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Annotated Bibliography of Marxism

Menand, L. (2016, October 3). Karl Marx, Yesterday and Today. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/10/karl-marx-yesterday-and-today

In this article, Louis Menand, explained the views of Karl Marx and analyzed them; posing the question that whether Marxism was relevant today or not? He explained the concept thoroughly by stating that Marxism was a utopian view of the world where there were no class systems or hierarchy. This idea is utopian as today in a highly capitalist society everyone is divided into different classes based on status, race, education, etc. The level of inequality in today’s societies is phenomenal as there is a lot of senseless injustice (Menand, 2016).

The article is extremely detailed and allows the readers to understand the concept of Marxism. It is indeed true that capitalism leaves no room for Marxism also known as communism, the reason behind this may be that the concept looks perfect on paper, however; the physical manifestations of this concept have been extremely horrendous. The concept of capitalism may be flawed but it does not repress the general public. Every person is allowed the equal opportunity and a promise of a better life if they work hard enough. According to Marx “abolition of private property and public ownership”, will remove in equality but it is not due to societal concept as humans are unpredictable variables (Myers & Noebel, 2015).

Palermo, G. (2019). Power: A Marxist view: Coercion and exploitation in the capitalist mode of production. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 43(5), 1353–1375. https://doi.org/10.1093/cje/bey055

Author Giulio Palermo analyzed the exploitation of power through the lens of Marxism. He wrote that it is true that Capitalism brought equal opportunity to everyone, however; the biggest side effect of capitalism is the exploitation of power. The powerful people have become even more powerful and the wealth they have accumulated in the process has turned into generational wealth. This concept was supposed to give everyone equal opportunity but the only goal it has accomplished is keeping each class in their respective places. If concepts of Marxism are applied to capitalism then no one will be able to exploit any power (Palermo, 2019).

The author has genuine concerns about society, however; there is no magic solution to problems that have grown immensely over the decades. Concepts of Marxism which is “classless and stateless utopian society” cannot just be introduced today in hopes of solving all the problems till the next day. Capitalism is indeed flawed but flaws also exist in Marxism so work should be done to diminish these flaws in the system instead of opting for complete change as it will disrupt the flow of life. Slowly making changes will allow for a much better resolution of problems over time (Myers & Noebel, 2015).

Raja, D. (2020, May 4). Reading Marx in times of COVID-19. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/karl-marx-covid-19-capitalism-6393538/

D. Raja, the author of “Reading Marx in times of Covid-19”, observed the capitalist societies through the views of Karl Marx. He wrote that in capitalism only a few groups are affected during this pandemic and those being the lower class and middle class. The lower class suffered more severely as not only did they face problems finding work during this pandemic but they also live in extremely poor conditions. They live in overly populated areas that made the virus spread within days. This would not have happened if there was no class system and everyone was treated the same (Raja, 2020).

The article is written from the heart and the reader can feel the sadness of the author, however; this pandemic might not have been any different if the societies were communists instead of the capitalist. Division can occur in any society; take for example the monarch rule where there was a clear line drawn between the royalty and the common people. This article focuses on the “what if?” aspect of the pandemic and speculates on an opinion that would not have changed the effects of the pandemic. Marx “ideal community”, was only ideal on paper just like any other concept “(Myers & Noebel, 2015)”

Pal, M. (2018, February 25). Introducing Marxism in International Relations Theory. E-International Relations. https://www.e-ir.info/2018/02/25/introducing-marxism-in-international-relations-theory/

Maia Pal uses Marxism and applies it to the International Relations theory. The author uses the principles of Marxism and speculates that if the society was according to these principles then there would not have been any need for borders and countries as these are symbols of division which Marx was against. People would only be dependant on the land for resources and have equal standing in the society, however; would this kind of society work? The answer to that is “no”. History has taught us time and time again that without order there is only chaos (Pal, 2018).

The author constructed the utopian society of Marx which is a “stateless utopia”, in a global setting and then pointed out the flaw in this theory which is lack of order. Humans have always responded to order and thrived under it. If there is no order people become lazy and start to slack off resulting in chaos so this society is a good dream but it is only that and nothing more. The world will collapse if it follows Marx’s theory to the letter (Myers & Noebel, 2015).

Varghese, R. (2020, April 16). Marxist World. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2018-06-14/marxist-world

In the article “What did you expect from capitalism?”, Robin Varghese observes that whenever there is an economic crisis then Marxists are heard saying that such events would not have happened if the world followed Marxism. The author, however; negates this point of view by saying that the flaw does not exist with the concept of capitalism but with the greed of the rich in our society. If the rich do not find creative ways to evade taxation the economy would not fall into turmoil.

The author points out a valid point as in every society; greed of one human and is a cause for suffering for the other. So capitalism is not as flawed as the Marxists believe it to be; as it provides stability to society and has defined rules that should be followed. This is not the case for rich people as they tend to put themselves before other people’s needs (Varghese, 2020). People have an inherent need for completion so Marxism which “tends to remove competition”, would have led to more problems eventually (Myers & Noebel, 2015).

References

Menand, L. (2016, October 3). Karl Marx, Yesterday and Today. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/10/karl-marx-yesterday-and-today

Myers, J., & Noebel, D. A. (2015). Understanding the times: A survey of competing worldviews. David C Cook.

Pal, M. (2018, February 25). Introducing Marxism in International Relations Theory. E-International Relations. https://www.e-ir.info/2018/02/25/introducing-marxism-in-international-relations-theory/

Palermo, G. (2019). Power: A Marxist view: Coercion and exploitation in the capitalist mode of production. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 43(5), 1353–1375. https://doi.org/10.1093/cje/bey055

Raja, D. (2020, May 4). Reading Marx in times of COVID-19. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/karl-marx-covid-19-capitalism-6393538/

Varghese, R. (2020, April 16). Marxist World. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2018-06-14/marxist-world

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