Mulling Over Marxism Essay Research Paper Trade

Mulling Over Marxism Essay, Research Paper

Trade and economics have played a crucial role in the lives of people everywhere throughout the sands of time. Before the coining of monies individuals would either barter goods for other goods or swap goods for standardized precious objects, such as seashells. Although commerce is an important aspect of society, Marx took the notion of economics a step further. He believed that economics is the key to understanding history and the motivations of individuals within any given society. He saw economics as the underlying cause of the chain of events in which each nation undergoes. Although I think that ultimately the bad aspects of Marxism outweigh the good, I do believe Marx had discovered several accurate peculiarities about humanity and made a number of positive contributions to mankind.

Despite the fact that he came from a relatively wealthy family, Marx symbolized a voice for the common man. In a time when the ruling class could be cited as a direct cause for oppression of the working class, Marx filled the shoes of a messiah. He informed his compatriots of a holy place where equality was the higher law and the downtrodden were transformed into the saved. Marx preached that the promise land could only become a reality if the working class united in their cause and overthrew the upper class. Marx did not only believe that the key to humanity s future happiness was a revolution brought upon by the common man for the common man, he ventured to declare it inevitable.

The granting of hope to the burdened was not the only good that came out of Marx s philosophy. Marx also did much indirectly (ironically) to improve on capitalism. A great gulf had opened between the manufacturers, who were now a propertied business class, and the men, women, and children who tended their machines for 10- and 12-hour stints. Capitalism was at its worst during Marx s lifetime. The industrial revolution gave way to a ruthless system of intensive labor. Children were often employed for the worst jobs, and forced to work long and grueling shifts. Men and women were also forced to work in harmful conditions and intensive hours without breaks. Marx improved the situation of the industrial age as well as the future of capitalism by virtue of embodying radical ideas. The very threat of Marxism did much to speed up industrial reform. I am sure not by coincidence, the Artizans’ and Labourers’ Dwellings Improvement Act, as well as other important pro-labor laws were passed in English Parliament during the years Marx had made his home in London and served the role of an active political speaker.

I think that Marx had the greatest impact on history in regards to industrial reform. He established faults of industry and capitalism like a primitive muckraker, and the agitation resulted in change for the better. Albeit, while he was pinpointing the negative aspects of capitalism, he was helping to perfect the system. Proponents of capitalism included certain social elements of communism to appease the working class in an effort to arrest further progress made by the communist party. Capitalist societies began to cede that it was wrong to treat human beings only as means to an economic end. Since the birth of our current economic scheme we have introduced services to aid what otherwise would have been victims of capitalism. The most important of these services are medical care programs, unemployment benefit programs, family allowance benefits, work-injury compensation, and public assistance. Benefits of medical care may include indemnification for lost wages in addition to medical treatment. Coverage ranges from universal down to only those employed by participating employers. I think that medical care in a predominantly capitalist society is essential. I would not want only the haves to have access to a healthy life. Life and economics should be parallel, and should never intersect. While the current medical situation in the United States is not as efficient and fulfilling as it could be, I know that it is better than not having any type of system at all where the economically ill correlate to the physically ill. Unemployment benefit programs are common in industrialized countries, less so in developing countries. They usually provide 50 to 75 percent of base wages to workers who are normally employed and have become unemployed through no fault of their own and who are willing and able to work. I especially like this program because there is logic reasoning behind it. There are different types of unemployment. Structural unemployment arises when jobs are eliminated by changes in the structure of the economy, such as automation or permanent changes in demand. Unemployment checks allow for workers to go back to vocational schools and community colleges to learn the skills they need to work with new technology. I know from personal experience that this is often the case. I used to periodically take courses at a local community college and at least three people in each class were taking the course for either a new job or advancement in the present one (most of the courses I took were computer related). Another type of unemployment is cyclical unemployment, which arises when the level of economic activity declines. We definitely can afford to help people in the short term if it means they will be productive in the long term. Family allowance benefits are be