Friday, November 8, 2013

Marx and the Unavoidable

Whether its the text we've read or the Communist Manifesto, Marx (and Engels) one thing always stands out to me. He writes in facts, or at least what he has decided are facts. His thoughts on labor, property, the bourgeoisie, and the proletariat of profound and effusive; however it's very hard to weed out the bias. He very obviously has an aversion to the idea of propriety as well as the capitalist system, but these are things. He doesn't choose a side in the ongoing struggle between upper and working class. He sees the working class as exploited, and weak individually, becoming powerful only with organization and in revolt. The bourgeoisie, the ones who take advantage of the working class aren't necessarily seen in disgust. Marx sees capitalism as the true evil, a system that breeds floating heads always seeking payment; however the upper class is not the root of this evil, merely those taking advantage of it. If you take a look at the time period in which these writings are taking place, along with Marx' affiliation with England around the time of the industrial revolution you can see what I mean. In the working class by the age of 40 something like 80% had some form of chronic illness from the long hours they worked. When you compare this to the so-called "boulevard lifestyle" of the middle class, one is definitely coming out on top. So you can't really say that either of these 2 strata are morally right or wrong, only that the society is based off of an unnatural process, and that inevitably revolt will end every capitalist society. Out of this process you get what Joseph Schumpeter calls creative destruction, an early- mid 20th century economist and philosopher who wrote on Marx. Creative Destruction is the upside to Marx' critic of capitalism, while a subjugated proletariat which eventually rises up is an inevitability, something will be born from it. A mix of the competition in capitalism and the occasional revolution will mean something better will always rise from what has fallen, because people will fight each other for superiority. In creative destruction some will be worse off (the proprietors) and some better(part of the proletariat), but the object of capitalisms desire will be better off. So is Marx bias? I feel as though he doesn't assign blame or anything of the like for the way society was, but does anyone feel differently? 

1 comment:

  1. I have to say Marx is extremely bias in that he has found capitalism and only attacked it by pointing out some of the problems it has attached to it and the stigmas as well as the worst possible scenarios. When you look at capitalism in a more positive light you realize it does bring more to the table than stomping on the poor and empowering the rich. Capitalism breeds competition which then creates betterment of products and people as they strive to reach the top and gain the most consumers so therefore i see Marx as very bias and that capitalism does not create as many problems as he brings up.

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