Free Essay Sample: Carl Marx

Capitalism is the kind of production that is defined by inequality through the private ownership of production means. For instance, capitalism can be associated with the ownership of a country by a few individuals who belong to the upper class in society. It is a form of inequality that is characterized by the ownership of production modes by the middle class, whom Marx refers to as "bourgeoisie." When few corporations own the means of production, such as land, rail, and roads, then it means that such resources cannot be utilized freely by other members of the public. The high and middle-class members of society accumulate profits from the monopolized means of production through the labor that is provided by their workers, a practice that creates inequality. Wage workers must put effort into their work to meet the required production demands in the factories by converting raw materials into commodities through their hard work (Reiman,1987). Capitalists sell the acquired commodities at a profit and such profits help in the expansion of their property. The laborers remain to be exploited for their services and never grow to get into the same class as the capitalists. This is the kind of inequality that is a result of capitalism. As laborers keep working hard for the few wages, capitalists continue to create more profits hence creating a huge gap that can never be filled for the laborers to be equal with the capitalists. According to Marx, this is the kind of inequality that is a result of capitalism.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The advanced capitalized society has largely contributed to increased levels of racism. Capitalism evolved by maintaining its racist nature through the oppression of black people who were imprisoned by policymakers to provide free labor. Organizations of production under capitalism dehumanize the individuals since the only thing that capitalism owes workers by exploiting them is nothing beyond the salaries that they earn (Muller, 2013). Capitalism can decide to terminate the laborers' contracts and lay them off without considering how they would move forward because its only interest is business. Organization production does not, in any way, prioritize the welfare of the laborers. This indicates how capitalism is all about exploitation as what matters to it is the use-value of the employees. Capitalism is only interested in labor and nothing more. This is a form of slavery in which capitalism takes away the labor power of individuals who could feel that they are not enslaved due to the little pay that they receive in exchange for their labor. Capitalism is in control of labor power, and as much as the workers get paid, it enslaves individuals indirectly utilizing labor exploitation. Individuals get paid in exchange for labor, and this is an indirect forced-labor, unlike slavery, which is direct forced labor.

Any kind of forced labor, whether direct or indirect, is dehumanizing, and it is an oppression of people's rights. Workers possess a false sense of success by providing labor in capitalism at pay and continue to toil hard, but they can never get on the same level as the oppressor. Capitalism is only interested in the profits that come through the labor provided by the poor people in society, but it can never work on closing the inequality gap. The workers under capitalism get reduced to objects which get alienated from the normal way of life into believing that they must work to make a living. The workers do not have a say on how to work, but they get turned into objects in the process of production.

Ideology refers to the daily ideas that dominate society. It is a false concept that people have in the existing society that deceives their minds and prevents them from questioning the existing injustices within the economic environment. It convinces individuals that the existing production state is justified, and nobody should question anything about it. Ideology works in everyday life as the kind of ideas and ideologies that individuals have depended on products that are dependent on the existing social and economic structures. The ideas and perceptions that people have resulted from specific historical circumstances.

Structural ideology is the concept of the capitalist class difference that has enhanced certain interests in the capitalist class that has become unquestionable to society as such concepts are meant to make individuals believe that it is impossible to live without a system of capitalism. It is the ideas that people have about general capitalism, and this has led to people's acceptance of capitalism as a normal way of life. Structural ideologies that revolve around capitalism are the result behind he inequalities that are brought about by capitalism. People cannot point out the exploitative nature of capitalism as most laborers believe that they need to provide their labor for a salary. Such ideas are the reason behind the exploitative nature of capitalism as individuals view it to be a normal practice in a society that has been accepted. When it comes to cultural ideology, the ideas and culture of the ruling class have enhanced the belief in the oppressed individuals that private property is essential for economic growth. Such ideas are the reason behind the privatization of essential resources by the middle-class individuals who use such resources to exploit the poor through inequality. The private ownership of property under capitalism has led to the exploitation of workers through labor. This aspect is due to the cultural ideology that society has been made to believe and accept the concept of privatization of property through capitalism.

The state and other social institutions prop up capitalism by trying to maintain a status quo. The rapid expansion in schools and other occupation services by the state enhanced an affordable consumer lifestyle to a large part of the country's population. Structural institutions criticize capitalism; for instance, the catholic church criticized the economic inequalities that existed within the western regions. The discussions among the university economists on the impacts of the free market ideology indicate the critics against capitalism in education institutions, most households within the country inclusive of the working class that holds the majority of the population do not fully depend on wages for their livelihood as most people own investment stock. The state works to intervene in bringing to an end the severe practices of capitalism by expanding the financial markets and institutions. Additionally, the state protects individuals against some of the negative impacts that result from the profit logic of capitalism by giving unemployment benefits. This indicates the active role that the state has in suppressing capitalism.

The workers' unions within the state that allow employees to join hands and fight against oppression have helped employees to raise their concerns whenever they feel that they are getting exploited by their employers. Even though most employers are reluctant to allow employees to join the workers' union, most employees believe that joining the union is for their good as it is necessary for their protection against oppressive employers. The labor unions that currently exists in the US represent up to the smallest proportion of the workforce. The growth in workers' union provides a platform for employees to air their grievances against inequalities that could result from capitalism; hence it becomes hard for employers to deny employees their rights.

References

Muller, J. Z. (2013). Capitalism and inequality: What the right and the left get wrong. Foreign Aff., 92, 30.

Reiman, J. (1987). Exploitation, force, and the moral assessment of capitalism: thoughts on Roemer and Cohen. Philosophy & Public Affairs, 3-41.