic system and developed an alternative to capitalism, which later came to be called communism or socialism. His system was meant to counteract and eventually destroy the evils of capitalism and class consciousness.

In an effort to explain the philosophical differences between capitalism and Marxism, it is helpful to ponder how philosophical values and ideas are shaped. According to Kolakowski (2005), the history of philosophy has two opposing viewpoints -- materialism and idealism. Idealists theorize that spirit existed before nature, and materialists theorize that spirit materialized after nature. There have been countless creeds in the history of philosophy that have tried, unsuccessfully, to find a balance between the two main viewpoints. "...Dialectics in the sense of thought which perceives phenomena in their development, their internal contradictions, the interpenetration of opposites, and qualitative differentiation came into being gradually during the ages. Dialectical thinking involves the ability to examine concepts, and this is peculiar to man." (Kolakowski, 2005, p. 318). From this viewpoint one might interpret materialism as the root of capitalism, and idealism as the root of Marxism. The values derived from either standpoint, and the impact they will have on a culture, largely depends upon the collective consciousness of that society.

Marx believed that capitalism disempowered individuals and culture by appraising the worth of the human being in terms of monetary value. Marx viewed capitalism as unjust -- because capitalism fed upon and exploited the working class. In other words, in order for capitalists to make the huge profits they did, they had to pay laborers far less than what their work was worth (Strathern, 2001). Workers, with a need for income to eat and keep a roof over their heads and little power to change their situation, had to take what they could get.

Marx had hoped that a rebellious victory of the working class would give birth to the first classless society. "...It [Capitalism] has been the first to show what man's activity can bring about. It has accomplished wonders far surpassing the Egyptian pyramids, Roman aqueducts, and Gothic cathedrals; it has conducted expeditions that put in the shade all former Exoduses of nations and crusades. but, it has pitilessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his 'natural superiors,' and has left remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous 'cash payment.' It has drowned the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervor, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of philistine sentimentalism, in the icy water of egotistical calculation. It has resolved personal worth into exchange value, and in place of the numberless incontestable chartered freedoms has set up that single, unscrupulous freedom -- Free Trade..." (cited in Strathern, 2001, p. 32)

It is imperative that one understand Marx's philosophical viewpoints in order to further examine his views on capitalism. Marx believed in a philosophical evolution of consciousness that would take place and change the world. He theorized that initially human beings lived in agreement with nature and that it was only by conflicting with nature that they recognized themselves as human beings. From this struggle human beings realized they had consciousness. Regardless of how far humanity progressed in this evolutionary process, humans could not separate from struggle. According to Marx, this evolution had reached a phase of incurable damnation (cited in Strathern, 2001).

One of the worst evils, according to Marx, that had come as a result of capitalism was the separation of human beings from the products of their work. To increase productivity, economists had adopted the concept of division of labor. Instead of each worker in a factory having the task of completing a whole item, the method was broken up into a number of specific tasks. For example, in the making of a shoe, one worker might cut the leather to shape and size. Another worker might make the sole of the shoe while yet another laborer created the heel. This process made it much efficient to mass produce a product in order to make more profit, but no worker could hold a pair of shoes proudly in this hands and say, "Look, I made these." Marx saw this as damaging to the cognizance, sense of achievement, and self-esteem of everyone concerned. He felt that workers were exploited and confined to an endless reiteration of a single, mind-numbing task, and because of this, they lost any significant relation to the product they were helping to craft.."..Instead of being creative artisans, they became dehumanized drudges" (Strathern, 2001, pg. 50).

From Marx's point-of-view, if the majority of a society is comprised of working class people, how could capitalism not repress an entire culture? Capitalism and mass production destroyed the cohesion of fellow human beings and made self-interest more important than shared values and goals.

To further examine Marx's views on capitalism one must look at his economic philosophy and understand his views on private property ownership. "Private property has made us so stupid and partial that an object is only ours when we have it, when it exists for us as capital, or when it is directly eaten, drunk, worn, inhabited etc., in short utilized in some way....All the physical and intellectual senses have been replaced by...the sense of having" (cited in Strathern,… READ MORE

How to Reference "Marx Capitalism and Class" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Marx, Capitalism Is an Economic System Founded Essay

Marx, capitalism is an economic system founded upon the exploitation of workers. Using his labor theory of value, demonstrate how he attempted to give validity to his claim.

Karl Marx… read more

Essay 4 pages (1501 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Economics / Finance / Banking

---

Marx, Materialism, and Exploitation Marx's Philosophy Term Paper

Marx, Materialism, And Exploitation

Marx's philosophy of materialism may be said to lead to the conclusion that capitalism inevitably exploits the workers. This contention is still widely debated today; the… read more

Term Paper 4 pages (1796 words) Sources: 1 Topic: Economics / Finance / Banking

---

Karl Marx and Class Issues Essay

Karl Marx & Class Issues

Karl Marx is notorious for having promoted communism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, but moreover, throughout the 20th century and into the… read more

Essay 4 pages (1541 words) Sources: 16 Topic: Sociology / Society

---

Marx and Madison Research Shows Essay

" Obviously Madison was definitely talking about England nevertheless his point was that the same would occur here and that is why he went on to mention, "Landholders have to… read more

Essay 4 pages (1346 words) Sources: 2 Style: MLA Topic: Government / Politics

---

Weber and Marx on Class Inequality Term Paper

Marx Weber

Does Max Weber entirely negate Karl Marx's conception of class inequality?

Max Weber disagreed with Karl Marx's historical and materialist analysis of the dialectical nature, or cyclical quality,… read more

Term Paper 3 pages (1105 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Sociology / Society

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>