Karl Marx was a great German philosopher and a revolutionist who is widely known and respected for his work and influence in creating the modern world. He is hugely appreciated as a revolutionary in his critical analysis of social debates, especially regarding economics, politics, and even socialism. Karl Marx is considered a grand champion for communism; thus, together with fellow German social scientist Friedrich Engels, he developed the manifesto of the communist party, which was published in 1848 (Marx et al. 13). Through the book, Karl Marx tries to justify their call for revolution against capitalism by emphasizing that most of the perils of capitalism can easily be reversed by the western countries embracing communism. He tries to demonstrate his criticism of liberal capitalism by discussing some elements such as class segregation of people and the wage-labor disparity of the working class.
Through the communist party’s manifesto, Karl Marx suggested some aspects of liberal capitalism that he believed were backward. Moreover, they would be a colossal hindrance to the development of countries and even the welfare of the people living there. One of the critical elements that are addressed is the issue of class. Karl Marx begins by stating that “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles” (Marx et al. 67). This statement shows that the society that practices liberal capitalism has always put people into different class categories depending on a hierarchy of one class of people being better than the other. It divides people into either being lord or serf, freeman or slave and even Bourgeois or Proletarians. Throughout history, there have been constant gradations of societal ranks from the Roman days of patricians, knights, and slaves to the middle ages of feudal lords and vassals and even the modern-day bourgeois society. According to Karl Marx, these classes result from people living in a capitalist society where only a few well-connected people have indefinite access to the resources of the land. Ideally, they are the only ones who have the capital to establish themselves. The rest of the people have no other option but to work for the few capitalists to earn their wages. They are referred to as proletarians, and they sell their workforce in return for wages.
As highlighted by Karl Marx, the development of the modern-day Bourgeois has been through the downfall of other people and even other classes of individuals. It began through the surfs of the middle Ages and was enhanced by the discovery of America and the increase in the exchange of commodities. This lead to increased demand of the commodities being traded; hence capitalists invested heavily in facilitating this, thus hired cheap labor from work. The emergence of the feudal system of industry created a monopoly for the few guilds pushed away by the manufacturing middle class. The industrial middle class and millionaires quickly replaced the manufacturing middle class after the industrial revolution and the manufacturing process’s modernization.
In demonstrating the evolution of the manufacturing industry, Karl Marx indicated how the process has led to the concentration of wealth and political powers to the few capitalists at others’ expense. Several people lost their livelihoods and jobs as machines or a few skilled laborers replaced them. This has left no other nexus between man and many other than individuals’ self-interest and selfishness against their fellow man. Liberal capitalism, according to Karl Marx, has resolved personal worth into exchange value. It has also increased the exploitation of people through the use of religion and politics, leading to the formation of two extreme classes in the society. It has reduced the once strong family relations into mere money relations; thus, people have, in one way or the other, lost their sense of family unity (Marx et al. 23). Karl Marx indicates that various revolutions in the production sector heavily enabled the bourgeois culture. As such, capitalism can be effectively eradicated through a revolution toward communist ideologies that would help strengthen equality among people and preserve the dignity of individuals. It is possible by eradicating the classification of people into various economic and political groups. This will be critical for the abolition of the old local and national section and introduction of nations’ universal interdependence in both material and intellectual production.
Another element that Karl Marx explores in his criticism of liberal capitalism is wage labor. Through his argument, wage labor is considered by capitalists as the minimum wage payable to the laborers for hours worked. It is meant to keep the worker to survive to reproduce a bare existence barely. He criticized it because capitalism the laborers lack financial flexibility and freedom because they cannot keep any monetary surplus from the bare minimum salaries they get. Communism, therefore, does not intend to abolish the wage labor but to transform it into a humane way of earning a living. An individual’s labor should not only be a means of creation of more capital and at the beck and call of the ruling class to use them to satisfy their interests.
Karl Marx, therefore, in an attempt to dignify living labor, states that through communism, labor wages are just a means of elevating, promoting, and enriching the existence of the laborer. This is justified as it will improve the workers’ social status and put them on a path of having a better life through good health and even education. In the bourgeois society of the capitalists, they believe that the past dominates the future (Marx et al. 43). This is a massive hindrance to the growth of people and even society because it chains down people’s progress and imaginations. It builds a society with no hope for job elevation to the next level as the capitalist of the past strive to still be the capitalists of the future. The poor will also continue to be poor with no light at the end of the tunnel for them. Communism provides everyone with an equal opportunity because, in the communist society, the present dominates the past.
In conclusion, Karl Marx highlighted various elements of his criticism of capitalism, such as the class struggles that have dominated the society in different stages of history. He also focused on the inequalities associated with the wage-labor ton the works. He, therefore, puts forth the argument that communism will uplift people all over the world and give them a sense of belonging, unity, and dignity as it uplifts the livelihoods of people. In capitalism, capital is independent and has individuality, while the living people are dependent with no individuality of any sort. This shows that people will rely on the few capitalists with the resources and political strength to offer them a way of earning a living, a situation in which the remedy is communism.
Work Cited
Marx, Karl, et al. Manifesto of the Communist Party. Foreign Languages Press, 1972.