Socialist Progressives
Related: About this forumThree basic factors which the Marxist theory is not taking account
There are at least three basic factors today which Karl Marx wouldn't be possible to predict, to be included in the Marxist theory.1st: The rapid transfer of huge amounts of capital across the world.
2nd: The explosive increase of human population which leads to oversupply of human labor and consumers.
3rd: The hyper-automation of production.
http://failedevolution.blogspot.gr/2015/10/three-basic-factors-which-marxist.html
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)Having developed his theory in a virtual racial vacuum ... I don't think he could have anticipated the depth of racism.
rogerashton
(3,943 posts)so it is hard to be absolutely sure. After all, the first use of the term "racism" seems to have been in the twentieth century. However, Marx as a journalist covered the civil war, and his comments on it may say something about his attitude toward what we now call "racism."
https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/internationalist/pamphlets/MARX-on-Slavery-OptV5.pdf
Anyway, no party has more consistently stood for black people's rights than the Communist Party. And no, I am not a Communist myself -- but this is just a matter of historic fact.
fasttense
(17,301 posts)He addresses the transfer of wealth throughout the globe. True it didn't travel as quickly back then but it did move around a lot.
This supposed over supply of labor is part of the built in antagonism between workers and employees. To say Marx doesn't address it clearly indicates you do not understand how Marx defines labor.
So many capitalist think automation is just so over powering today. But the truth is there is plenty of manual labor being done in factories and fields. It just not being seen by people in the middle class and rich in the US and other rich nations. It's being done by millions of Chinese, Indians, and other underpaid labor. The capitalists have moved most of the heavy labor jobs out of sight.
Marx has put togeather a well developed analysis of capatalism that is still relevant today.
rogerashton
(3,943 posts)if you knew something about Marx' ideas. It is impossible to competently criticize ideas you have not understood.
1. So what is the significance of this
2. Marx wrote extensively about "relative surplus-population," and rejected Malthus' theory on this, which was already 60 years old when he wrote. Marx' theory held that capitalism, not population growth, was the cause of relative surplus-population. Perhaps Malthus was right and Marx was wrong. If that is your opinion, show us your evidence.
3. The replacement of workers by technologically advanced machines, technological unemployment, is an idea that was present in David Ricardo's 1821 revision of his Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, which probably influenced Marx more than any other economic writing.
Now, it is true that Marx did not use 2015 catch-phrases for these very old ideas -- and the better for it.
no more banksters
(395 posts)It's an interesting discussion so far, indeed.
Please pay attention to the words: rapid, explosive and hyper.
More will follow soon.
Starry Messenger
(32,375 posts)Lenin covers your 1st. https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/imp-hsc/ Paul Sweezy has worked on this issue too: http://monthlyreview.org/1994/06/01/the-triumph-of-financial-capital/ Both built on the work of Marx.
Marx refuted Malthus, point the 2nd. http://www.colorado.edu/Sociology/gimenez/work/popissue.html
The third one I don't have as quick an answer on, but the industrial revolution was a result of the rise of capitalism, so I'm sure Marx was aware of how humans were being replaced by machines. Different theorists have tackled this issue.
That's the thing about theoretical work, people can build on it.
I see in the comments there, that you wanted to draw attention to the aspect of speed. I hope you'll elaborate.
TBF
(34,318 posts)what did he miss? Granted Marx spent much more time on critique of capitalism as opposed to theorizing as to what should replace it, but he wasn't off base and his theory is still as relevant today as it was in the 1800s.