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Essay / Karl Marx and capitalism - 893
Karl Marx, in Capital, develops his critique of capitalism by analyzing its characteristics and its evolution throughout history. The critique contains Marx's most developed economic analysis and philosophical insight. Although it was written in the 1850s, its values still play an important role in the globalized world and remain extremely relevant in the 21st century. Karl Marx's critique of political economy provides a scientific understanding of the history of capitalism. Through Marx's criticism, the history of society is revealed. Capitalism is not just an economic system in Marx's analysis. It is a “specific social form of work” strongly linked to society. Marx's critique of capitalism provides us with a deep understanding of the system that allows us to predict its pattern and protect ourselves from its negative sides. Capitalism dominates the world today. Known as a system of wealth creation, the main goal of capitalism is to increase profits through land, labor and the free market. It is a replacement for feudalism and slavery. It promises to ensure equality and raise living standards through equal trade, technological innovation and mass production. However, if we look at the global economy today, we clearly see the disparity between developed and developing countries, as well as the persistence of poverty across the world despite the existence of abundant wealth. This modern problem was predicted and explained one hundred and fifty years ago in Karl Marx's Capital. There were many theories that promoted and explained the workings of the capitalist system; however, Karl Marx's Capital is the first to be able to explain the looming relationship between poverty and wealth, inequality and growth under capitalism. ...... middle of paper ......008, the American economy suffered a great economic crisis known as the "Great Depression" which greatly affected the country. This crisis comes from the greed of the capitalists and the lack of information and understanding of capitalism on the part of the people. Each of us, especially the government, is responsible for allowing such crises to occur. Karl Marx's critique serves as a guideline for us to understand capitalism and recognize its negative effects on our lives. By doing so, we can predict future crises and prevent them from happening. Marx's critique of capitalism was written over one hundred and fifty years ago; however, its value and insight remain extremely relevant in the 21st century. In order to maintain mixed market capitalism, ensuring ethics in business and stable growth, we all need to read and understand Marx's critique..