Marxism Opposition to the classical school of economics came first from early socialist writers such as the French

social philosopher the comte de Saint-Simon and the British reformer Robert Owen. It was Karl Marx howe!er who pro!ided the most important social theories. "o the classical !ision of capitalism Marxism was in lar#e measure a sharp rebuttal but to some extent it embodied !ariations of classical themes. Marx adopted for example a !ersion of Ricardo$s labor theory of !alue. %ith a few &ualifications Ricardo had explained prices as the result of the different &uantities of human labor needed to produce different finished products. 'ccordin#ly if a shirt is priced at ()* and a pair of soc+s at (* it is because six times as many hours of human labor entered into the ma+in# of the shirt as the soc+s. For Ricardo this theory of !alue was an analytical con!enience a way of ma+in# sense of the multitude of different prices in shops. For Marx the labor theory was a clue to the inner wor+in#s of capitalism the master +ey to the ine&uities and exploitation of an un,ust system. 'n exile from -ermany Marx spent most of his mature years in .ondon supported by his friend and collaborator the -erman re!olutionist Friedrich /n#els and by the proceeds from occasional contributions to newspapers. 0e conducted his extensi!e research in the readin# room of the British Museum. Marx$s historical studies con!inced him that profit and other property income are the proceeds from force and fraud inflicted by the stron# on the wea+. 12rimiti!e accumulation1 in /n#lish economic history was epitomi3ed by the record of land enclosure. In the )4th and )5th centuries landowners used their control of 2arliament to rob their tenants of traditional ri#hts to common lands. "a+in# these lands for their own use they dro!e their !ictims reluctantly into cities and factories. 6epri!ed both of tools and land British men women and children had to wor+ for wa#es. "hus Marx$s central conflict was between so-called capitalists who owned the means of production7factories and machines7and wor+ers or proletarians who possessed nothin# but their bare hands. /xploitation the heart of Marxist doctrine is measured by the capacity of capitalists to pay no more than subsistence wa#es to their employees and extract for themsel!es as profit 8or surplus !alue9 the difference between these wa#es and the sellin# price of mar+et commodities. 'lthou#h in the :ommunist Manifesto 8)5;59 Marx and /n#els paid #rud#in# tribute to the material achie!ements of capitalism they were con!inced that these were

transitory and that the internal contradictions within capitalism would as surely terminate its existence as earlier in history feudalism had faltered and disappeared. On this point Marx wrote not in the tradition of /n#lish classical economics but rather out of his trainin# in the metaphysics of the -erman philosopher -. %. F. 0e#el. 0e#el interpreted the mo!ement of human history and thou#ht as a pro#ression of triads< thesis antithesis and synthesis. For example a thesis mi#ht be a set of economic arran#ements such as feudalism or capitalism. Its opposite or antithesis was say socialism as opposed to capitalism. "he clash between thesis and antithesis e!ol!ed into the hi#her sta#e of synthesis7in this case communism which unites capitalist technolo#y with social public ownership of factories and farms. In the lon# run Marx belie!ed that capitalism was certain to falter because its tendency to concentrate income and wealth in e!er fewer hands created more and more se!ere crises of excess output and risin# unemployment. For Marx capitalism$s fatal contradiction was between impro!in# technolo#ical efficiency and the lac+ of purchasin# power to buy what was produced in e!er lar#er &uantities. 'ccordin# to Marx the crises of capitalism were certain to manifest themsel!es in fallin# rates of profit mountin# hostility between wor+ers and employers and e!er more se!ere depressions. "he outcome of class welfare was fated to be re!olution and pro#ress toward first socialism and ultimately communism. In the first sta#e a stron# state would still be re&uired in order to eliminate the remnants of capitalist opposition. /ach person$s wor+ would be rewarded accordin# to the !alue of his or her contribution. Once communism was achie!ed the state whose central purpose was class domination would wither away and each indi!idual would in the utopian future be compensated accordin# to need. :OMM=>IS" M'>IF/S"O :OMM=>IS" M'>IF/S"O 8-er. Manifest der +ommunistischen 2artei9 declaration of principles and ob,ecti!es of the :ommunist .ea#ue 8a secret or#ani3ation of ?mi#r? -erman artisans and intellectuals9 published in .ondon in )5;5 shortly before the February Re!olution in 2aris. %ritten by Karl Marx in collaboration with Friedrich /n#els the Manifesto is di!ided into four sections preceded by an introduction that be#ins with the pro!ocati!e words 1' specter is hauntin# /urope7the specter of communism.1 In the first section Marx outlines his theory of history and prophesies an end to exploitation. Identifyin# class stru##le as the primary dynamic in history he

characteri3es the modern world as the sta#e for a dramatic confrontation between the rulin# bour#eoisie 8the capitalists9 and the downtrodden proletariat 8the wor+in# class9. 6ri!en by the lo#ic of capitalism to see+ e!er #reater profit the bour#eoisie constantly re!olutioni3es the means of economic production the fulcrum of history. In so doin# it unwittin#ly sets in motion sociohistorical forces that it can no lon#er control thus ironically callin# into existence the class destined to end its rule7the proletariat. 's the proletariat increases in number and political awareness hei#htened class anta#onism will accordin# to the Manifesto #enerate a re!olution and the ine!itable defeat of the bour#eoisie. In the second section Marx identifies the :ommunists as the allies and theoretical !an#uard of the proletariat. 0e emphasi3es the necessity of abolishin# pri!ate property a fundamental chan#e in material existence that will unmas+ bour#eois culture the ideolo#ical expression of capitalism. 'fter the re!olution economic production will be in the hands of the state that is the proletariat or#ani3ed as the rulin# class. Because ownership will be in common class distinctions will be#in to disappear. "he third section critici3in# !arious alternati!e socialist !isions of the time is now lar#ely of historical interest but displays the author$s formidable polemical s+ills. "he final section which compares :ommunist tactics to those of other opposition parties in /urope ends with a clarion call for unity< 1%or+ers of 'll :ountries =nite@1 "he Manifesto is the most concise and intelli#ible statement of Marx$s materialist !iew of history. 0ence althou#h it produced little immediate effect it has since become the most widely read of his wor+s and the sin#le most influential document in the socialist canon. ..:o.