Karl Marx and other social theorists

Karl Marx’s Relevance in the Contemporary Setting

Karl Marx and other social theorists, in particular, explained the capitalist economies that existed in Western Europe prior to him. He insisted that the shortcomings of capitalism’s economic system and the absence of social fairness will eventually cause disarray in its capitalist communities. This essay will discuss how Karl Marx’s writings are still relevant in the contemporary setting. The article will address how, despite industry advances, the working class has continued to live a life devoid of autonomy and creativity in their profession. The alienation of workers in today’s capitalist society will also be covered. n.d. (Appelrouth & Edles)

Relevance of Marx’s Idea in Today’s Society

The idea of Karl Marx that the working class is living a frustrating life even with the advancement of technology is relevant even in today’s society. This is because most of the businesses today are mainly interested in profit making without taking into account the welfare of the employees who make their operations profitable. Most of the employees in today’s companies do not have the morale to work because the employers are only interested in cultivating their talents but not their output. With the advancement of industry, the agricultural work has decreased and many people have moved to urban cities to look for jobs, hence increasing the size of the labor force. With the increased labor size in the urban cities, many factories today employ many employees paying them little salaries in order to increase their production and their profits. This usually leaves many people struggling with life as they cannot provide for their families. Based on the mode of capitalist production, there are different classes in today’s society, which include the wage laborers, capitalists, and landowners. The wage laborers in these classes are the ones which are misused by the capitalists as they provide their labor power and, in return, they are paid little salaries. This laborer makes a lot of profits for the capitalists but in return, they get very little pay which they use for survival. (Appelrouth & Edles, n.d.)

Capitalism as an Exploitative System

According to Marx, capitalism is inherently exploitative. This is very relevant today as most employees in the companies are responsible for the production of goods and services, running the machines, and assembling the goods sold in these companies. After all this, the work of the owners will be collecting the profits earned from the sale of the goods and the services. The workers will only get little payments in terms of salaries for all the work done which will enable them to meet their basic needs. The capitalist only focuses on their gains and how to compete in the market so as to make more profits. They do not have a feeling of appreciating their employees as they are the ones who make the operations of their businesses successful. (Appelrouth & Edles, n.d.)

Alienation of Workers in the Capitalist System

Marx insisted that private ownership of how production is done will not bring a system of freedom but it will lead to the alienation of workers. Capitalism is made to improve the lives of people and to give people a fulfilling life. However, this does not happen and many people end up being frustrated in life with an increase in the rates of child abuse, drug abuse, and stress. Most people usually have feelings of isolation and the rest are living a life full of deception about them. According to Marx, alienation is largely a product of a class society in general and of capitalism in particular. It is true that the only way that this society characterized by alienation can be ended by changing the existing economic system. Today, alienated labor really happens in the workplaces just as during the times of Marx. People should be given the freedom of engaging in creative and free labor, which is not the case with the capitalist system in the society today. Most employees in the society do not enjoy being part of their companies because they always work under pressures and their presence and efforts in those organizations are rarely appreciated by their employers. (“AN INTRODUCTION TO MARX’S THEORY OF ALIENATION”, 2017)

Effects of Capitalism on Workers

Most employers will concentrate on the mistakes made by their employees and will never recognize their efforts. In capitalism society, people usually work themselves to death because due to the pressures and stress from their employers they end up having diseases such as hypertension and depression. Capitalism system brings about alienation because only a few people in the system who have control over the means of production and the majority can only survive by selling their labor power to others in order to meet their needs. Also, this system divides labor into small units so as to increase their profits and hence this means that laborers will only be able to specialize in one area without being given the freedom to work in different areas. Alienation of labor is also experienced in the society because most of the workers are alienated from the goods they produce as they do not own the goods and therefore they do not have any knowledge about their characteristics. Workers only engage in these activities so as to get paid and they do not have any personal goals and work towards achieving the goals of the organization. (“AN INTRODUCTION TO MARX’S THEORY OF ALIENATION”, 2017)

Conclusion

In conclusion, the works of Karl Marx are very relevant in today’s society as it shows how most workers are treated in their workplace due to a system that doesn’t recognize their creativity and talents. Workers only sell their labor force to their employers in order to get money for their necessities. The capitalists in society are only interested in profit making and therefore put more pressures on the employees for their own benefits. Alienation of labor is also real in the society today as people do not have freedom and consciousness in their work, which can enable them to improve their talents. Specialization and division of labor in the capitalist society have made laborers stick to one area, hence restricting them from getting experiences of other activities. (Appelrouth & Edles, n.d.)

References

Appelrouth, S., & Edles, L. Classical and contemporary sociological theory (1st ed.).

AN INTRODUCTION TO MARX’S THEORY OF ALIENATION. (2017). Pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2017, from http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/isj79/cox.htm

Karl Marx - Alienation. (2017). Cardiff.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2017, from http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/socsi/undergraduate/introsoc/marx7.html