A Bestie for Modern Times

Capitalism is the bestie of our modern times. Imagine how many purchases you make a day, or how many times you consider doing so. Imagine the things that have shaped your youth and culture. Imagine what you strive for when you work at your job, or when you attend your classes day in and day out. Economic stability at least. But more likely the rise and grind culture of many.

We’re taught to want and cherish things. How cool would it be, for instance, if I had the newest technology in my pocket? Or if I had the thing that I saw a TikToker advertise in her video? Imagine what I would look like in that dress from that ethically questionable company with the known sweatshops! The list goes on and on.

We pay subscriptions to access digital material. We hope for economic security so that we can do “better” than our parents, and can give our children (should we choose to have them) a better world.

Capitalism is not all about getting designer clothes or uppity cars. It can be about the very consumerist mindset that we’re taught to love and appreciate. But how did we get here? And why question this system? Our good friend Karl Marx has some of the answers, but so do those before and after him.

The Origins of Capitalism and Its Critique

To consider Marxism as a critique of capitalism, it’s important to understand the historical roots of capitalism and therefore the historical roots of Karl Marx, his buddy and translator (and GoFundMe) Friedrich Engels, and those who followed. None of these people existed in some kind of ahistorical vacuum.

And indeed, history was, to Marx, a very important part of his critical system. We will discuss more of this in another post, but it’s important to know that Marx was a huge Hegel fanboy. Who isn’t, right? He took on Hegel’s dialectic and made it more accessible, because Marx, while he was a Hegel bro, did not really like philosophy as a study–or philosophers themselves.

Marx believed more in the power of philosophy as a tool of criticism and action. And he wanted to act meaningfully in a world that was quickly becoming polluted, while exploiting men, women, and children through work. He was fighting against the peak of the Industrial Revolution.

The Advances (and Disadvantages) of the Industrial Revolution

During what we call the Modern era, the Industrial Revolution began in the latter half of the 18th century, with the advent of certain technology that assisted in the production of everything from textiles to food manufactory. In addition, other technologies were born of this era, including railroads for quicker transportation.

In terms of technological advances, the 19th century in particular was hoppin’ with the inventions of photography, telegraphs, the cotton gin, etc., etc.

But this era also ushered in something that was quite different in the Western world: a new class of people, the nouveau riche, or the bourgeoisie. These people earned massive amounts of income by using some of these innovations to their advantage, and by hiring people to use these innovations for them. They then gained capital for themselves, and paid their workers wages.

This was a new class of people. Until now, there were more "common" people, who worked fields or were in positions of service to the aristocratic class, which had existed since the Middle Ages. This class, while not always well-monied, had bloodlines that traced back to William the Conqueror or some other cool noble family. They held political and economic sway for those “beneath” them.

But with this revolution, you get the owner of the factory or the railroad magnate. You get these business-minded men who take advantage of the new technologies, investors, and a starving workforce, and get them to work.

Industrial Life in the 19th Century: Not That Great for Most

Working conditions in Marx’s day were not anywhere near ideal. Workers in factories included women and children (even young children). Sometimes, it was argued, children were needed for such jobs because of their small stature. As a result, they could operate a part of a factory machine that others could not.

Workers often lived in dingy apartments, several families to a room in some instances. Women who worked and did not have husbands sometimes sent their children off to “baby farms,” where they would pay for a kindly woman to take care of them, since they had neither time nor money to do so themselves. A life of drudgery in the factories or mines was often the most the new working class could hope for.

Capitalism, Unfettered

What Marx observed was, there were no limits to this capitalism. There were no stops on this new class that exploited those who worked for them. There were no stops in place to prevent children from working in factories or mines. There were no stops to improve working conditions that were deplorable. There were no stops on the profit.

As such, Marx began his arduous task of compiling criticisms of the status quo at the time. Some say these were exemplified in The Communist Manifesto, that hallowed yet controversial document that would prove to be one of the most important for the 20th century. 

Today's Capitalism: Also Not That Great

But the society he knew, thankfully, does not exist today, in a lot of countries. You won’t find children laboring at factories in the same England where Marx resided until his death. You won’t find twenty people to a tenement in most nicer areas of the United States. You won’t find strange particles in manufactured food, when it’s a better year.

The truth is, all of these things continue to exist in some shape, but in addition, we can’t imagine that Marx could have thought about the additional joys of late stage capitalism, like the impact of advertising and influencers, the pressure to buy, and the advent of the office job. Imagine what criticisms he could make today!

But while Karl Marx was writing in a specific time period, we can still find power in  his criticisms of capitalism and those who exploit the worker. He gave us the tools of critique, rebuke, and imagine a future that could be better. How better is up to us.