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Thoughts on Marx

I got to thinking about communism and Marxist thought today, and I had this realization that perhaps much of what Marx wanted when he wrote The Communist Manifesto is already existant today in America or within our grasp.

In Marx’s Manifesto as I understand it, Marx describes the then present-day situation of the mid 1800s. He describes the problems of his world and then suggests a grand solution.

I am not a Marxist. I haven’t even read any of his works in their entirety. I have read exerpts and summaries, and from this I feel like I have a fair idea of what he was proscribing for Europeans at the beginnings of Industrialization.

Marx wanted the proletariat to rise up against the bourgeoisie. Why?
–The proletariat did not own capital (land, factories, means of production, etc)
–The proletariat were alientaed from their labor and were becoming less valuable as a source of labor to the bourgeoisie.
–The proletariat were alienated from each other, from the political process, and from nature itself.
–The majority of people are proletariat.

In my mind, having someone identify a number of problems to sell me on an idea or a course of action does not necessarily mean that their proscribed idea or course of action is the best choice for me to take. I think that this is the case with Marx. He was a intelligent and observant thinker, and he correctly observed many of the problems in his world (and our world today) but his suggestion for improvement is unacceptable to me… even as a member of the proletariat. It is unacceptable to me, because a social and political coup like the one Marx suggests would almost certainly involve a great deal of violence (as it has in several historical examples.)

My thought would be to find another way (or ways) to address and correct the many problems that he mentions. I feel that this has been happening already in our history. Here are a list of some of the issues Marx wanted to fix that we are already in the process of fixing in America –

Marx wanted individual property interest returned to the laborer.
This is available to Americans through the Federal government’s laws concerning Real Estate, mortagages, savings and loan programs, etc. Many more people can work a few years and then apply for a home loan, and ultimately become home owners and by extension… land owners.

Marx wanted to end child labor
This has taken place in America almost universally. Children are still allowed to work in home businesses, agriculture, and in entertainment. Also, minors are almost universally allowed to hold part-time jobs as long as the job’s hours do not conflict with school hours.

Marx wanted universal provision for education
In America free education is not only provided but mandated until the age of 16.

Marx wanted women to be empowered in their own right as workers, instead of being subject to domination by the universally male bourgeois class.
Through social reform that took place in the beginning of the last century to today, women are now able to hold nearly every job that men hold. In fact, in roughly 20-25% of marriages the wife earns more in her occupation than the husband does.

Marx wanted progressive taxation because he felt it would provide for a re-distribution of capital, which he felt would end struggle between classes.
Today America uses a progressive income tax system. The poorest of the poor pay no taxes on their income while the wealthiest members of society pay close to half of their taxable income in income taxes. (I will be paying around 10-11% for 2005, so I am somewhere in between.)

The one ideal that Marx had that has always stuck in my mind (and got me started on this entry) was his desire for the proletariat to own the land and the capital instead of the bourgeoisie. I think that ideal is within our grasp today. More and more families own their own homes than ever before. Also, more people are able to own investment properties other than their primary residence. So, the land is available to a much larger section of the population than ever before. Also, owning the capital that drives every industry is a universal opportunity. Now all it takes is $100 in some cases or $500 in other cases to own a part of a company. Most of the major corporations in the United States are publicly held, which to me is another form of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie owning ‘the capital’ together.

I can’t help but wonder if this would be a satisfactory set of solutions to the problems that Marx saw during his time. I know that when he wrote his Manifesto he wanted a revolution, but that doesn’t seem to be his desire by the time he was working on Das Capital

Posted by David under Society |