Marx Theory of Capitalism and Social Change - Essay Example

Marx theory of capitalism and social change The purpose of this study is to analyse the idea of social changeas conceptualised by Karl Marx in his study of capitalism in traditional industrial society and examine whether his ideas still remain relevant in the present modern society. This study will review the ideas of Marx on capitalism and social change as well as the ideas of other writers to support the arguments on the study topic Marx theory of capitalism and social change Marx theory of capitalism was meant to criticise the past industrial capitalistic behaviors and enlighten individuals in an attempt to bring about changes in society in what was perceived to be the injustices and oppression caused by industrial capitalism in the 19th century. Buttel and newby (1980,p 85) notes that Marx theory of historical change identifies five periods in history, that is, ancient, feudal, capitalist, socialists, and communist .In all these historical periods, the societies that existed were characterised by history of class struggles and conflicts and it is because of what transpired that facilitated the movement from one period of history to the proceeding one. Therefore as the feudal system disintegrated and capitalism emerged, capitalism created contradictions .This Contradictions are what subsequently shaped society and brought about social change. . Long (2009) also re affirms that social change in capitalistic society, occurred due to contradictions between the major classes, that is, the bourgeoisie and proletarian McLaughlin et al (2003, p 249) notes the general Marxist theory central proposition is that the most important element in peoples lives in society is how they relate with the mode of production. The modes of production in society consists of two elements: the means of production, which is constituted of technological process and the relationship of various classes to the means of production whether they either own the means of production or work for those who posses them (Buthel and Newsby, p 89 ) Since the ultimate economic source of surplus in society involves the amount of goods which is produced in excess of what the workers consume, there is a need to understand the difference between those who hold the means of production and those who work for them so as to be able to comprehensively understand who owns the surpluses in society. (McLaughlin et al 2003, p 249) McLaughlin states that means of production in society can either be privately owned or not. In some societies, means of production are owned by state, for example in former soviet Union, in others they are controlled by small groups of workers for instance in Yugoslavia or collectively owned by units of workers, farmers, peasants and other classes in society for example in china This forms of production definitely produces different types of social relations. McLaughlin et al (2003, p 250) notes that in capitalistic societies particularly where means of production concentrates on private individuals, there has been a development of divisions between the class that dominates, that is, the owners of means of production and the class that is dominated, those working for the ruling class. This is because of the contradiction that is created by the capitalist system. Bottero (2005, p 35) add that the various classes in capitalistic societies have opposing economic interests and their relationship is usually antagonistic in nature. To begin with, the first contradiction is that the capitalist enterprise tries to create a desire among the class of workers to consume the products generated by their system. Many of these products do not necessarily contribute to the improvement of people’s well being and also have no value. For their system to be viable, the bourgeoisies develop mechanisms to make the people utilise what they produce. In order for the capitalist to produce their goods, they make labour force to work diligently and over time. This helps the ruling class to accumulate more and more capital and maintain their position in society. Also to keep the workers at bay, the capitalist specialize in keeping a considerable proportion of people in the society poor and miserable. This means that if the currently employed group of workers down their tools, and refuse to carry out their duties as required by management, they are dismissed and the reserve work force waiting for the job takes over immediately. In the long run, the capitalist structures end up creating both a desire to consume and the inability for the large population of the people to earn the money required for buying necessaries needed for life. The second contradiction about capitalism is that the categorisation of society in two classes: one that owns means of production and a deprived group that inevitably works for wage so as to survive leads to conflict between the two classes. These conflicts can be seen from rebellion and riots emanating from the proletarians. Also the state passes law to protect the interest of the ruling class applies sanction to regulate the actions of proletarian which threatens the egoistic interests of the bourgeoisie .The proletarians who are caught jeopardising the interest of the ruling class are punished by the state. Therefore the state exists to preserve the exploitive interest of the bourgeoisie (Buttel and Newby, 1980, p 89) As capitalism builds strength in society, and their activities become immense, the conflict between social classes frequently occurs. Thus according to McLaughlin et al (2003,p250 ), note that criminal law are set down by the state to protect interest of ruling class and the resultant effects of the conflict that lies within structured classes in society. According to McLaughlin et al (2003, p 58), they note that the present economic system is based on exchange and in this type of production we don’t fail to have egoistic character. Also any society that is based on exchange isolates individuals by weakening the bond that binds them together. When the issues of exchange take center stage, the parties involved think only about their own advantage over others. This is particularly the case when the ruling class is dealing with the proletarians. The possibility of the bourgeoisie to give some of their surpluses to improve their social welfare does not exist in their mind despite making it difficult for them to obtain necessaries of life. The merchant capitalistic individuals result into conflict in two ways. The first point is that their interest is usually against those of other people who sell their labour to them and secondly to those who buy their product. This according to McLaughlin et al is a true element of industrial capitalists (McLaughlin et al 2003, p 60).The labour providers despite being exploited by owners of means of production; have to work so as not to die from hunger since they have no property(uregina.ca,1999). As a result of this, the ruling class takes advantage of the poor and wanting situation of the workers to exploit them. Marx asserts that the proletarians collectively respond to the exploitation within the production process whereby all the proletarians will gang up and threaten the existing inequalities established within the class structure. The proletarians would overthrow the bourgeoisies and create communist systems where all the means of production would be owned, controlled and benefit the whole community and exploitation of individuals would become a event of the past (Sullivan,2010, p12) This will bring about changes in society in terms of ownership of means of production and social equalities. Is Marx theory of social change and capitalism relevant in the present modern world? Sayer (1991) notes that Marx theory of social change and capitalism in the modern society can neither be entirely accepted nor can it be ignored totally. The website say that contrary to what Marx had predicted, that is, revolutionary changes would take place thus leading to the development of communism and consequent disappearance of capitalistic states, most of the working class in modern societies have remained poor and have not become revolutionary forces to bring about social change. This constitutes one of the shortcomings of Marx ideas that need to be revised if his applications are to remain relevant in their application to the modern world. In other areas, Marx ideologies on the origin, nature and development of modern capitalism have remained very accurate. This is particularly in reference to his writings in the 19th century about capitalism in industrial Europe. Also during this time, socialism was a significant force through out the world that brought about revolutionary movements that lead to the over throw of capitalism such as feudal system and it become a major driving force in political arena thought out the world. Marx ideas can not be ignored at all because some e of the economic and social conditions that brought capitalism into a crisis in the 19th century still prevail in the modern societies as the contradictions that Marx had argued which are common to capitalist systems still continue to prevail. The contradictions are very evident in third world countries where majority of the people live below poverty line and where contradictions necessary for revolution are prevailing. In advanced nations and less developed, class divisions and conflicting interests are evident and the periods of economic booms and depression have not been entirely controlled. However what has changed since 19th century is the nature of classes that constitutes the capitalistic societies. Sayer (1991) notes that despite the crises which were witnessed in the socialist states in the modern world, Marx ideas on socialism can not be ignored. This is because in countries where socialism had taken place through revolutions, it had lead to positive consequences. For example ,as a result of socialism, Russia has been able to recover out of the chaos occasioned by Czarism and has been able to develop into an industrialized nation and a super power despite the devastating effects of civil wars and world wars she was facing. As result also, the health, education and economic well-being of Russian people has improved greatly so is China which is a socialist state. This provides an indication that some ideas of Marx still remain valid. According to earlhamsociologypages.co.uk(2011),the website notes that most modern Marxists have argued that Marx critique of capitalism remain valid even in the 21st century .The modern Marxist says that despite all the ideas by post Marxists on managerial revolution, democratic pluralism and the considerable changes in class structure, the rich people in the present societies still continue to exercise a lot of power on economic resources , politic of the day and political institutions. Thus in conclusion, it can be note that even though Marx ideas are a century old, his ideas on capitalism and social change are not entirely outdated since it is through his theory that other modern theorist have derived their ideas in the need to even understand global capitalism, social stratification and even analysis of political powers and trends in the modern society Reference List: Bottero, Wendy. (2005) Stratification: social division and inequality .Edition illustrated.Routledge, p 35 Buttel, F. H and Howard, Newby. ( 1980)The Rural Sociology of the Advanced Societies: Critical Perspectives. Edition illustrated .Taylor and Francis, p 85 earlhamsociologypages.co.uk. (2011) .Marxism and Contemporary Society. Retrieved 17th May 2011 http://www.earlhamsociologypages.co.uk/Marxism%20and%20Contemporary%2 0Society.html Long, Russ (2009).Introductory Sociology: Social change. Retrieved 17th May 2011 http://www.delmar.edu/socsci/rlong/intro/change.htm McLaughlin, E. et al. (2003).Criminological perspectives: essential readings Published in association with The Open University. Edition 2, illustrated. SAGE, pp 58, 60, 249, 250 Sayers, Sean. (1999). The Future of Marxism. Retrieved 17th May 2011 http://govt.eserver.org/future-of-marxism.txt Sullivan, Grace O’. (2010). Replace Capitalism with Something Nice: The Influence of Marx in the Twenty-First Century. Socheolas: Limerick Student Journal of Sociology. Vol. 2(2), p 12. Retrieved 17th May 2011 http://www.ul.ie/sociology/socheolas/vol2/2/Grace%20O%20Sullivan.pdf Sociology 250. (1999) Marx's Theory of Social Class and Class Structure. Retrieved 17th May 2011 http://uregina.ca/~gingrich/s28f99.htm Read More