Classical Theories

Classical Theories

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in their book, Communist Manifesto (1848) predict the downfall of the capitalist system. They described how the working class might rise and seize the means of production. His theory can be summed up by one tenet, ‘abolition of private ownership of property’.

Karl Marx was advocating for the abolition of private ownership of the property because he believed that inheritance could cause inherent conflict between capital and labour. The pursuit of productivity and profits, companies would need fewer workers, thus creating a disadvantaged section of proletariats of the poor and the unemployed.

Inheritance of property would increase vulnerability to a process of repeated cyclical crisis, where wealth would continue to concentrate in the hands of a few. Marx and Engel opposed this privatization of property and strongly advocated for a system based on common ownership and management. The goal was to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor.

Marx further argued that capitalism (private ownership of the property) would lead to the exploitation of workers. Capitalists hold the means of production and are entitled to all profits, while the labours have no claims over the means of production, the goods they work on or the profits generated from the products. Instead, labourers work in exchange for little money, an arrangement Karl Marx considers exploitative.

Private ownership of property, which is the main idea of capitalism, can be deemed problematic because it creates social and economic equality. The system is exploitative by nature, leading to an enormous division in society. The working classes are trampled by society at the favour of the rich who increase their wealth.

Another negative consequence of inheritance is that it impacts the environment negatively and diminishes natural resources. The bourgeoisie will create a hard competing ground with little consideration about the possible future impacts on the environment. The gap between the poor and the rich widen consequently.

Inheritance also leads to undermining of democracy since the bourgeoisies hold more powers over workers in workplaces. The more capital one accumulates, the more the power they have. Such a system is likely to violate the principles of democracy. Karl Marx emphasizes that the system of inheritance dehumanizes workers through their means of production (Amin, 2014). Capitalists’ greed for profits and productivity leads to overworking of labourers, who sell their labour for money wages.

The advocates of inheritance believe that the competition created by inheritance system benefits consumers since products are made available at an affordable price. The competition also pushes people to work extra harder to achieve society’s expected goals. Supporters of this system believe that these lead to an increase in capital.

Capitalists and supporters of inheritance argue that, although the system contributes significantly to the shrinking of natural resources, they say that the resources will be more valuable. The resources will be able to generate more profits and capital as they diminish (Streeck, 2014).  Capitalist view the rich to be more productive as compared to their poorer counterparts. Their arguments justify the existence of the inheritance system, despite its critique by the opponents of this system.

Bourgeoisies turn something that started as a use-value into profit by converting the item into an exchange-value. Capitalists add value, which is generated by an imaginary gap between labour wages and cost. The imaginary gap is what capitalists term as ‘profits’.

References

Streeck, W. (2014). How will capitalism end?. New left a review, (87), 35-64.