Liberalism and Marxism in Global Political Economy
Compare and contrast the ideas of Liberalism and Marxism in Global Political Economy
In this essay, I am going to compare and contrast the ideas of Liberalism and Marxism. Using references from online resources and gathering research from books in relation to both subject areas, I will aim to distinguish and explain the key elements and values of both ideologies. I will discuss the history of both ideologies and give evidence of how they have been integrated into society - past and present. Where possible, I aim to highlight similarities as well as the differences, thus acknowledging any contradictions between the two subject areas, whilst clearly demonstrating in-depth research and a thorough understanding of both ideologies. It is a well-known fact that Marxism and Liberalism do indeed share ‘some’ core values which I will address clearly in the main body of my essay, but are they mutually compatible in Global Political Economy?
The idea of Marxism came about in the mid-nineteenth century; Karl Marx and Fredrich En-gels had formed this ideology. However, throughout his life Marx’s thought process changed leaving his ideology open to many conflicting interpretations. Marxism is closely linked to that of communist views. One could even suggest that Marxism was indeed the catalyst which created such communist movements in the modern day. A core value of Marxism is that no person/s should be of greater significance or wealth than any other aiming for a sense of equality. There is no sense of hierarchy. Whereas, with Liberalism, there is a clear manifestation of class divisions. Which the following statement suggests, “For Marxist, the capitalist economy is based on two antagonistic social classes: one class, the Bourgeoisie, owns the means of production; the other class, the proletariat, owns only its labour power which it must sell to the bourgeoisie. So Labour puts in more work than it gets back pay; there is a surplus value appropriated by the bourgeoisie.
In this essay, I am going to compare and contrast the ideas of Liberalism and Marxism. Using references from online resources and gathering research from books in relation to both subject areas, I will aim to distinguish and explain the key elements and values of both ideologies. I will discuss the history of both ideologies and give evidence of how they have been integrated into society - past and present. Where possible, I aim to highlight similarities as well as the differences, thus acknowledging any contradictions between the two subject areas, whilst clearly demonstrating in-depth research and a thorough understanding of both ideologies. It is a well-known fact that Marxism and Liberalism do indeed share ‘some’ core values which I will address clearly in the main body of my essay, but are they mutually compatible in Global Political Economy?
The idea of Marxism came about in the mid-nineteenth century; Karl Marx and Fredrich En-gels had formed this ideology. However, throughout his life Marx’s thought process changed leaving his ideology open to many conflicting interpretations. Marxism is closely linked to that of communist views. One could even suggest that Marxism was indeed the catalyst which created such communist movements in the modern day. A core value of Marxism is that no person/s should be of greater significance or wealth than any other aiming for a sense of equality. There is no sense of hierarchy. Whereas, with Liberalism, there is a clear manifestation of class divisions. Which the following statement suggests, “For Marxist, the capitalist economy is based on two antagonistic social classes: one class, the Bourgeoisie, owns the means of production; the other class, the proletariat, owns only its labour power which it must sell to the bourgeoisie. So Labour puts in more work than it gets back pay; there is a surplus value appropriated by the bourgeoisie.