Marxism And Economics Essay Research Paper Human

Marxism And Economics Essay, Research Paper

Human relationships have always been dynamic. Change and adaptability have gone

hand in hand with the passage of time for human society. Systems have been

developed to regulate, direct and control the resources of this society. The

systems are referred to as governments and the resources as the populace or

inhabitants and forces of production. A government must be dynamic in its nature

reflecting the change in society. At times these systems have resisted the

necessity to adapt with its components (Society) creating a deficit between the

system and those it regulates. As the deficits develop, they cause instability,

and could lead to revolution.1 Theories have been developed to explain the

systemic phenomenon called revolution. This paper will discuss three modern

theories and apply them to the English revolution of 1640. The first theory,

developed by Carl Marx (Marxism), will address the economic evolution in English

society. This theory will emphasize and explain how the shift from a

feudal/mercantile system to capitalism affected English society. The second,

called the Resource Mobilization Theory (RMT) developed by Charles Tilly, will

explain how the English organizations (the Crown and the Parliament) effectively

obtained, amassed and managed resources. Samuel Huntington’s,

"Institutional Theory", will argue that the existing government at

that time was unable to incorporate the demands and personnel that the

socio-economic changes created. Marxism was formulated in the 19th century. Carl

Marx and his associate Frederick Engels observed the socio-economic changes that

were transpiring in Britain. England was the dominant world power and had the

largest industrialized economy during the 1800’s. The development of the factory

and the institution of the assembly line created a large demand for workers.

This demand was satiated by migrating peasant from the rural areas in England

and Ireland to developing urban centers. As these urban centers or cities

evolved using industry as the economic backbone for the population, a large

number of factory workers were accumulated to operate the machinery in horrid

conditions. These workers, which would be termed as the peasantry under a feudal

system, were now the working class or proletariat. They entered cities with

hopes of bettering their lives and survival. Though revolution never took place

in England during this period, it allowed Marx to study industrialization,

urbanization and imperialism. The theory of Marxism has three basic concepts:

historic materialism, forces of production and relations of production. Historic

materialism is defined as a society’s past performance and present capabilities

of satisfying the basic means of life. Humankind’s basic needs of eating,

drinking and shelter need to be met properly. The forces of production

(technology, capital, the infrastructure of society, etc.) are important for the

simple fact of who ever controls them controls the society. The last aspect of

Marxism, the relations of production, deals directly with the relationships

between classes of people (the aristocracy, the middle-class and the working

class).2 Marxism includes a predictive analysis of socio-economic structures.

Using history, logic and the dynamic nature of humankind as guidelines, Carl

Marx attempts to map out a sequence of events which will eventually lead to

utopia (anarchy). In his work, Das Capital, Marx details the six steps. These

steps are primitive socialism, feudalism, capitalism, socialism, communism and

then anarchy. The evolution of the English economic system during the 16th and

17th centuries points to a shift from feudalism to capitalism. This shift is

exemplified by the enclosures. The landlords began to fence their property in

the common land areas. The "commons" were large plots of grazing and

farmable lands that were used by both farmers and artisans. When the land-owners

and manorial lords began to partition these lands the concept of private

ownership of property was introduced to the socio-economic system.3 During the

time period of the 16th and 17th centuries the crown’s economic base began a

gradual decline. This economic shrinkage came to a spearhead during the reign of

Charles I. The monarchy favored a monopoly market system over a competitive one.

The purpose for this position was for taxation and control of the profits. As

the artisan and merchant populations increased, the policy of the crown began

conflicting with economic growth. This created instability in three areas.

First, the English monarchy needed money to support its army which insures

social compliance. The second area of contention was the restraints and

interference the Crown initiated on the rising middle-class. Thirdly, the rise

of the bourgeoisie created comp

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