What is the key concept of Marxism?

Table of Contents:

1. What is the key concept of Marxism?
2. Who makes the decisions in a socialist economy?
3. Is there profit in socialism?
4. Do higher taxes help the economy?
5. Why are rich getting richer and poor getting poorer?
6. Why is capitalism called capitalism?
7. Why is capitalism bad for workers?
8. Why is capitalism not sustainable?

What is the key concept of Marxism?

Key concepts covered include: the dialectic, materialism, commodities, capital, capitalism, labour, surplus-value, the working class, alienation, means of communication, the general intellect, ideology, socialism, communism, and class struggles.

Who makes the decisions in a socialist economy?

In a purely socialist system, all legal production and distribution decisions are made by the government, and individuals rely on the state for everything from food to healthcare. The government determines the output and pricing levels of these goods and services.

Is there profit in socialism?

A socialist economy is a system of production where goods and services are produced directly for use, in contrast to a capitalist economic system, where goods and services are produced to generate profit (and therefore indirectly for use). ... The ownership of the means of production varies in different socialist theories.

Do higher taxes help the economy?

How do taxes affect the economy in the long run? Primarily through the supply side. High marginal tax rates can discourage work, saving, investment, and innovation, while specific tax preferences can affect the allocation of economic resources. But tax cuts can also slow long-run economic growth by increasing deficits.

Why are rich getting richer and poor getting poorer?

Unemployment is at record lows, but the uninsured rate is growing; the economy is expanding, but so is poverty. This is the opposite of what conservative economists promised us. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, despite a record-long economic expansion and massive tax cuts.

Why is capitalism called capitalism?

During this period, the term "capitalism"—originating from the Latin word "capitalis," which means "head of cattle"—was first used by French socialist Louis Blanc in 1850, to signify a system of exclusive ownership of industrial means of production by private individuals rather than shared ownership.

Why is capitalism bad for workers?

Critics of capitalism view the system as inherently exploitative. ... Since capitalists control the means of production (e.g. factories, businesses, machinery and so on) and workers control only their labor, the worker is naturally coerced into allowing their labor to be exploited.

Why is capitalism not sustainable?

Capitalism inevitably tends toward social entropy. ... Once all natural and social capital has been extracted, there will be no source of economic capital. Without capital, an economy loses its ability to produce; it tends toward economic entropy. Today's capitalistic economies quite simply are not sustainable.