Das Nexus

The political, social, and economic aspects of society are closely intertwined. We must be careful not to delve too much into the sociopolitical aspects of Marxism, and refine our focus on the economic aspect to see if we can gain greater insight beyond just "Communism is bad." This post explores the economic feasibility of the concept, not personal support on this subject.

Marxism
The basic outline of this theory is that there exists two main classes: the bourgeoisie (upper class) and the proletariat (working class). The simplification of social hierarchy to these two classes, according to Marx, began in the Bourgeois Revolution which coincided with the French Revolution. To fight against the oppression of the bourgeoisie, there would be a Proletarian Revolution which would result in the establishment of socialism. Under this system, every individual would have direct access to the means of production, and one would be rewarded in proportion to one's contribution. Marx extended his idea off of socialism, claiming that as production forces (technologies) advance, a classless, stateless, humane "communist" society will supersede the socialist society. The society would be based off of the underlying principle "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."

Marxian economics, or the economic system which would operate under this ultra-socialist society, is an alternative to a fundamental flaw of capitalism: the law of diminishing returns. In actuality, it is slightly more complex than that. Scarcity is a driving factor of market economy -- the cycle of consumption and production allows scarcity to facilitate economic flow rather than restrict it. However, as time progresses, the law of diminishing returns would make a product no longer profitable at a very small quantity. Marx argues that the decrease in the threshold of diminishing returns would cause a decrease in wages and social benefits. Even without a greater mode of production, Marx believes that profit based directly on contribution would distribute the effects of scarcity evenly in a population, stagnating the effects of diminishing returns. Friedrich Engels encapsulates this concept concisely in his statement, "Then the capitalist mode of appropriation in which the product enslaves first the producer, and then appropriator, is replaced by the mode of appropriation of the product that is based upon the nature of the modern means of production; upon the one hand, direct social appropriation, as means to the maintenance and extension of production on the other, direct individual appropriation, as means of subsistence and of enjoyment."

This theory is often dismissed as completely infeasible. However, in practice, it does solve the basic economic issue it seeks to solve, and seems to work on a community scale. There is also a common misconception that such a system completely eliminates private property. Private property is essential to every individual in a society, regardless what social framework is in place. In a Communist society, private property is realized through the exploitation of public means of production. In other words, a property can only be classified as "private" once an individual obtains it, with his or her own labor, through a public facility.

Inapplicability of Marxism
It is important to realize that Marxism is inapplicable in the approach to establish this type of society, rather than the actual mechanism on which it operates. There are two conditions which must be satisfied for a Marxist transformation to take place:

1. Society is clearly divided into two main classes: the bourgeois and the proletariat
2. The wealth gap is so immense it is nearly impossible for a proletariat to become a bourgeois
3. Proletarians are oppressed by the bourgeoisie through the implementation of unfair wages
4. There is not a distinctive hierarchy within each social class
5. The governing power is dominated by the bourgeois class

These conditions are difficult to satisfy unless the distinction between the two classes is sustained through a long period of time. During the Industrial Revolution, the transformation between an agrarian and an urban society overlaps with the advent of a new middle class. To complicate the situation even more, several European countries such as Great Britain retained the tradition of monarchy. The intermix of classes inhibited society from moving towards the direction Marx had predicted.

Marxism and Modern Communism

It is evident that modern icons of Communism, China, Russia, and North Korea, are not truly Communist states. In fact, Marx argues that society will uniformly move towards Communism, so the idea of states and nations would not apply to such a society. In addition to not satisfying the aforementioned criteria, all communist regimes have commonly risen through a central authority. This does not align with the Proletarian Revolution which Marx had described. The economies of modern Communist regimes are simulated economies -- a system closer to the Ancien Regime than to the Marxian economy.