Metropolis Research Paper

However, the functionalist ideology that rewards enjoyed by the wealthy are acceptable due to their social importance does not thoroughly constitute the cause of economic inequality (Colomy 31). Karl Marx, a known proponent of the conflict theory, exemplifies the dilemma of economic inequality through the relationship of the the proletariat and the capitalists. The proletariat or the labour worker and the capitalists are involved in a revolving system of exploitation. The capitalist pays his worker less to produce a surplus (Marx 479). It is the lucrative profit that is obtained through the capitalist industry that fuels this vicious cycle of exploitation. The worker produces the

“to a mere money relation,” (Marx and Engels [1848] 2013:35]. Marx, saw the tear down of the old as the only way for the bourgeoisie to survive. Periodically, a crisis occurred where productive forces threatened their conditions and bourgeoisie would have to bring in new productive forces and destroy the old. Marx believed that these changes to technology and productive capacity were the main influence on how society and the economy were organized. The bourgeoisie had to push for the modern world to quickly and continually develop to protect capitalists’ monopolies. However, constant development caused continual disturbances of social conditions by breaking down stable aspects of human life. Capitalist used their power to push the world to advance so that they could prosper with no concerns to the possible effects on the economy, which would have been most detrimental to the proletariat. For Marx, this showed that capitalists’ self-interest pushed economic progress, which led to societal progress but also risked crisis. Capitalism not only affected society through the creation and separation of social classes but also in influencing societal progress and social relations.

"Instead of 'exploitation,' growing out of the nature of production, our industrial evolution shows certain evils of competition imposed by an 'unfair' menace." Since Marx was wrong to assert that ownership was the source of oppression, Commons held that appropriation of the means of production was no answer to the laborers' needs. (Dawley, pg 181-183)

Just like the slaves in slavery and the serfs in feudalism, the wage-laborers are exploited tremendously. Capitalism, under the disguise of fair exchanges, carries its exploitation nature from previous economic systems.

According to Marx’s view of capitalism, every company works to make a profit, because without profit there is no reason to exist. He said that labor is a commodity that carries an exchange value to be traded for something else, but questioned how profit is made if commodities exchange in equilibrium. His answer was that profit is made when workers are exploited, or work part of the time without pay. Marx believed that if there were no workers there would be no profit and ultimately no capitalism. The issue is that human suffering, however, is good for business according to Marx. People are born into a preexisting system, because the economy forces people into social relations and roles, and because of this, workers truly felt that they would never become free from the capitalist class unless they had the ability to produce a living. Marx found this to be unjust and felt there should be a redistribution of wealth. Marx’s attack on capitalism, however, angered the bourgeois ruling class greatly, and his ideologies caused uproar. Marx was accused of overthrowing private property and capitalism, and leading the proletariat to rebel. He is noted to have caused working class upheavals and political revolution. Karl Marx’s work was a disturbance to society, which is why he

We discussed exploitation when we read The Communist Manifestos by Marx and Engels. They used exploitation when discussing the struggle of the Bourgeois and the Proletariat. They state that, “exploitation veiled by religious and political illusions” (3). Marx states that some solutions to exploitation are minimum wage laws and unions.

Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, The Communist Manifesto (New York: International Publishers, 1948 edition), 48 pages

They used developing technology and politics to manipulate the economy in order for them to be the most rich and the highest status. Because of this, they increase in wealth. Because of the increase in wealth, they increase in power. Because of the increase in power, they can exploit the proletariat. According to Marx’s beliefs, the exploitation of a worker means that they get paid less than they deserved.

Capitalism and Exploitation are two terms that people generally use together to make a point. Capitalism is a system in which a country’s trade and industry is controlled by private owners for profit. Exploitation is the actions of treating a person unfairly so that you could benefit from it. In the “Working Day” section from Capitalist, Marx explains what he means by exploitation and whether it is connected to capitalism. One of Marx’s arguments is capitalism cannot be separated from exploitation. I agree with that argument because in my eyes it is tough to consider one without the other. In this essay, I will explain what Marx mean when stating that and I will compare his arguments to John Locke’s. They both speak on some of the same

Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a German sociologist and philosopher renowned for his analyses of political economy. According to his theories, capitalism is dependent on exploitation. That is, the working class (the proletariat) works for the owning class (the bourgeoisie), but rather than receive a compensation equivalent to its actual labor, or production value, the working class is underpaid, with a surplus, or profit, pouring into the pockets of the owners. Although the proletariat receives the short end of the stick, so to speak, its members are forced to sell labor power to the bourgeoisie in order to receive wages necessary for survival. Thus, conflict between the owners and workers, known as mutual antagonism, is inherit in the capitalist system, as workers fight for higher wages and shorter working days while owners attempt to combat these demands to maximize profit. Marx’s theory of history, known as dialectical materialism, is focused on the notion that societies evolve through a

According to our lecture slides, modernity is defined as "A period in western society which has moved away from traditional/medieval social, economic, and political institutions and traditions, such as feudalism and agrarianism." Fritz Lang’s Metropolis represented a society without a spiritual vision which, like the ancient Greeks, was dependent upon workers who appeared to be slaves. There were no consumer or outlets for workers to spend money, although the higher classes obviously had their places to seek pleasure. Modernization is the transition from a pre-modernistic, agrarian, to an industrialized, ‘modern’ society. Societies grow and evolve through this process, this could be helpful or detrimental. Fritz Lang depicts the

Metropolis is a silent movie by Fritz Lang made in 1927 Germany. The movie has multiple themes and implies many things about modern day theories and views. The movie entails many views on Marxism, capitalism, Industrialism, and organized religion, mostly. Marxism is supported in the movie, capitalism is not supported in the movie, Industrialism is partially supported, and Organized Religion is not supported.

The philosophy of Karl Marx begins with the belief that humans are inherently cooperative with common characteristics and shared ends. To human beings, life is considered an object and therefore, humans make their “life-activity itself the object of his will and of his consciousness” (Tucker 76). In other words, humans are able to think, imagine, and “produce even when he is free from physical need and only truly produces in freedom therefrom” (p. 76). It exemplifies that idea that humans not only have the capability to create things for survival but express themselves in what they produce, within the standards of the human race or universally. When capitalist wage-labor enters the picture, it forces these shared ends and the freedom of expression in human production to cease, causing a rise of competitiveness among

As capitalist societies expanded, Marx argued that exploitation amongst workers became more apparent. Marx believed that the only way to get rid of the exploitation, oppression and alienation was for a revolution amongst the proletariat workers. Marx suggests that it is only when the means of production are communally owned, that class divisions among the masses will disappear.

People are slaves to the machine and the bourgeoisie because they need to work more hours daily for lower wages because the jobs become more simplistic and automated. A modern example of this is people on an assembly in Detroit, where cars are made. Things are now to the point were you can learn a job in a week when in the past it would have taken years to learn the same job. Marx believes that to sustain market growth capitalism becomes more automated for the giants of industry. Due to this “machinery obliterates all distinctions of labour and nearly everywhere reduces wages” (Cohen and Fermon, 454). In capitalism people are enslaved for lower wages, as the work becomes less appealing. Marx believed, “As the repulsiveness of the work increases, the wage decreases” (Cohen and Fermon, 453).