Capitalism

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Capitalism
Capitalism identifies with an economic system with production means privately owned in the production of the goods and services for commercial purposes. Examples of the capitalist markets identifies with wage labor, competitive markets, voluntary exchange, personal finance and capital accumulation (Marx and Bottomore 34). Worker cooperatives and market socialism are considered non capitalism markets. Research indicates that capitalism has variations resonating with state capitalism and laissez-faire. Historical cases have been noted to have applied the capitalism principles with variations in policies, geography, time and culture. It is believed that capitalism was common among the western cultures with the feudalism demise (Conway para 21).
Research indicates that political activists, economists and historians have diverse perspectives on the effects of capitalism. This is looked at from the perspective of the acting government losing control of over the markets, a scenario identified with laissez-faire; this is considered with the reflection of the property rights that has generated diverse reactions over centuries. It has been noted that most political economists like Marx emphasized on the property to be publicly owned with close reflections to wage labor, power relations, class and capitalism uniqueness reflecting on the historical information (Marx para 14). Policy and politics influence the extent of the free markets and the rules governing the private ownership of the property. It has been noted that nations are adapting to mixed economies with market driven and planned elements in the economic system of the state. Scientists have emerged in the support of the economic liberalism.
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German economist, philosopher, historian, journalist, sociologist and revolutionary socialist. He significantly contributed to the socialist movements and social science. Marxism identifies with the theories on economics, societies and politics. It has been noted that Marxism theories indicates that societies move to higher levels through class struggle dialectic. This is the conflict between lower class and the ownership class. Ownership class is characterized with the people having power over the land and products while the lower classes are the people providing the labor.
Marx was critical on Capitalism asserting that it resembles dictatorship model of governance (Conway para 39). This means that the economies are run by wealthy classes with the intention of personal benefits negating the labor providers. Marx argued that Capitalism was to be replaced by socialism, which was characterized with workers democracy, which ultimately would lead to communism, where the system is characterized with a society that is stateless and classless in bringing out positive socio economic changes in the society. China is a good example of a nation with communism governance systems.
Karl Marx developed the Marxist political economy theory. It is believed that capitalism directs at a particulate production model reflecting on the diversity entailing the property control and ownership in respect to the individual social relations, this is reflected in line to the production processes (Marx para 27). Marx argued that capitalism is the dominant production mode. Marx noted that bourgeois society at the development stage of capitalism represented the most advanced and divergent social organization forms. Marx had the feeling that the working class would gain substantial power in the global communist and socialists human society transformations. Marx shed light to the aristocratic and capitalist systems in defining the working class group of people in the society (Marx and Bottomore 147).
Marx emphasized on the usage of value just like Adam Smith in the differentiation of commodities in the market exchange value. Capital is created with commodities purchase in the trading processes. In these aspirations, more and more goods are produced for commercial purposes. The exchange value is set higher compared to the original purchases. Marx applied labor power as a type of commodity under capitalism. The labor power exchange value considering the wages are far much less comparing to the value produced on the other side of the capitalist (Marx para 13).
Marx noted that in such instances, the value differences constitute the surplus value which the capitalist take advantages of in accumulating and extracting wealth. Marx argues on the line of production capitalist mode which distinguishes the workers and the owners (Moseley 6). The capital extracts benefits to the owners more than the workers, although the workers do the most work. He insists that capitalist is unjust particularly in the current global economy.
The society is subdivided into classes basing on the capital ownerships. The surplus labor defined the produced commodities sale value. Marx argued that capitalist society is a vital requirement in the population segments (Marx and Bottomore 203). It is worth noting that less portions of the society should possess self sustenance sources and not the vice versa. This is critical in allowing members of the society be self independent. Compelling the members of the society to sell labor and survive on wages and salaries.
Marx criticized capitalism in the belief that the labor power was exploited, which is unjust. The power labor drives the global revolution to an economy characterized with socialist style. This model of extracting surplus value gears at the class struggle. Marx argued that the bourgeoisie style characterized with the capital owners exploited the power labor. This argument was strengthened by the labor theory of value. The theory shed light to the fact that labor houses value; therefore, profits are results of labor (Marx and Engels 34).
Considering the imperialism by Vladimir Lenin in the Highest Stage of the Capitalism in 1916, it was argued that classic Marxist theory in capitalism, had powers of cultivating monopoly capitalism commonly referred to as the imperialism. This is characterized with finding new resources and markets which are represented in the last stage of capitalism (Marx para 34). Marxian economists in the twentieth century heavily considers capitalism in the reflection of the social formation with classes characterized with capitalists in the domination (Conway para 12). This is still debatable since some scholars and scientists have diverse options on the issue.
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