Volante, Nesie B.

JD1 Section B

Marxism in Today’s World

Karl Marx was particularly interested in the role of labor in human existence. For him,

man’s primary role in life was that of a producer. According to the Marxist Model, the mode of

production creates two social classes. These are the capitalists or bourgeoisie and the working

class or the proletariats. The capitalists own the means of production while the proletariats

produce the labor needed for production. Following this theory, since the capitalists own the

means of production they are considered as the dominant class. Hence, for Marx, the state is just

another social institution controlled and manipulated by the capitalist. He further, contended that

the capitalist system can only be sustained by the constant exploitation of the proletariat.

Having explained this time immemorial theory, we now ask the question if Marxism is still

applicable today. I argue that the Marxist Theory is still relevant today especially in relation to

globalization and the exponential advancement of technology. Globalization which refers to the

increased interconnectedness around the globe has generated a lot of opportunities; however, it has

also worsened other problems such as income inequalities, labor exploitation, etc. As pointed out

by Dr. Mansoor Khan, a professor of international relations, while mass media claims that

globalization is a natural and inevitable phenomenon, it should be seen as a political project driven

by the powerful elites of this world with radical agenda. Using the Marxist theory, globalization

can be seen as a tool used by the capitalists to suppress developing countries from catching up with

the rest of the world. Consider the case of multinational corporations who relocate their

manufacturing processes to other countries in order to cut costs through cheap and unethical labor.

Recently, as reported by the Guardian, Nestle, the world’s largest food maker and one of the most

recognizable household brands has admitted that it had found forced labor in its supply chain in
Thailand and that its customers were buying products tainted with blood and sweat of poor, unpaid

and abused migrant workers.

It has also been said that we are in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This is

characterized by emerging technology breakthroughs such as artificial (AI) intelligence, robotics,

the Internet of Things, 3D printers, nanotechnology etc. Many including Elon Musk expressed fear

regarding the advancement of artificial intelligence. It is projected that AI will result in mass global

unemployment as jobs are increasingly becoming automated and human labor is no longer

required. Following Marx’ theory, it can then be expected that developing countries will continue

to lag behind in the Fourth Industrial Revolution while technologically advanced countries like

Japan and the United States will stay ahead of the curve.