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Throughout the first chapter of The Enigma of Capital, David Harvey presents ideas

similar to those espoused by Karl Marx over 150 years earlier. However, Harvey alters the
way these ideas are presented, evaluating them in a more systematic and concrete way,
rather than the dogmatic methods used by Marx in The Communist Manifesto. In addition,
Harvey's views also differ slightly from Marx's, reflecting the changes society has gone
through since the industrial era.
Harvey extensively focuses on globalization in his book, which can be traced back to
Marx's views. Harvey, like Marx, emphasizes that capitalism relies on the creation of new
markets and the discovery of cheaper labor to produce greater profits. He discusses how the
fall of communism and the opening of new markets in former communist nations has vastly
decreased labor costs while also creating new outlets for products (The Enigma of Capital,
page 16). This is a near perfect example of the globalization described by Marx in the
Manifesto: It [the bourgeois] compels all nations, on pain of extinction, to adopt the bourgeois
mode of production. In fact, Marx even explicitly referenced China as an example of a strong,
independent nation that could not resist capitalism (The Communist Manifesto, page 46).
Harvey also adds that global capitalism may not be sustainable - over the years, it has
become harder and harder to find new markets to develop, making growth more difficult to
maintain. This concept probably never even occurred to Marx because in the 19 th century, the
world was much less developed and sustainability wasn't an issue. Even if he did consider
this issue, it is likely that he believed that the communist revolution would occur long before
sustainability became a problem.
Harvey also contributed to Marx's ideas on economic policy in capitalist society. Marx
wrote heavily about how governments allow capitalists to dictate economic policy in the name
of economic freedom, which the working class lacks as it does not have the same wealth as
the bourgeoisie. He even mentions how this freedom is placed above all others, often coming

at the sacrifice of other freedoms. Harvey took this concept and scaled it up, placing it on a
global scale. He used this context to enrich the discussion, as it enabled him to fully utilize the
case of the Mexican bailouts of 1982 in his writing, demonstrating both international capitalist
intervention and how the capitalist's risk can be socialized (The Enigma of Capital, page 19).
For Marx, this sort of context would have only overcomplicated his synthesis, which was
meant to be general and incendiary. Harvey furthered this discussion by concentrating heavily
on the global deregulation of the financial system, which enabled not only bankers, but all
other flavors of capitalists to place risky bets on everything from currency fluctuations to
interest rates. It also enabled companies to grow to the point where entire economies were
dependent on their risky bets and governments were forced to bail them out, thus allowing
capitalists to amass wealth while the worker was forced to pay off their bad investments (The
Enigma of Capital, pages 5, 10, 24). Marx probably failed to mention anything of this sort
because, at the time of the writing of the manifesto, most manufacturers were facing more
regulation, not less. In addition, even he probably couldn't imagine just how monstrous and
complicated capitalism would become over time. Harvey states that even the banks do not
always comprehend the trading practices of their employees at that rate, it would be near
impossible to predict these practices over a century in advance (The Enigma of Capital, page
25).
In his book, Harvey also wrote extensively on economic crises in capitalism and their
inevitability. Like Marx, Harvey believes that capitalism is inherently self destructive and that,
through furthering their own goals, capitalists create problems that eventually lead to
economic crises. Harvey also borrows Marx's idea that capitalists survive these crises through
the exploitation of new markets and the through the destruction of productive power (though
Harvey only implies this by discussing how economic policy is used to increase
unemployment and reduce wages) (The Enigma of Capital, pages 19, 24). However, there is

where the similarities end. While Marx believed that each crisis was to put the existence
of the entire bourgeois society on its trial, Harvey seems to have a much milder view (The
Communist Manifesto, page 41). Marx discusses the revolution of the proletariat and the
impracticality of political action while, conversely, Harvey promotes political action on the part
of the proletariat. In fact, even though Harvey provides recent examples of unrest, such as
various movements and protests, he seems to avoid talking about revolution itself. If Harvey
really does harbor more revolutionary thoughts, it is possible that he is simply trying to
validate his own views by avoiding talk of revolt unlike The Communist Manifesto, The
Enigma of Capital is much less dogmatic and as such, radical ideology could have invalidated
it in the eyes of many. Furthermore, it's also possible that Harvey is a bit jaded. While Marx
believed he had the inevitable downfall of capitalism on his side, Harvey seems to realize that
, time after time, society simply bandages capitalism after each crisis and sends it on its way
towards the next one. In addition, Harvey's witnessing the misguided communist governments
of the world could have impacted his view of communist revolution.

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