Relationship Between The Worker And The Capitalist

In recent times, inequality has been found on high levels all around the world, this is due to how the market functions and the relationship between the worker and the capitalist. In this essay, the characteristics of Capitalism will be described followed by an analysis of how it produces wealth inequality, however a political economical approach will be used. Emphasized are the thoughts of Karl Marx and Adam Smith. To begin with, Adam Smith in his book Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations wondered why some countries were wealthier than others; he correlates wealth with civilized and poverty with savages (Levine, 2010). Therefore a wealthy nation is a civilized nation, whereas a poor nation is a savage nation. According to Smith, producing wealth depends on the individual’s goal. If the activity realized has recreational purposes, no wealth will be produced. On the other hand, producing wealth equals to producing commodities. A commodity is a service or good produced for exchange to satisfy needs and wants of an individual (Heywood: 2004). However, this commodity has a value in the market, where it is exchanged for capital. In a capitalist system, there is a free market. Anyone wanting to sell something can enter the market. Moreover, Levine describes capitalism as â€Å"an economic system in which the individual’s income and wealth depend primarily on the market value of his or her properties (including labor)† (2010: 40). In capitalism, the individual is judged â€Å"in termsShow MoreRelated`` Metropolis `` : The Film, Metropolis, By Karl Marx1721 Words   |  7 Pages capitalism. Marx, having observed the class conflict between the bourgeoisie (the capitalists) and the proletariat (the workers), said that in the capitalist system, the bourgeoisie take advantage of the proletariat for financial gains. With the introduction of modern industry, instead of helping the workers work less, machinery only worsened the conflict as capitalists utilized them for the wrong purposes that in turn suppressed the workers even more. Marx’s ideas have influenced countless celebritiesRead MoreExploitation And Societal Reorganization Of Karl Marx And Mary Wollstonecraft1709 Words   |  7 Pageshave observed the relationships between ruling and ruled classes of people. In Marx’s text Capital he discusses how there must exist a bourgeois class that exploits a class of proletarians in order for capitalism to exist. Mary Wollstonecraft in her work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman argues that a patriarchal society in which women are forced to depend on men for every aspect of their lives is exploitation and detrimental to everyone involved. A concept that is shared between these two worksRead MoreImperialism And Consumerism1365 Words   |  6 Pageshave maximum possible efficiency output, workers in developing nations under capitalist forces are often exploited heavily; on the other hand, one could argue that without the presence of corporations in nations lacking infrastructure or economic developm ent, many of the workers under these companies could not make a wage to live. This brings up a difficult topic relating to just how imperialism takes form under global capitalist influence: how global capitalist consumerism creates an unfair and exploitativeRead MoreIs the Job in Fast-Food Restaurant Exploitative?1480 Words   |  6 Pagesthe relationship between the capitalists and workers. It is claim that the value of a product is depended by how much labor has paid on it such as time, energy or ideas. Therefore the price of a product minus the cost and energy to produce a product or other sufficient usages should be equal to what a worker can earn. However, as the workers own nothing but their labor, they could only sell their labor to capitalists who own all other kinds of resources. Marx defined the value that capitalists takeRead MoreEssay about Karl Marx and a Capitalist Society764 Words   |  4 PagesKarl Marx and a Capitalist Society Through out history money, wealth and capital have dictated a way of life to the masses. Wealth dictated the lives that the rich lived and the lives of the poor that worked for and surrounded them. In some cultures your class could never be escaped in life, you had to wait for your next incarnation, while in other cultures the idea of wealth transcended a life and allowed for growth from one class to another. This is the reality of a capitalist society that wasRead MoreKarl Marx s Theory Of Capitalism976 Words   |  4 Pagesa life and allowed for growth from one class to another. This is the reality of a capitalist society that was first discussed by Karl Marx in the 19th century. When Karl Marx first penned his shaping works on communism, he assumed that the relationship between workers and capital would always be opposing. While most rejected his overall theories, they did not argue with the basic idea that the interests of workers would always be at odds with those of owners. This is one of Marx s only theoriesRead MoreWhen We Read Capital Volume I By Karl Marx, It Can Certainly1198 Words   |  5 Pagesthough Marx was promoting an individuality in the worker and claiming the way people in a capitalist society behave is unnatural due to being constricted to the system of capitalism. This unnatural system then leads the worker and the capitalist to act in certain ways contrary to what is natural, this leading to an exploitative relationship between the two. However, this view of Marx’s belief neglects the fact that Marx himself equated the worker with economic categories, which are owned and controlledRead MoreMarxism Is A Method Of Socioeconomic A nalysis1495 Words   |  6 PagesMarxist analysis, class conflict within capitalism arises due to intensifying contradictions between highly productive mechanized and socialized production performed by the proletariat, and private ownership and appropriation of the surplus product in the form of surplus value by a small minority of private owners called the bourgeoisie. As the contradiction becomes apparent to the proletariat, social unrest between the two antagonistic classes intensifies, culminating in a social revolution. The eventualRead MoreThe Rana Plaza Building Collapse1489 Words   |  6 PagesThe collapsing of the Rana Plaza building in the Dhaka suburb of Savar, is a tragic incident that occurred on April 24, 2013 (Prashad 2013). The Rana Plaza building was the establishment that had workers who were the commodity of the production of garments that are sold to the Western market. A couple days post-collapse, it was reported that the death toll was well into the triple- digits. This paper will draw on the details of pre- and post- Rana Plazas collapsing while connecting it to Marx andRead MoreEmployee Attitudes Towards Pay By Marx Essay1725 Words   |  7 Pagesthe antagonistic struggle between the capitalist and worker. Victory goes necessarily to the capitalist. The capitalist can live longer without the worker than the worker without the capitalist†. The aforementioned philosophic statement by Marx opens for many issues to be debated between workers and employers, employment cadres and employment policies. From the statement one realize in the hands of the capitalists are resources in the form of pay or wages that a worker desires to have in their own