Karl Marx Minimum Wage Analysis

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Karl Marx evaluated the capitalistic system through economic and social discourse. He evaluated the effects of the transition from a socially stratified society in feudalism to the capitalistic result that was the current trend in society. I will discuss how the minimum wage debate is viewed through a Marxist perspective Although the means of production was undergoing enormous leaps forward through the industrial revolution, the movement out of feudalism ceased to improve for those who lacked capital or property ownership. During feudalism there was multiple levels of social stratification. However, under the burgeoning new system, capitalism, there was only two social, and economic groups – the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Marx summed …show more content…
This also denies him the ability to sway economic and political laws, and codes. The relationship is mutualistic yet antagonistic at the same time. They are in a symbiotic dance where they rely on one another but are always at odds. The capitalist can maintain his existence a little bit better without the worker, however, the worker would not be able to function without the capitalist (Marx, 1930, p.32). The bourgeoisie is focused on lowering costs of production so he can have a higher surplus, while the proletariat desires a minimum wage, or at least one that will afford him the ability to survive at the very least, with the hopes of getting ahead …show more content…
There was a divergence of inflation and wages in 1968 (DeSilver, 2015). When wages stagnate and the inflation, or cost of living increases, this creates a state where the minimum wage earner is no longer able to sustain the minimum sustainability to provide for their basic needs, let alone have children, or passable enough to raise the children they have. Fast food workers have taken to the streets and protesting that exact fact. The response to this fight has been mixed. Those who are opposed, have increased the already growing sense of alienation that the fast food worker experiences. When opponents argue that the fast food worker should just get an education, that their jobs are only for starter jobs or teenagers. This negates the real financial need and the fact that anyone who sells their labor-power deserves to be able to have a minimum standard of living. Therefore, solidifies the alienation, and isolation felt by those working in the fast food industry. This causes the workers, who are just trying to fight for a wage that will allow them to pay their bills, keep the water on on more day, or to fix their car, to feel like a

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