Capitalism and Socialism - Essay Example

Marx argues that unlike capitalism, which promotes competition the quest to make as much profit as possible as well as undercut one's rivals and if need be drive them out of business, communism promotes corporation (Marx 276). This is a reasonable point; in fact, one of the main challenges of capitalism is the high competition which at times results in the ruining of business by their rivals. Additionally, since this is spurred by the need to maximize profits this capitalism ultimately ends up exploiting the workers who are sacrificed for the sake of bigger profits.

His critique of private property is also very well thought out and if it were adopted, it would solve much of the conflict that occurs in capitalism dominated world as many people struggle for the few available resources. He argues that limiting private ownership would render irrelevant the need for individuals to exploit others in the quest for wealth since all would be owned collectively, he suggests that if all property was taken away from the hands of a chosen few, it would eliminate the desire and even reason for exploitation. Ideally, this would be true, however, the premises under which such a situation can be applied cannot exist under normal circumstances. Consider if the property was communally owned, it would need to be managed and developed and some people would have more responsibility than others in those duties. A skilled engineer will likely have to work harder and longer in a factory than a non-skilled laborer for instance, as a result, if we follow Marx’s argument to its logical conclusion, It would mean that those who do most of the work and those who hardly contribute at all would own equal shares in the property. Ultimately, it would not result in elimination, but simply an inversion of the exploitation, this is because there are those who will be working hard and getting the same amount as those who do not put in nearly as much effort.

The argument against Marx’s position on privatization of property can also be applied to the concept of equality in the division of labor where ideally everyone would get the same wage, eventually, someone will be exploited. This is because the assumption that equal distribution of labor and pay can be achieved does not take to account the improbableness of equality of skills and responsibility. This argument flies in the face of logic and as aforementioned can only be envisioned in a utopian society; the main reason why communism has failed to take root in any society apart from direct opposition by capitalism is its inherent unsustainability. In Marx’s assumption, communism disregards the fact that its main tenets are directly in opposition to the very nature of the humans it intends to exist in it. Human beings will always want to compete with each other there will always be classes since we cannot be all equal. Capitalism gives people the freedom to compete and lord over each other, in as much as it is exploitative to the workers, the same would be said of communism owing to the evident impossibility of logically dividing labor equally in a society whose populace possess unequal skills.

While taking cognizance of the fact that Marx is right in many ways about the unequal and exploitive nature of capitalism, his conjecture on communism does not essentially provide a workable alternative to capitalism. Rather he considers the worst-case scenarios in capitalism and inverts them; the exploitation is exaggerated so it can be juxtaposed with the equality of communism, the stratification magnified and he provides the other side of it in classlessness. At best Marx provides evidence that capitalism is indeed flawed but he does not supply a practical answer to how this can be rectified. As history has proven severally, communism is simply not a workable idea as most societies that embrace it do not do it fully, and many ends up returning to capitalism or worse using capitalism to exploit the masses and using the communist ideology to legitimize the exploitation.