Capitalism
Capitalism is considered to be an established economic relationship that came up due to the growth of the industrial system in the 18th century. Industrial capitalism was mainly successful due to the implementation of the technological changes that contributed to an increase in the supply of goods and services for consumption. Marx’s demonstrated that capitalism as a man’s activity can bring about. According to Scherer (2), the bourgeoisie cannot comfortably survive and exist without revolutionizing various production instruments. Capitalism is the new economic philosophy that guides resources to stimulate more productive forces than the previous generations. Scherer (5) noted that besides acknowledging the long-lasting benefits of technological progress during the industrial growth, Marx made numerous incentive dynamics for technological advancements to ensure that they accumulate enough capital. The technologically improved capital was vital because it contributes significantly to lower labor costs and improves the capitalist’s surplus-value. Marx’s thoughts of protecting workers’ form of treatment against oppressive and poor working conditions led to the perception that capitalism led to the rise of two social classes; the workers and the bourgeoisie.
Relevancy of Marx’s ideas
Marx’s ideas remain relevant 200 years on and are vital to understanding American capitalism’s dynamics over the period. In the criticism of the effects of the industrial revolution, Marx insinuated that the revolutionary conversion of capitalism would originate from within and not from outside. The industrial revolution was meant to be developed rather than be suppressed to solve the existing challenges. In 200 years, capitalism has been unleashed across America and the rest of the world, and it has contributed massively to the emergence of property less working class. The capitalist manifesto sought to position itself at the heart of the working class for an ethical and charitable course of improving the wellbeing of the industrial workers. The dynamics of capitalism in the USA over 200 years have contributed to the thriving of the economic policy and significant progress made on the side of the American workers. The class struggle initiated by Marx played a role in bridging the gap in social classes and enhanced the economic growth in the country.
Capitalism can expand economic production and lead to overexploitation of workers, making them impoverished hence the rise of social wars that would overthrow the capitalist system (Scherer, 2). The exploitation and oppression of industrial workers never went way because the system failed to reconcile the democratic ideals of the two classes because it was not robust and dynamic. In the 1970s, there were high unemployment rates, and increased welfare protection increased the militant wage demands due to the social differences between the workers and the bourgeoisie. Inflation and the low profitability contributed to the offensive moves against the working class over battles on wages. The American dynamics of capitalism are dominated by stagnation o real wages, high debt, and low economic development. The technological developments in the 1990s created hope for the new economy. Silver & Sahan (1) noted that considering labor as a commodity contributed to the rise of labor unrest in capitalism, and subsequent changes led to transformations of the worker’s struggles.
Employers have an obligation to maximize profits by maintaining low wages. It subsequently affects the overall ability to continue selling products because the workers buying power is reduced due to low wages. Therefore in the capitalist’s views, capitalism in America has evolved periodically, and the latest dynamic being the adoption of technological changes as an option that offers cheap labor. Therefore, Marx’s views are relevant because the technology aspect led to a series of inventions that contributed to economic growth, technical change, and progress under the capitalist system. Marx’s ideas are still relevant because aspects like the globalized free-market capitalism that presently exist are similarly shared by Marx. The global crisis of capitalism also indicates how Marx’s ideas are relevant because of how the workers factor and low purchasing power contributed to the revolutions that toppled many capitalists. Globalization has continuously destroyed and incorporated the traditional forms of production during the 200 years hence creating an understanding of the dynamics of American capitalism.
Why is technological change so essential to understand the dynamics of capitalism?
The technological change is vital because it stimulated economic growth and created changes in the structure of ownership of various enterprises (Scherer, 2). Capitalism is very dynamic because of the continuous developments that lead to the development of new production tactics. The accumulation of capital in several hands plays a critical role in generating high productivity levels and developing systems. The technological changes contributed massively to the change in organizational structure in the US, creating a new order within the capitalist movement changing the structure of how income is distributed among the industrial workers and the owners. The development in various aspects of the economy contributed to the growth in productive forces in science and technology to stimulate economic growth, solve employment issues, and improve citizens’ living standards. Technology changes characterize the progressive phase of capitalism that had high competition in the economy to improve production and economic growth. Technological changes contributed to the extensive growth of economies due to the accumulation and reproduction capability of capitalists. The profits were reinvested in the development of critical technological components, pieces of machinery, and production techniques.
The capitalist aspect ensured that those who could not keep up with the new technology and production techniques incurred high production costs and were edged out of the market by the competitors. The technology aspect ensured that the weak players in the economy were phased out of the market by the stronger ones leading to concentration and centralization of capital power in the hands of the minority groups. Marx acknowledged that there are many advantages that capitalism has contributed to the dynamism of technology and subsequent ease in production to create wealth for humanity (Smith, 1). The technological change is vital to understand the underlying capitalism because of the capital availability in the economy. It is critical to understand that capitalism has been vital in creating effective frameworks that develop means where market competition is used as an incentive to introduce many innovations. Technological innovations are used to create new and better methods of production to improve efficiency and effectiveness. The historical role of capitalism in collecting the scattered production strategies into very few monopolistic firms was further developed by technological changes. Therefore understanding technology shifts are critical to capitalism because it establishes an interconnection of the capitalist world market.
Capitalism has been vital in according to Marx, and has “has accomplished wonders far surpassing Egyptian pyramids, Roman aqueducts, and Gothic cathedrals” (Scherer, 2). Technological growth is a dynamic force that propelled economic development under the capitalist system. Continuous improvements have made technological advances to change effectively to promote business operations in capitalist markets. The structure of capitalist systems across the world is dependent on the decisions made relating to capital investments, including the technological improvements adopted. The capitalist modes of production had become outdated, and the emergence of technological innovations created new dimensions for capitalism’s future. Technology enhances the concentration of means of production into a small group, which makes capital to be important in the production process. Therefore technology and capitalism are closely related hence essential to understand both aspects.
Is the idea of a “social class struggle” still valuable to address some of the world’s world’s current social problems?
The social struggles are still useful in addressing social problems because society participates in advocating for change. The social struggles are essential in ensuring that enough influence is generated for people to alter their beliefs, mindsets, and attitudes to create social change. The social problems worldwide have attracted numerous people expressing dissenting views and subsequently initiating social class struggles that agitate for change. The social class struggles to become a platform where society can express their right to be heard on social problems that affect their lives. Social classes’ construction creates a sense of identity for society and creates a push factor for creating social change through mass participation (Looker, 5). The revolutionary social movements have the ability to initiate social reforms across the world by presenting demands for improvements in various social aspects with problems. Veltmeyer (5) noted that the social class struggle ensures that social movements can mobilize forces of resistance and weaken the social, ills, and initiate forces of change. The social class struggles play an essential role in ensuring that ordinary citizens make their disapproval of various social problems be heard and initiate the needed change (Veltmeyer 10). the social transformation is vital to ensure equitable distribution of resources, development, and addressing underlying the social inequalities in the society.