“Capital is not personal, but social power and product.” (Karl Marx) Karl
Marx, perhaps one of the most influential philosophers in history, is widely
remembered for the revolutionizing ideologies he presented in the Communist
Manifesto. Marx was certainly a man of great intelligence and vision. His many
visions about capitalistic development are constantly reflected in today’s
society. Job alienation is certainly rampant. Most individuals have a “TGIF;
Monday sucks” mentality. To most people work rather than happiness is the
meaning of life; nothing is ever enough—everyone wants more, More, MORE. The
bourgeois are running things, as a large portion of the world’s resources and
wealth is in the hands of a select few. The immediate question that then comes
to mind is whether this is advantageous to society. To correctly answer this
deep question, one must look at the pros and cons of the socialist ideology. In
theory, socialism has several observable benefits. For one, the equality of
humankind presents itself as an important theme. The capitalistic
bourgeois/proletariat relationship that exists is destroyed. Consequently, the
exploitation of the proletariat by the bourgeois is non-existent. Work now takes
on a different meaning—instead of being the result of greed and necessity,
work becomes a means of helping and interacting with society. In the truest form
of communism, acquiring wealth is an unnecessary evil—instead society provides
the individual with an adequate standard of living and vice versa. Ultimately,
an ideal communist state is practically a Utopia. Marx clearly predicted that a
state of Utopia would form with a transition from communism. (Marx detailed
steps to reaching Utopia include: primitive socialism feudalism
capitalismsocialism communism Utopia.) While communism
has its benefits, the reality of reaching these benefits is literally
non-existent. Even Marx predicted that this would be the case!—he said that in
the presence of capitalism, communism will lose. This is a very interesting
statement, and clearly implies that the socialistic ideology is not perfect.
Communism is a Utopia, and therefore it arguably cannot exist. Communism calls
for the cooperation of too many individuals. Everyone would have to be a
productive member of society. Politicians and government officials would have to
govern flawlessly. Any form of corruption could not be tolerated, as it could
bring about total anarchy and downfall. In addition to these troublesome
“technicalities,” the idea of public goods does not always result in the
desired outcome. For example, imagine the creation of a public lawnmower. As
opposed to a private owner who would try to preserve the longevity of the
lawnmower, the public would have no real incentive to take care of the
lawnmower. Certainly, private ownership provides to the preservation of goods
and resources. Also, take into consideration the status of the US public school
system as compared to the US private school system. Private schools have done
remarkably better at producing better results and using less money when compared
to US public schools. To an extent this can also be said for private health
care—in comparing England’s and Canada’s health care systems to that of
the US. Lastly, the communist ideology destroys competition. With no competition
people do not have an incentive to advance. Inferior products that lack quality
and improvement are made. Inferior services that lack needed advancement—such
as health care—are provided. This is not to say that this is the case with all
services and products. However, without competition there is no real desire to
change the norm, regardless of how good or bad it is. This would be especially
damaging to advances in medicine, science, and research.