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Capitalism
Capitalism can best be described as an economic system where private individuals own and control trade and industry to make profits and forces of supply and demand freely determine the prices of commodities (Smith,2017).
Karl Marx originated a social, political and economic philosophy that focused on the struggles between the rich (capitalists) and the workers. He wrote that the power relationships between these two groups would eventually result in a revolution of the workers where they would take over the economy. Thus begs the question “Can a capitalist really be just?” the simple answer to this is no, a capitalist cannot be.
Capitalism, as defined earlier, involves the business owners getting into the market with the sole aim of making a profit and amassing wealth for their own benefits. To achieve this goal, it is inherently difficult for the capitalist to engage in just business practices. To maximize profit, the business owners have an incentive to get the most out of the labour force while paying them the lowest wages possible, resulting in the exploitation of the workforce. The extension of capitalism appears to be increasing the prevalence of unfree labour (Rioux,2020). The forms of unfree labour that Rioux is referring to here include forced labour and modern slavery further proving that a capitalist cannot be.
They also own the final product of the production process that is as a result of the workers’ efforts and ultimately profit from its surplus-value which is the difference between the cost of production and the price of the finished commodity.
Further, for them to maintain their positions of power the capitalists, also often referred to as the bourgeoisie, employ and manipulate social institutions to their advantage at the expense of the working class or the proletariat. The social institutions, for example, the government will enforce the will of the rich in society (bourgeoise) by physical coercion and drafting of legislation that will protect the private property rights to the means of production.
Religion and the media are also tools at the disposal of capitalists that can be exploited to their advantage to produce propaganda to suppress awareness of the proletariat and rationalize the capitalist system. Further, they aim to convince the proletariat to accept and submit to their own exploitation based on fictional divine sanction.
In conclusion, it is evident from the few examples above that capitalism creates an unfair balance between the business owners and the workers. While the workers’ main aim is survival, the main goal of the business owners is to get more and more money for themselves, thus making it difficult for them to be. However, according to Marx, this inherent inequalities and exploitation o the workforce will ultimately result in a revolution led by the labourers in which capitalism will be abolished.
Work Cited
Smith, K. (2017). Capitalism. The Wiley‐Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory, 1-8.
Rioux, S., LeBaron, G., & Verovšek, P. J. (2020). Capitalism and unfree labour: a review of Marxist perspectives on modern slavery. Review of International Political Economy, 27(3), 709-731.
Marxists Internet Archive. Works of Karl Marx 1843, A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right. www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1843/critique-hpr/intro.htm. Accessed Sept. 19, 2020.