Karl Marx's Critique...and Batman?

        This week we studied the writings and theories of Karl Marx. The first question posed was why is Karl Marx so important when studying capitalism? Karl Marx wrote The Communist Manifesto (great short video here) and his theories were the basis for Communist leaders. So why should we study it? This is because he was the first to truly criticize and find an alternative to capitalism. In studying, one needs to see both sides of the subject in order to fully understand the information. Marx takes the capitalist theories and refutes them. He then takes them to a final conclusion and identifies the major problems. He found problems because he believed in a sustained articulation of the historical process.

            Marx and Engels based their theory off of class struggle. They believed that all of history is based off of this idea; “The Motor of History.” The cycle that drives historical development goes THESIS --> ANITHESIS --> SYNTHESIS --> and back to THESIS and on. History did not start with capitalism. It began with primitive Accumulation to Feudalism to Capitalism (Industrial Capitalism) which then leads to Communism. Each transition has and will be accompanied by a revolutionary struggle. The question, though, is not if there will be a revolution, but when will it happen.

They named the two classes the “bourgeoisie” and the “proletariat.” The bourgeoisie were the capitalists and owned the means of production. The proletariat were the working class and only owned their labor power. This inequality lead to power relations. These were not natural law as Adam Smith had said it should be. This is because the people made choices that were not naturally driven. The monopolies (bourgeoisie) had more industry and therefore could destroy their opponents and competition. This then made less bourgeoisie and more proletariat. Alienation removed the workers from production, etc. All the workers then get are the wages from their labor. If you are having any trouble understanding the difference between these two classes, you should watch "The Dark Knight Rises." I've provided a very interesting, yet short article here explaining why this relates. (Do you feel in charge?)

Marx believed the bourgeoisie were paving the way for their own destruction. They would oppress and create more proletariat. This means that the proletariat would eventually have to revolt. The bourgeoisie had private property unlike that of the proletariat. This lead to the mentality of the bourgeoisie to be “all mine” (my factory, my workers, etc.). They were oppressing the workers. “How man oppresses man, oppress the many.” The question then arises, how could they get so many people to be okay with all of it? It is a completely idea when looked at through the eyes of capitalism. In capitalism some acquire wealth and some do not. Individualism has destroyed larger social connections. One can’t be surprised if there is discontent from the lower classes.

Marx did not believe that capitalism could be the final stage, while others believed that it was the peak of civilization and the fulfillment of human progress. Marx believed that the capitalistic view was not wholly accepted as the world value. This goes against what Smith, Ricardo, and others believed. Marx saw capitalism as just a stage of historical development. Just because we are here does not mean we have to stay here. He warns not to accept today’s view as universal. It is not good for all time and for all people. Not everyone is guided by the marketplace or exchange society. Marx says capitalism is what makes us selfish. If capitalism is removed, then selfishness would be removed. An analogy that was provided in class was the idea of walking on the moon. “If I can walk on Earth with no oxygen tank, etc. then I can walk on the moon in the same fashion.” Just because something works here, does not mean that it will work everywhere. This is why one can’t apply capitalism rules as a world view.

We are then left with the question why does pure communism (Marx’s theory at its core) not work? The one theory we talked about in class was human nature. We are ingrained to better ourselves. We all have some type of internal motivation and with the proper incentive we will find a way to get what we want. It goes against this to try have total equality. One can see the failure of pure communism with the Soviet Union. Lenin picked and chose which parts of Marx’s theories he wanted to use. When going back to "The Dark Knight Rises" article you can see the failure there as well. What other ways does Pure Communism not work?