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Relevance of Marx today in 21st Century

“Philosophers have so far only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point,
however, is to change it”, says Karl Marx in his famous 11th and last thesis on
Feuerbach. Has there been any philosopher in this world to whom these words apply
more than to Marx himself?

It has been repeatedly stated that ‘Marxism has returned’. The phrase initially made a
comeback at the turn of the century as the concept of ‘globalisation’ was being
discussed, and then again in the wake of the great recession of 2007-08. Marx, it seems,
is inextricably linked to workers’ movements and political currents.

Karl Marx was born in Trier, Germany, on May 5, 1818, and died on March 14, 1883,
in London. He was a philosopher, revolutionary, sociologist, historian and economist.
Marx has influenced both life and literature of the 20th century deeply and extensively.

Celebrating Marx is of great relevance to the working class. From politics to philosophy
to academics, there is no denying that Karl Marx has left a lasting imprint on the face
of history.

Marx did not change the world by leading the life of a political activist, but by leading
the life of a revolutionary philosopher and scholar. He changed the world just by
interpreting it. What comes to most people’s mind when they think of Karl Marx is his
impact on politics and communism, and then on social democracy. However, in real
terms his influence has been much wider. Marxist ideas have influenced feminism,
economic theory, sociology and philosophy, to name but a few areas of study. His
approach and method of studying society can be and have been applied to many fields.

We still get inspiration from ideas that find their origins in Marxism, directly or
indirectly. These include studies and discourse on the problems of globalisation,
stagnation in many European economies, the great recession of 2007-2008, increased
inequality and class polarisation.

Marx developed a scientific methods of analysis – be it for analysing economy, history,

class structure or the very basis of the capitalist system. There are three interrelated
components in his work: historical materialism, socio-economic analysis of capitalism
and the politics of class revolution. Marxism has also indirectly affected the humanities,
especially through its interpretation of culture. What distinguishes Marx from other
social critics is the interaction of his philosophy with history, his detailed analysis of
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the economics of capitalism and the way he has combined historical and economic
developments to predict the downfall of capitalism and its eventual replacement with
socialism.

Marxism appeals to people because it provides a framework for the evolution of

societies akin to Darwin’s idea of evolution of nature. Capitalism brought with it a
modern society that was based on science and was secular, wealthy and politically
democratic, while also promoting human liberation and economic exploitation. A
socialist future transcends capitalism by destroying the latter’s exploitative elements
(the domination of capital and market relations), which were originally necessary for
progress, and developing those needed for further emancipation (an economy for public
good rather than private profit, and real participatory democracy). Hence, socialism is
seen as the heir to the Enlightenment.

For Marxists, socialism – as a system that embraces elements of emancipation such as

modernisation, and is unfettered by capitalism – not only promotes the development of
the productive forces but also promises the birth of a higher level of civilisation.
Capitalism has gone through a lot of changes in 200 years. But its economic system is
still based on the exploitation of wage labour, which produces surplus value; and
surplus value is mainly unpaid wages.

Private ownership of productive assets gives rise to economic exploitation (profit). In

addition, armies of executives and professionals grow and have significant powers of
control. This has resulted in the making of a ‘new bourgeoisie’ that has cultural capital.
Members of this new bourgeoisie control the creation of knowledge and dominate the
fields of science and technology, education and the media. Ownership of productive
assets drives the activity of these organisations. Companies such as Google, Disney and
Netflix operate for profit and their economic developments are largely determined by
their market position and quest for profits.

Modern sociology is concerned with race, ethnicity and gender relations as a form of
domination and subordination which predate capitalism. However, such relationships,
as important components of identity politics, cannot be equated with economic
exploitation which remains the driving force for capitalism. Identity politics calls for
justice and equal rights before the law, not transformation of capitalism. It promotes
individual liberation and not eradication of economic exploitation. Equal access to
unequal structures of ownership may strengthen and not weaken the composition of the
class system based on property.

As international companies seek to reduce labour costs, the greater mobility of capital
and cheapening of transport enables manufacturing units to be located in areas of low-
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paid labour. Electronic communication under neo-liberalism promotes the mobility of

capital with almost no restrictions and, in doing so, changes the combination of the
factors of production in low income countries. Hence, the focus on class conflict can no
longer be contained within the boundaries of a nation state.

Karl Marx’s ideas are still alive and relevant in today’s world, and can answer the
complex and difficult questions faced by capitalism in the 21st century. His ideas and
methods of analysis can still be used to interpret the world in order to change it for the
better.

Eight ways in which Marxism is still relevant today

1. A class based analysis of global society is still relevant if you look at things
globally.
2. Exploitation still lies at the heart of the Capitalist system if you look at the
practices of many Transnational Corporations.
3. If you look at the recent bank bail outs it appears that those with economic power
still have disproportionate influence over the superstructure.
4. If you look at how individualised we have become it appears that many people
are still under ideological control – but we don’t realise it.
5. Work is still Alienating for many people.
6. Economic crises are still inherent to the capitalist system and that in recent years
these crises have become more severe and more frequent.
7. Capitalist exploitation is so bad in some parts of the world that there is vehement
resistance to it.
8. In Britain there are tens of thousands of people who call themselves Communists
and who sympathise with Marxism and the wider anti-capitalist movement. Left
Wing criticisms and the anti-capitalist movement is still very much alive today.

Eight Criticisms of the Traditional Marxist View of Society of 21st

Century
Capitalism and the class structure have change since Marx’s day

Karl Marx saw society as clearly structured into two classes, and very exploitative, and
believed that economic determinism would result in a revolution.
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The class structure today is more complex than Bourgeois-Proletariat.

In most Western Nations and increasingly in developing nations there is an extensive

middle class who have stocks and shares invested in Corporations run by what Marxists
would call the ‘Capitalist Class’. Also in Britain 70% of people own their own homes and
see these homes (our private property) as ‘economic assets’ so many of us are, in a sense,
petit-capitalists.

Capitalism today is less exploitative

Two historical examples of this are when Henry Ford, the famous car manufacturer,
realised that paying his workers good wages would generate demand for the cars he
produced – a process which lead to workers being less exploited and ‘buying into’ the
Capitalist system.

A second example is the move towards ‘Keynsian Economics’ in which the state came to
play a more central role in regulating Capitalism to ensure that worst excesses of
exploitation, inequality and insecurity that pure Capitalism generates were minimised.

Part of this involved the introduction of the welfare state in many European Countries after
the Second World War. In the United Kingdom the state now provides universal health
care, education, pensions and social security, as well as guaranteeing a minimum wage.

All of these things acts as a safety net to ensure that the worst excesses of Capitalist
exploitation are ameliorated.

Control of the Economic Base does not mean control of the Superstructure

Marx argued that those who control the economic base controlled the economic
superstructure – yet many of our institutions today have at least relative autonomy from
Bourgeois control – it is quite obvious, for example, that huge sections of the press are
critical of the Elite and many popular music artists are extremely critical of the Capitalist
system.

Criticisms of False Consciousness

Given the above three points, it seems ludicrous to argue that the superstructure is
controlled by the Bourgeoisie and is used to create false consciousness.
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Firstly, post-modernists argue that culture (mainly the media) exists independently of
Bourgeois control and is used by people in different for a variety of different purposes. If
institutions are not controlled by the Bourgeois, then there can be no False Consciousness.

What we really have in post-modern society according to Post-Modernists is free

individuals who correctly see class as irrelevant and who do not feel exploited and who are
happy to identify themselves through the products they buy – products that are themselves
the final outcome of a successful Capitalist system of production.

There is less Alienation today

There is much less Alienation in modern companies. Workers have a lot more say, partly
due to unionisation and partly due to enlightened management techniques. In addition,
there are four million self-employed people who directly control the terms and conditions
of their working lives.

Capitalism has changed and works for many

Classic Marxist theory has been criticised for being economically deterministic. Marx
argued that ‘economic laws’ determined not only the shape of society but also the direction
of history itself.

On reflection, however, it is clearly the case that other factors shape history too – different
societies have responded differently to the global spread of Capitalism – some have pushed
neo-liberalism (America and Britain under Thatcher and Bliare) others have taken a social
democratic line and used the state as a buffer to protect citizens from the worst excesses of
Capitalist exploitation (Scandanavian countries); China has developed a form of autocratic-
capitalism and other countries (Cuba and more recently Venezuala) have rejected it in
favour of a Socialist dictatorship.

Communism didn’t work

The Communist Revolutions in Eastern Europe did not lead to greater equality and freedom
as Marx would have hoped. Given the failures of communism it is difficult to see what the
alternative to Capitalism might be. NB – As a counter critique, contemporary Marxists
would argue that the state communism of Eastern Europe was hardly true communism.
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Traditional Marxism was a Metanarraitve

Finally, many sociologists today would argue that Marx’s ‘grand theorising’ about the
world is no longer relevant – rather than researching with the intention of creating the
perfect society, we should really be focussing our attention of much more specific and
localised social issues.