Marx On Capitalism

Overall it is more than clear Marx does not support capitalism within this passage. Yet he does state a few things that prove useful when capitalism arises. He recognizes that capitalism does produced “more massive and more colossal” structures (59). Also, he identifies how capitalism produces many products that can prove useful to individuals as well as can be made quickly. The objects capitalism has created such as technology are impressive and have advanced our society in some ways according to Marx. Capitalism also destroyed feudalism which Marx is thankful for. Yet, the majority of the time, Marx expresses many concerns about capitalism. One concern of his is the amount of self-interest capitalism promotes. He says “and has left remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked self- interest, than callous “cash payment”” (57). Obviously Marx thinks capitalism degrades social interaction among people. He even explains how capitalism decays the family structure by tearing apart the sentimental values of the family. Not only are family values at stake but Marx says boldly “It has drowned the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervor, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of philistine sentimentalism, in the icy water of egotistical calculation. It has resolved personal worth into exchange value” (57).
Not only does capitalism degrade human relations, but also replaces the middle class with machinery. Humans become nothing but a commodity. Everything has a value including human labor. The proletariat also known as the middle class are “stripped of its halo every occupation hitherto honored and looked up to with reverent awe” (58). Marx even uses a metaphor explaining how the worker has become “an appendage of a machine”. On top of degrading the middle class individuals to become simply factory workers, Marx argues that capitalism forces nations to be dependent one another. Therefore sometimes the cheap goods of barbaric nations are needed and capitalism barges in. After capitalism takes the cheap commodities it sets up the barbaric and natural state into a capitalist society. “In one word, it creates a world after its own image” states Marx (59). It is clear that Marx does not respect capitalism in anyway other than the immense and vast products it can produce.