Explain marxs persepective on economy as the infrastructure. write about 150 words.
Answers
What Is Marxian Economics?
Marxian economics is a school of economic thought based on the work of 19th-century economist and philosopher Karl Marx.
Marxian economics, or Marxist economics, focuses on the role of labor in the development of an economy and is critical of the classical approach to wages and productivity developed by Adam Smith. Marx argued that the specialization of the labor force, coupled with a growing population, pushes wages down, adding that the value placed on goods and services does not accurately account for the true cost of labor.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Marxian economics is a school of economic thought based on the work of 19th-century economist and philosopher Karl Marx.
Marx claimed there are two major flaws in capitalism that lead to exploitation: the chaotic nature of the free market and surplus labor.
He argued that the specialization of the labor force, coupled with a growing population, pushes wages down, adding that the value placed on goods and services does not accurately account for the true cost of labor.
Eventually, he predicted that capitalism will lead more people to get relegated to worker status, sparking a revolution and production being turned over to the state.
Understanding Marxian Economics
Much of Marxian economics is drawn from Karl Marx's seminal work "Das Kapital," his magnum opus first published in 1867. In the book, Marx described his theory of the capitalist system, its dynamism, and its tendencies toward self-destruction.
Much of Das Kapital spells out Marx’s concept of
Marx claimed there are two major flaws inherent in capitalism that lead to exploitation: the chaotic nature of the free market and surplus labor.
Marxian Economics vs. Classical Economics
Marxian economics is a rejection of the classical view of economics developed by economists such as Adam Smith. Smith and his peers believed that the free market, an economic system powered by supply and demand with little or no government control, and an onus on maximizing profit, automatically benefits society.
Marx disagreed, arguing that capitalism consistently only benefits a select few. Under this economic model, he argued that the ruling class becomes richer by extracting value out of cheap labor provided by the working class.
In contrast to classical approaches to economic theory, Marx’s favored government intervention. Economic decisions, he said, should not be made by producers and consumers and instead ought to be carefully managed by the state to ensure that everyone benefits.
He predicted that capitalism would eventually destroy itself as more people get relegated to worker status, leading to a revolution and production being turned over to the state.
Special Considerations
Marxian economics is considered separate from Marxism, even if the two ideologies are closely related. Where it differs is that it focuses less on social and political matters. More broadly, Marxian economic principles clash with the virtues of capitalist pursuits.
During the first half of the twentieth century, with the Bolshevik revolution in Russia and the spread of communism throughout Eastern Europe, it seemed the Marxist dream had finally and firmly taken root.
However, that dream collapsed before the century had ended. The people of Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Albania, and the USSR rejected Marxist ideology and entered a remarkable transition toward private property rights and a market-exchange based system.
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Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a philosopher, author, social theorist, and economist. He is famous for his theories about capitalism and communism. Marx, in conjunction with Friedrich Engels, published The Communist Manifesto in 1848.
Marx's Inspiration
Marx was inspired by classical political economists such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo, while his own branch of economics, Marxian economics, is not favored among modern mainstream thought. Nevertheless, Marx's ideas have had a huge impact on societies, most prominently in communist projects such as those in the USSR, China, and Cuba. Among modern thinkers, Marx is still very influential in the fields of sociology, political economy, and strands of heterodox economics.
Marx's Social Economic Systems
While many equate Karl Marx with socialism, his work on understanding capitalism as a social and economic system remains a valid critique in the modern era. In Das Kapital (Capital in English), Marx argues that society is composed of two main classes: Capitalists are the business owners who organize the process of production and who own the means of production such as factories, tools, and raw material, and who are also entitled to any and all profits.
The other, much larger class is composed of labor (which Marx termed the "proletariat"). Laborers do not own or have any claim to the means of production, the finished products they work on, or any of the profits generated from sales of those products. Rather, labor works only in return for a money wage. Marx argued that because of this uneven arrangement, capitalists exploit workers.
Marx's Historical Materialism
Another important theory developed by Marx is known as historical materialism. This theory posits that society at any given point in time is ordered by the type of technology used in the process of production. Under industrial capitalism, society is ordered with capitalists organizing labor in factories or offices where they work for wages. Prior to capitalism, Marx suggested that feudalism existed as a specific set of social relations between lord and peasant classes related to the hand-powered or animal-powered means of production prevalent at the time.