POS 335:CBE1-Modern Political Thought Final

Capitalism and Crisis: A Marxist Analysis of Socioeconomic Struggles During the Great Depression and the COVID-19 Pandemic Your name Subject and Section Professor’s Name Date Introduction Marxist political thought, with the core focus on the ongoing struggle between the working and capitalist classes, is a valuable tool for understanding critical periods in American history and their consequences for today. In this manner, one can comprehend how the political economy and class conflict described by Marx resonate in societal turning points such as the Great Depression and the contemporary COVID-19 global pandemic. These examples aptly illustrate how economic policymaking and class relations determine and influence key transformational processes in society. In the Great Depression, the social and economic collapse and the prevalence of mass unemployment were the horrors Marx highlighted within capitalist societies (Howard & King, 1992). This paved the way for a robust governmental reform like the New Deal (Library of Congress, n.d.). In the same way, COVID-19 exposed social and economic inequalities in terms of health and the ability to remain financially stable; this surfaces the continued need for Marxist critique, especially in identifying who gains and who loses in crises created by class struggle. Both the historical and contemporary studies in this thesis aim to underscore the permanent interest that Marxist contributions offer in unraveling the forces shaping societal topographies and informing policy agendas as a peculiar conceptual toolkit to grasp and act on socio-economic challenges. The Marxist Political Thought Karl Marx developed political Marxism; an essential aspect of Marxist political thought is class struggle, as it postulates the social conflict that continues to exist in societies with capitalistic systems between the proletariats and the bourgeoisie. According to this framework, all social structures stem from the material realities and economic activities of these classes through a theory called historical materialism, which is a Marxist theory that posits that the economic base of society—its modes of production and class relations—fundamentally shapes its social structures and historical developments (Elster, 1967). In the words of Marx, the economic subsystem, that is, the modes of production and relations of production, determines all other formations, including the political, ideological, and cultural spheres. The working class or the proletariat is posited as being subjugated under this order and evolving to a stage where they will desire to overthrow the bourgeoisie to achieve a society free of classes and the state. For centuries, these ideas have influenced political opinion and economic measures on the international level, have become the basis for revolutions, have served as guidelines for the formation of policies of socialist and communist states, and have guided movements for social and economic changes in capitalist countries. The themes of Marx's work, including his description of the traits of the capitalist economy and his forecasting of the tendencies towards instability and destruction of this economic system, remain very relevant when it comes to the condemnation of the global economy and its models as well as to the organization of political struggle today. The Past: Marxism and the Great Depression The beginning of the great depression occurred on Thursday, October 24, 1929, referred to as Black Thursday, and saw share prices collapsing and eliminating roughly $10 billion in shares within a day of trading. Congested by this event, people panicked and started to sell their stocks. Consequently, this pushed the stock values even lower. Actions taken by the key organizations to support and balance the situations with the acquisition of stock at high prices only proved to be worked in the short term by central national bankers. The following week, investor confidence deteriorated even further, and on what came to be known as Black Tuesday, October 29th marked a significant downfall of the market, which paved the way for the onset of the worst economic crisis in the coming days. This crash did not solely bring about the Great Depression; it exposed deeper issues facing the U. S economy, including speculation, consumer credit, and high...