Jared Khan. Midterm Post (Part 3 of 3). Section 11

Marxism vs. Capitalism

Marxism is the economic and social system characterized by public ownership of production, exchange, and distribution. It was created by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marx and Engels created Marxism in order to solve the problem of class struggles. Karl Marx suggested that a socialist revolution would occur after capitalism collapsed. Marxism focused on solving the problem that capitalism created, which was that the majority of conflict throughout society was due to private ownership of land, food, and money. Marxism would eventually lead to Communism, which suggested that resources be equally shared. Marxism focused on creating a society in which there was no classes, meaning that everyone was equal.

Capitalism is the opposite of Marxism and is what Marx despised. It is an economic system in which private ownership and a free competitive market are the key components. Capitalism is all about profits. In this economic system, we see the different class system that we are accustomed to today. These include the working class who own the labor and the capitalists who own the production. The working class is at a disadvantage because they are only able to sell their own labor, which usually is priced by the owner of the business. Usually, the working class is only paid minimum wage, which leads to resentment. The workers have no control over the prices they receive or the products produced. The capitalists are focused on one thing only and that is the profits they are making.

While Marxism focuses on treating everyone equally, Capitalism focuses more on survival of the fittest. Capitalism creates huge class differences and conflicts because of their importance on profits. Capitalism has created huge corporations and an advanced society full of new products and technology. However, it also has distributed the majority of the money to the minority of the people.