Preview

Communism Vs. Capitalism In Communist Manifesto By Karl Marx

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
920 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Communism Vs. Capitalism In Communist Manifesto By Karl Marx
Communism vs. Capitalism

In the political tract the Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx describes communism as the party that "fights for the interests of the working class" while capitalists are considered "dependent and have no individuality -- only capital is dependent and has individuality". Both of Marx's statements are true in nature but when the two economic systems are put in practice, they quickly disintegrate into the same end result today, that is to say that most communistic nations fail while capitalists flourish. There will never be a pure version of capitalism or communism. However, capitalism, despite its many flaws, has a proven track record; while communism has failed in practice. An argument can be made for reformation
…show more content…

For communism to work, members of society either need to be altruistic enough to want to work for the benefit of their neighbors, or they need to be forward thinking enough to see that what benefits the whole will, in turn, benefits themselves. Members of society must be far-sighted enough to be able to comprehend large-scale social benefits, which tend to be more abstract in nature and more difficult to recognize. In contrast, capitalism allows for an individual to obtain a paycheck, buy a material good and have a tangible object that can directly relate to the individual's effort. If human nature is basically egoistic, then true communism will not work. People are inherently selfish and therefore, working for the common good will be a lesser priority as opposed to the tendency to freeload or otherwise take advantage of the system. There it becomes apparent the inherent flaw in the communist model. All communist economies eventually flounder because of …show more content…

Capitalism feeds off of the inherent greed and egocentric nature in human beings. Instead of forcing a predetermined limit on production, capitalism encourages the individual to compete amongst neighbors to come out on the top of the economic ladder. In a form of socialistic Darwinism, in a capitalistic society, only the strongest and the wisest survive while the rest simple fade away. This leads to a society that is dominated by progress and competition. However, a truly capitalistic society would follow this model without regard to the weaker competition. The current forms of western capitalism are heavily modified by government rules that amend the unfavorable side-effects, such as, depressions, excessive inequality, poverty, etc. In these countries, when inequalities generated by capitalism became too great, the exploited and oppressed masses pressure their representatives to pass laws that relieved the poor segments of the population. Ironically, it is the economic system that is supposed to benefit the entire population that creates two very distinguishable classes of only the poor and the rich. Only in a capitalistic society would one find the so called "middle class." The desire for man to have more than anyone else drives the capitalistic system to success. There will always be someone in a capitalist society that will be able to do a little better, which in turn

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Capitalism is the gasoline to the car of the first-world nations. It is what sadly seems in America and many other countries alike to make the Earth go around. This has become an addiction and disease of America. Everyone has been victim to the issues of capitalism as it has been deeply engrained and rooted at birth. We start off wanting just a few things but once we find out there is so much more out there we get locked into the material things of life.…

    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the primary principles of communist is that capitalism is characteristically awful and represented a risk to the common laborers. Meanwhile, “The capitalists believed there should be a free economy in which private individuals made most decisions” (Brookioh, 2012). The communists see every single entrepreneur country as conceivable foes. As indicated by them, capitalism will in the end crush itself and it is their obligation to help it along. They deny participation amongst themselves and capitalist countries ideologically.…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Capitalism is a system that forces the individual to play by its rules. These events or public changes to society are challenges that either help or hinder a group, a society or the individual. Events reinforce a person’s survival instincts and the capitalist is always in the middle trying to figure out how they could make money off of these events/challenges. Capitalism existence is inevitable but we allow it to further take advantages of the struggling and the greedy, the spirt of capitalism. This has been emphasized and drilled into the individual to believe they have a “duty” to this capitalism- to be rich and find riches at all cost. “…many diffuse, discrete, more or less present and occasionally absent concrete individual phenomena, which are arranged according to those one-sidedly emphasized viewpoints into a unified analytical construct (p.274).” This is simply one sided, in which it enriches more of the 1 percent. This is where the “ideal types” become the influenced objective causes of actions. We work harder for the idea that we will rise only to indebt ourselves more and to…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Capitalism helps everyone make money in a way , it lets wealthy people create jobs for the poor…

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Communism is a type of socialism and socialism is based around the idea of the states being owner of their means of production. Communism is based upon the ideology of Marxism. Marxism criticized Christianity by claiming that it was untrue because it took the side of the wealthy oppressors (Shelley 2008). The movement that we know as communism today was started by Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov know as Lenin. Lenin believed that violence was Marxism’s ultimate weapon (Shelley 2008). The theory that came from these two men’s ideas coming together was the Marxist-Leninist theory which claimed “Christianity is an illusory reflection of the world resulting from class divisions” (Shelley 2008). Communism was about not letting society become classless because Lenin believed that religion would take away the power of government and to him that could not…

    • 1021 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Capitalism is an economic and political system in which industry and trade are managed by individual owners for profit, rather than by the government. There are both benefits and negative consequences to the system of capitalism because of this it is in my opinion impossible to reap to reap the benefits of capitalism without experiencing any of the negative consequences.…

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx is an economical and philosophical ideology that is centered on communism. Specifically, it is centered on the redistribution of wealth so that everyone in a specified nation or State is completely equal in wealth for the “betterment” of the society. This in theory eliminates the class system and as a result is intended to eliminate the oppression that comes along with the class separation and wage gap. Thankfully, for me this literary piece’s brilliance does not come simply from Marx’s economic ideals but instead it comes from the simple fact that it exists at all. What challenges me and forces me to strive towards betterment is that the Communist Manifesto serves as a reminder to me that it is…

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Capitalism is a hegemonic global, economic, and social order that increasingly shows a fatal contradiction between reality and reason, where it threatens human welfare as well as but also the continuation of most sensitive forms of life on the planet. Three critical crises make up the contemporary world condition originating from capitalist development: the emergence of global imperial instability associated with shifting world hegemony; the Great Financial Crisis and stagnation/depression; the growing threat of planetary ecological collapse.…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Socialism -vs- Capitalism

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Socialism vs. Capitalism Samantha Conti University of Phoenix Comm. /105 –January 12, 2008 The disadvantages of Communism are that people have to be willing to work for the greater good of society, not just themselves. They will not receive all the fruits of their labor, no matter hoe much you work you will always get the same salary. Why would you want to work so hard if you were going to make the same amount of money? Human rights abuses, lack of incentives for progress for individuals which results in a slow progressing society as a whole. Under Socialist theory the individual’s needs are determined and satisfied collectively. Dissent and venturing out on one’s own are not option. Everyone is an employee and tenant of the state. In Communism people have little rights, everything is run by the government resulting in enormous economic failures, including famine, militarism and propaganda to cover-up the systematic failures of the government. Capitalism was developed in Europe in the 19th and early 20th century. Capitalism is an economic arrangement in which people have the individual liberty and the right to own property and to do what they wish with their property as long as it does not harm anyone else. These freedoms set Capitalism apart from all other kinds of economic arrangements. The Capitalist system is based in giving each individual the freedom to better (or worse him or herself). Capitalism signifies means of production. The heart of Capitalism is the producer’s right to make what he wants and the consumer’s right to choose what to buy. A free market economy and free enterprise. The major benefit of Capitalism is private property, the concept that people have the right and privilege to control their possessions as they wish. In a Capitalism economy the role of the government reflect the desire and goals of its citizens. Capitalism societies suffer from poverty too, but in a different way as there is a vastly unequal distribution of wealth (a few…

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Communism gives everyone equal opportunity to make money and create a self-sufficient nation, increasing a country’s overall employment and productivity. Furthermore with a larger workforce, a company can produce at a far more efficient rate in order to satisfy the needs of a growing market. In theory Communism provides the solution to all the economic, and social issues and divisions that create conflict within…

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    How Did Communism Fail

    • 376 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Communism has a beneficial core to its ideals, but in practice has been proven to lead to failure. Whether it was in Europe or North America, a part of the Bolshevik party or New Harmony, communism has been a failed system, and until it has been updated, it should be left behind in the history…

    • 376 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Capitalism And Socialism

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership. It is good because there is a welfare capitalism. John Maynard Keynes said, "Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men, for the nastiest of reasons, will somehow work for the benefit of us all." Capitalisms…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marxism and the ideals of the Communist Manifesto diffused during the twentieth century in a variety of similar yet differentiated ways. Marx, Engels, and Lenin's version of communism was created and seen as entirely equal in the proletarian class. China and the Soviet Union implemented these ideas of building a classless society destroying exploitation and the occurrence of equality amongst the people. Both of these nations adapted and differentiated these idea,s to their needs, this all lead to the slowing or breaking of their country economically, politically, and socially.…

    • 576 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Antithesis Vs Communism

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Will Rogers once stated, “Communism is like prohibition; it’s a good idea but it won’t work.” Since it’s inception in mid 1800’s, Communism has been an idea that has had its ups and downs. Based on the idea of eliminating class antagonism, Communism is a synthesis of two separate entities. In a class system there exist owners and workers. Owners control the majority of the wealth and means of production. These persons were referred to as the bourgeoisie where as the workers, who only earned a small wage, were known as the proletariat. These two units can be seen as a thesis and antithesis, and by combining these two a synthesis, or in this case Communism, was created.…

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Health

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Communism also reduces your citizen’s incentive to work hard. In a communist state everyone acquires the same amount of money. This is good for the facilitation of the state. Although, due to this lack of incentives the people who work a more difficult job will most likely lose motivation rather quickly. This lack of motivation will be evident in their work. You will slowly see a decrease in work effort and in the overall performance of your citizens. This will severely hurt your countries ability to create high quality goods and new technologies. In turn the lack of incentives will leave your country in a frozen technological stone…

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays