What Did Karl Marx Predict?

What did Karl Marx predict?

When talking about Marxism, the first thing one needs to understand is that Marx’s theories were not simply about economic structure—they were a set of predictions based on, what Marx believed to be, human nature. He believed that capitalism was an oppressive structure that favored the employer through the exploitation of the labor put forth by the employee. It was an overly simplistic outlook on business along with an incorrect analysis of human nature. A failure to acknowledge that ideas and other intangible factors play a big role in the flourishing of mankind.

Pre-industrialization, man typically worked for himself. People hunted or farmed their own food, built their own homes, harvested their own materials, and so on. Once the industrial revolution took place, life improved dramatically through the ability to streamline access to various resources necessary for everyday life and beyond. As the market began to optimize itself, manufacturing became a huge industry and workers began exchanging their labor for wages. Marx claimed that a wage for labor opened an opportunity to exploit the employee and pay him less than he deserved—but Marx failed to realize that the value of labor was set by the market, like the way cost of materials is set by the market. Another mistake Marx made was failing to consider all the various components of an operation—business operations were not solely upheld by the labor of the worker.

Believing that labor is the sole component in a business is ridiculous. It is an utter failure to acknowledge all the other costs and risks the employer is burdened with: facilities, materials, machinery, tools, insurance, tax codes, management structure, logistics, innovative ideas, etc. You would have to be a complete fool to walk into a manufacturing facility and believe that the workers are the only thing contributing to the final product. However, this is essentially what Marx is proposing when he divides the economy into merely two categories: employer and employee. The boss and the sweat. The bourgeoisie and the proletariat. In reality, businesses are complex pieces of an intricate exchange of services and goods that make up an economy.

From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs is a Marxist idea often translated, incorrectly, as an idea of sharing—in reality, Marx is propagating an idea that citizens will be provided for…that all the needs of basic human life will be met, which will allow individuals to spend their days working for the betterment of society. An idea that time has exposed as extremely misguided. Man is not driven by his economic circumstance. Instead, man is mostly driven by his ideas and desires. This is precisely why a state-provided means of living is not conducive to a utopian society. It is quite literally the opposite.