Austin Lape

9/28/2015
Laus
Socl 3000

Reflection Essay Final Draft

Deciding between whether Socialism or Capitalism would be the best economic choice for a
country has been a debate for centuries. In many cases the idea of the struggle between classes has been
well renowned by Karl Marx. While studying economics, Marx envisioned that Communism, a form of
Socialism, would become the economic solution to end the class struggle between the proletariat and
the bourgeoisie. Most of his studies involved examining Capitalism and its pros and cons. However, in
this century Marxs vision has not become a reality and Capitalism has become increasingly popular
since then.
The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx and Engels, was made to outline the Communist
Leagues program in 1847. When critiquing the technological progress of Capitalism Marx believed
that The final crisis of capitalism is thus a necessary consequence of the technological progress that
was itself spurred by the capitalist classs private ownership of the means of production and the goods
produced (Appelrouth and Edles 2012:51). The idea was that the technological progress in society was
moving faster than the government could handle. The government would quickly change its laws
governing the relations of production to protect copyright regulations. When compared to file sharing
over the internet, many people could download the product for free before the government can respond
in time.
In regard to critiquing the necessary existence of undesired jobs Marxs labor theory of value
mentions that the value of object is determined by the amount of time it took to produce. The undesired

jobs of today can last much longer than the time necessary for the company to make a profit. By
extending the hours and giving low wages the private owner can create a larger surplus. The text states
that In turn, surplus value is also the source of the capitalists exploitation of the worker because the
worker gives more than is given in return without having any voice in this relationship of exchange
(Appelrouth and Edles, 2012:65). By decreasing the amount of time it takes to create a product, the
products price can lower and undersell competitors to obtain a larger share of the market. The workers
of this product are able to create products more efficiently and become more alienated and exploited.
Since the worker is not himself, but more of a machine at his work, he is alienated from being himself
until his work ends.
Even in a capitalist economy, the U.S. has needed to intervene once in awhile with laws to protect
the safety of workers and to avoid problems such as exploitation. Private owners can no longer use
slaves or children for production and hours are limited. Appelrouth and Edles write that Modern
bourgeois society with its relations of production, of exchange and of property, a society that has
conjured up such gigantic means of production and of exchange, is like the sorcerer, who is no longer
able to control the powers of the nether world whom he has called up by his spells (Appelrouth and
Edles, 2012:56). Marx critiques that the federal government should give money to the people who need
it so that exploitation can be prevented and the class struggle can be resolved. He believed that some of
the jobs in the proletariat such as shopkeepers and handicrafts men are swamped in the competition
with the large capitalists because their skill cannot compete with new methods of production.
In womans roles in society many women were primarily the caretakers of the family who stayed
home, cooked, and cleaned. Marx critiqued that The less the skill and exertion of strength implied in
manual labor, in other words, the more modern industry becomes developed, the more is the labor of
men superseded by that of woman (Appelrouth and Edles, 2012:56). Marxs view of the proletariat is
that age and gender does not matter since all of the working class are instruments of labor and that the
growth of the industry diminishes the amount of jobs for women.

Karl Marxs Communist Manifesto critiques many of the issues that Capitalists face in regard to
the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The technological advances in society grows increasingly faster
than the government can maintain. This was seen as the final crisis to capitalism as there could be
problems with copyrights or production regulations. The necessary existence of undesired jobs creates
an exploitation with the workers when the owners create more surplus money as the workers work
longer hours. The workers in return get a sense of alienation and dont make the proper amount of
money they worked for. To avoid exploitation Marx believed that the government should get involved
and support the proletariat and the workers who own small businesses such as handcrafting. Marx also
supports the working women compared to the stay at home parent. As capitalism is the most popular
form of economic production it is not perfect and still has its flaws in which Marx believed that
Communism was the way to fix them.

Works Cited
Appelrouth A. Scott, Laura Desfor Edles. 2012. Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory. Los
Angeles, California, 91320: Sage.
"Marxism & the Class Struggle." Marxism & the Class Struggle. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.
"Idealism and Materialism" The German Ideology. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.