A Critical Assessment of Marx’s Exploitation Theory
I have, indeed, been reading lots of philosophy recently.
What is something humans want that transcends time and history? The answer is power over others to reach and achieve supremacy. Exploitation of others is something that no matter the age or time period has been consistent in human time. The sociological theorist Karl Marx knew this and thus his theory of exploitation being the water and soil in which the thorns of capitalism grow from was born. “… one fact is common to all past ages, viz., the exploitation of one part of society by the other”(Marx 16). People must be more aware of capitalisms main goal of exploitation because our entire society and the way it is ran is based on it. It is the very foundation in which society today functions. But exactly how how strong is this argument? What developments confirm this theory is still applicable in the modern age?
Marx’s main argument of his Communist Manifesto is the capitalist mode of production is based on brutal exploitation and that capitalism is only as effective to the extent that people are exploited. In analyzing exploitation, we must first understand it. Exploitation is defined as the act of treating someone or a group of people in an unfair matter to benefit from their work and resources. Marx states in his Communist Manifesto “The bourgeoisie has through its exploitation of the world market given a cosmopolitan character to production and consumption in every country”(Marx 6). The bourgeoisie is the middle class in society and dominates the proletariat (the lowest social class in society). In this quote he is stating that through them exploiting people, they have created this model for the entire world to do the same, thus starting a worldwide cycle of capitalism. Marx also states that the bourgeoisie get over the problem of society being too “narrow” to comprise their wealth by contesting new markets and exploiting old ones (Marx 7). Marx also argues that the role of the proletariat is to retire the crisis of capitalism by “waking up” and realizing the role that their exploitation plays in The Machine. It is only when they realize their importance can they rise up and defeat it through revolution. Now that it is understood what Marx’s argument is, we must ask how strong is it.
To determine whether or not an argument is strong, we must decide if it can be applied throughout history. The Belgian King leopards II’s seizure of the Congo in the 1880’s is the best example of this. Leopold himself exploited not just the resources of the Congo such as ivory and rubber, but those harvesting the resources; the native people of the Congo. These resources and people were exploited for power over the land in the name of the Belgian Empire and for economic purposes. Confirming Marx’s original idea, the Congo people rebelled and rebottles (woke up from the machine) by setting rubber vine Forrests on fire, abandoning their villages for the jungle, and ambushing army units (NationalGeographic.com). Another example that can be applied is the exploitation of workers in the Industrial Revolution. The textile industry was massive and women and children were often employed and worked 16-hour shifts and were paid very little (NationalGeographic.com). During this era, factory work rose astronomically and workers were exploited to extreme levels, leading to poverty and large distances between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. Capitalism boomed and many of Marx’s ideas and arguments were proven. The economy was booming to the extent that it exploited its working class proving capitalism to be a success in the country. Though its proven Marx’s argument has strengths, what are its weaknesses?
The biggest weakness for Marx’s argument is that he built his entire argument around exploitation being completely harmful and not benefiting the proletariat at all. Rather, he does not take into consideration times when exploitation can help people to some degree, even small ones. The biggest example is the exploitation of natural resources. In ancient Egypt, grain was exploited and conserved when times of famine were predicted in order to feed the region and its people. Exploitation of resources also lead to technological advances and economic growth. Diamond mining for example. Diamonds employ about 10 million people across the world. From miners to jewelers and cutters and help with secondary market retailers in industries such as technology and tools and equipment needed for such a demanding industry (AllDiamonds.com).
Is exploitation still an important issue in today's society? The answer is without a doubt, yes. One can argue that every industry in todays capitalistic world is exploitative; the biggest one being the food industry. Today, most of America's food is harvested by immigrant farm workers. These workers are being paid close to nothing despite being the backbone the food industry the country rests on. According to contexts.org , 70% of farm workers today are subject to immigration enforcement, and 50% of farm workers are not legally authorized to work in the United States. Knowing this, the owners of the farms in which these workers work on make it easier for them to be exploited and taken advantage of. Wage theft is a massive problem within this industry, with the Department of Labour find that between 2010 to 2013 $18 million in back wages on 4,231 cases with violations occurred (contexts.org). Another example of exploitation within the world is exploitation in the textile industry. Humanrightspulse.com found that 94% of Cambodian factories looked into breaches of overtime regulations and found that one factory fired 40 workers for refusing to complete overtime work. Factory owners have also been found for firing pregnant women or denying them maternity leave in addition to other instances of violating human rights. These include cruel working conditions, inhumane hours, and unrealistic expectations of workers. Together, both of these industries have the biggest effects on the planet as a whole and impact millions of lives. The industries themselves may be different, but their core success relies on the deep level in which they exploit the working class. These two industries, along with many others, prove Marx’s theory that exploitation proceeds with time and technological advances. If anything, exploitation is even more prevalent to today’s era than ever before.
Exploitation is something that has occurred all throughout history all across the globe. Karl Marx’s central argument is that capitalism is only as successful to the extent as it exploits people, which has proven to be true. It can be said that capitalism has never been more powerful than it is in todays age and this is because of how many people are being exploited and their rights violated. Although his argument is incredibly strong as throughout history exploitation has been a common occurrence, as seen in the Congo and the industrial revolution, his main weakness to the argument is that exploitation cannot have any benefits whatsoever. The spread of capitalistic societies across the world has made it so more and more individuals are exploited and their rights violated. The question begs, will we as a world ever wake up and destroy The Machine? Or, will we continue to fall victim to the murderous machine of capitalism and allow it to keep its power over us as a society?
