EFFECTS OF SYSTEMATIC FLAW

Sir,

Karl Marx was a German philosopher - often remembered as an economist - born in the wake of what is termed today as the ‘Industrial Revolution’, when manufacturing moved from small shops and homes to large factories. This period was marked by hyper innovation with the introduction of new technologies, new types of transportation and a different way of life for many. People abandoned their lives in the farms in exchange for work at the factories in the cities. Cities grew and became overcrowded, unsanitary and polluted.

While capitalism was in fifth gear in the 19th century, Marx would identify a systematic flaw therein. A flaw that has fascinated economists for generations. It is a point discussed vehemently in academic circles to this day, actually. He opined that the capitalist system was self-defeating in its nature.  The inbuilt conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat is a contradiction which capitalism itself could never reconcile.
Marx observed that this system created two distinct social classes. The bourgeoisie, or the middle class that owned the factories; and the proletariat that worked in the factories.

Profit

The bourgeoisie seeks to maximise profit and one may infer that minimising costs is a big part of that endeavour. The wages of the proletariat are naturally suppressed by the middle class as they are an expense to the enterprise. The suppression of the wages leads to an unhappy workforce, yes, but more importantly, it ensures that the workforce is unable to purchase the products that it makes. This is self-defeating because, while the middle class chases after profits, it alienates the workforce which is meant to be the customer base.

If you don’t have clients, you don’t have a business. The capitalist system capitulates by its own hand.There are real life examples where Marx’s dystopia has been observed. Marx, however, argued that some solutions were only a temporary fix because in the long run, the bourgeoisie makes a profit by exploiting the proletariat. He posited that the cure for capitalism wouldn’t come of itself; it would come from a new system which he called communism. A system where factors of production are owned by the public instead of the minority middle class.

Mangaliso

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