Understanding Marxism

Explore Karl Marx's theory basics in simple terms.

[petersteenkamp]

The big error of Marx is that he ignores labor productivity. Take for example a shoemaker who produces 2 pairs of shoes per hour using simple tools. Then an investor comes along offering the use of a machine that allows him to produce 10 pairs of shoes, but the investor gets to keep half of that. It is a good deal for both parties. So the oppression narrative is wrong. The labor theory of value is wrong, value is determined by market price, and the value of labor gets amplified by labor productivity, for which you can thank the capitalist.
Most production is done by organized groups. To produce things, you bring in production factors: labor, ideas, capital, management, know-how, etc. The resulting products are sold and the resulting money gets divided among those who brought in the production factors. Those who brought in the rarest production factor have the best negotiation position to get the biggest slice of the resulting money. In Marx's time, there were few factories and many workers, so the factory owners could demand the lion's share of the result. But as more and more factories got built, the factory owners' negotiation position weakened, leading to much better deals for the workers.

[edwardlarson]

Friedrich Engels, not "Ingles".

[psikeyhackr]

Marx used the word 'depreciation' 35 times in the first two volumes of his major work. He never made any mention of Planned Obsolescence. He never saw automobiles or refrigerators.

The concept of GNP/GDP was developed in the late 1930s. Economists do not mention NNP/NDP very much. Almost never in fact. They only subtract the depreciation of Capital Goods like industrial robots and 18-wheel. The depreciation of durable consumer goods which may be subject to Planned Obsolescence is not worthy of their notice.

Socialists do not seem to be able to figure out that we are running the planet on defective algebra. Where is the data on the annual depreciation of automobiles since Sputnik?