Karl Marx Capital Rhetorical Analysis

Marx was a big proponent for the working-class movement and the equality in terms of property. To him, the issue that is most important to conquer is the issue of the estrangement and alienation of man, where man himself is the alien power over man – more specifically, it is workers who are being estranged (Marx 1988, 79). Consequences of this estrangement can be seen with private property, because although it seems to be the root of the problem, private property is actually the consequence of “alienated labor”, explaining why capitalism is a horror to him (Marx 1988, 81). It may be thought that an easy way to give workers equality would be to pay them equal wages, but this is yet another estrangement of labor (Marx 1988, 82). Progress, to Marx, would need to consist of a way to diminish the root of the problem – estrangement of the worker. This would consist of “emancipation of the workers” because the emancipation of the workers would have a large ripple effect, and result in the universal human emancipation (Marx 1988, 82). As it has been addressed multiple times, the estrangement of the worker is the root of the problem, and a step towards progress would need to consist of the workers being emancipated so they are no longer alienated and forced to labor while getting nothing but monetary payment for their labor. The alienation of workers furthers the issue by leading a society towards private

Marx's theory on Capitalist exploitation is an incredibly deep theory, but to explain it in a nutshell, it is that the working-class people are improperly compensated for their work. The rich, the higher-ups, they continue to expand their wealth by exploiting the working class, the Capitalist system not only allows but effectively demands that Capitalists increase their wealth, long-term or short-term, whether at the cost of the working-class or not. There are three “values” to take into consideration, the use-value, the exchange-value and the

One of the greatest economic theorist Karl Marx whose ideas were once used in the Soviet Union and other countries that failed to success makes human beings think of the type of economy that they are living in. Karl Marx was born in 1818 in Trier, Germany. He witnessed the rise of the industrial revolution and the beginning of capitalism. Marx was the strongest capitalist critic who analyzed the ills of the capitalism. Marx wrote lots of books and they were mostly about the capitalism. And Capitalism is one type of economy. The United States is a capitalist country. One of his writings that this paper will focus on is “Alienated Labor” and it talks about different types of Alienation that the workers of capitalism experienced. Alienation

As we know from Karl Marx, in “Communist Manifesto”, felt that society was divided into two, the haves (capitalist) and the haves-not. Marx felt that this was unfair and it would not work because there would be a constant struggle over resources between the two different groups. Karl Marx felt that this created a division between the two and essentially leads to the unfair and imbalanced distributions over wealth within a society that could stem and create many problems. Marx felt that there were many evils in the capitalist society some of which led to exploitation. One these evils were a surplus of labor. He felt that the bourgeoisie would acquire labor for less than their worth from individuals, which created an imbalance of worth. He felt

Labor for Marx reduces man to a means of production. As a means of production

The exploitation of workers by capitalists is necessary for a capitalist society to exist properly. When viewing the relations between members of a capitalist society as individuals, it can seem that capitalism is based on freedom and equality. The proletariat class, or those who do not own any means of production, sell their labor power to the bourgeoisie, or capitalists. The proletariats are free to sell their labor power to whichever industry they choose, and will be compensated fairly for their work in the form of wages. This concept of labor-power is an integral part of Marx’s argument about capitalism. He explains that labor power is “the mental and

In regards to the labour-capital relation within a traditional capitalist corporation Marx & Engels (2007) refer to the dialectic between the capitalists (or bourgeoisie) who own the property and the means of production and the laborers (or proletariat) who own no property and are obligated to sell their labour to the bourgeoisie to gain substance. For Marx & Engels, this labour market is inherently fraught with tension, since the interests of the capitalist and labourers are diametrically opposed, and the balance of power between capitalists and labourers tips further in the favour of the capitalists. Because workers have nothing to sell but their labour, the bourgeoisie are able to exploit them by paying them less than the true value created by their labour. Furthermore, because of the unequal positions of capitalist and labourer, labourers must work for someone else- they must do work imposed on them as a means of satisfying the needs of others. As a result, labourers inevitably experience alienation which Marx’s Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts (1844) summarizes as the separation of individuals from the objects they create, which in turn results in one’s separation from other people, from oneself, and ultimately from one’s human nature.

With society falling apart into the two classes of property owners and propertyless workers, the workers sink to the level of the commodity so much so that the worker is not receiving the power and magnitude of his or her product. Instead this power is falling into the hands of the property owning bourgeoisie. At the heart of the capitalistic system is the estrangement of the laborer which not only creates commodities but also transforms the laborer themselves into commodities. The laborer is also exploded, “increased productivity does not necessitate increased wage” ,resulting in the increase wealth of the bourgeoisie. The product, “the manifestation of the laborers on objectification and exploitation” , then becomes estranged from the laborer

When we read Capital Volume I by Karl Marx, it can certainly seem as though Marx was promoting an individuality in the worker and claiming the way people in a capitalist society behave is unnatural due to being constricted to the system of capitalism. This unnatural system then leads the worker and the capitalist to act in certain ways contrary to what is natural, this leading to an exploitative relationship between the two. However, this view of Marx’s belief neglects the fact that Marx himself equated the worker with economic categories, which are owned and controlled by industrialists and business owners. By exploring how Marx made it abundantly clear that “(The capitalist) proceeds to consume the commodity, the labour-power he has

Marx states that in a capitalistic society the workers would become devalued and alienated. He reasons that within a economically competitive society, business would aim for the cheapest way to make products, thus resulting in lower wages to the workers. This would cause them to become devalued. As businesses grow the worker would also start to become more expendable and thus they also become more cheaper. The workers end up becoming more poor, while those at the top become richer. The worker would also become alienated from his own work and production. The worker, Marx states, is unhappy throughout the process. He is not happy with their lack of control and autonomy. They are told what to do which causes alienation from the act of production.

Not only is the worker alienated from his labour, but he is also separated from the result of his labour - the product. This is the most obvious manifestation of the alienation of the worker; he has no power over what he produces. The wage contract ensures that the products of labour are surrendered to the capitalist, who then sells them on the market, and pays the worker a wage. Marx points out that the alienation of the product is double - not only is the worker separate from his own product, but that product, as increasing the power of capital, actually weakens the worker's position. (4) Marx refers to the product of labour as 'the objectification of labour'. The worker's labour objectified is used against him in a capitalist

The system of capitalism is partially based around the unpaid surplus labour of workers that allows for the generation of profit for the workers ' respective superiors. Marx argues that such a system rewards those who have some sort of domination over the workers, the actual producers of commodities. This results in terrible living

The labor theory of value is an economic theory first proposed by Adam Smith that states that the value of a good or service is determined by the labor it takes to create the product under normal circumstances. Furthermore, supply and demand do not affect value, only price. An economist and philosopher named Karl Marx believes this theory proves that capitalism is inherently exploitative of the working class. Every person has labor power, or the ability to work. However, labor power is fueled by external resources (such as food, water, clothing, and transportation to the workplace) which all have value as well, so when an individual 's work is more valuable than that sustenance, surplus value generates. Surplus value will benefit the business rather than the laborer, therefore Marx believed capitalism is inherently exploitative. Additionally, he thought that capitalistic society is made up of classes that are bound to struggle--consequentially, that this would lead a state to naturally shift into communism. Nonetheless, this theory is not commonly accepted; marginalism is the belief that not only the labor used in manufacturing affects its value, but the marginal utility--the overall satisfaction from the good or service. There is a multitude of other opposing theories and criticisms of Marx 's beliefs.

The Labor Theory of Value is a theory of tradition Marxian economics which explains how the working class are exploited under capitalism and how capitalist society works. This theory explains that that the value of commodity is measured by the average hour needed to produce it. It was developed in Marx‘s “Capital” (1867). Marx is trying analyze the theory with a different perspective from other capitalist, still using principles of classical economics. He also stands closely to Ricardo concerning notion that rent is capture of productivity by landlords, they are not actively producing anything. He believed that his version can explain the value of all commodities, including the commodity that laborers sell to capitalists for a wage. Marx called this commodity labor power. He clarified that the labor power must depend on the number of work hours it takes society to accommodate, dress and feed the laborer that he would have a capacity to work. He claimed that owners in privileged position exploit workers, even though if they get paid the fair wage in some ways capitalist still pushes the laborers to work more time than it is actually needed to create the labor power of worker. Marx received criticism of this idea because it is vaguely explained, thus shows the weakness of its logic and underlying assumptions. Marx believed that

From a Marxist perspective, capital, which is the money used to finance the production of commodities, is privately owned by the capitalist class. Marx believes that this capital is gained from the exploitation of the working class (Haralambos & Holborn, 2004). This he further argued, produced nothing as only labor was capable of producing wealth; yet still the wages paid to workers are well below the value of the goods they produce. Therefore the capitalists realize a surplus value or profit. The bourgeoisie are therefore exploiting the proletariat who are the real producers of wealth. Marx maintained that in all societies, the ruling class exploits and oppresses the subject class.