This essay will discuss capitalism as a system using influential theorists such as Karl Marx and Erich Fromm to explain in detail the influences this system has on our modern day relationships; with specific focus on the western wedding as the epitome of capitalistic control on intimacy.
Capitalism can be explained as an economic and political system in which a country 's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, as opposed to the state (Marx, 1956). It is characterised by innovation and invention working together to produce and exchange commodities in order to accumulate wealth, and a need to maintain this wealth for future accumulation, thus creating a relentless search for profit and controlling almost all aspects of our western culture. Karl Marx, a social scientist and political philosopher with many influential writings on capitalism, explains that while capitalist methods of thinking and doing can be dated back to the middle ages, capitalism as a system is dated from the sixteenth century. Developing out of feudal societies where a select group of lords would control serfs or slaves, who provided manual labour for their masters in order to live (Marx, 1956), and although this system has vastly progressed throughout the …show more content…
However this concept only dates back to the last couple of centuries, where the age of enlightenment pushed people to move away from dogmatic belief and think of their individual pursuit for spirituality, happiness, and love (Taylor, 2011). Before this revelation, the main purposes of a marriage were property and reproduction, for example woman of the Himalayan Mountains would marry all the brothers in a family, ensuring that the sacred amount of fertile land available would not be divided between different households (Moghaddam,
Capitalism can be explained as an economic and political system in which a country 's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, as opposed to the state (Marx, 1956). It is characterised by innovation and invention working together to produce and exchange commodities in order to accumulate wealth, and a need to maintain this wealth for future accumulation, thus creating a relentless search for profit and controlling almost all aspects of our western culture. Karl Marx, a social scientist and political philosopher with many influential writings on capitalism, explains that while capitalist methods of thinking and doing can be dated back to the middle ages, capitalism as a system is dated from the sixteenth century. Developing out of feudal societies where a select group of lords would control serfs or slaves, who provided manual labour for their masters in order to live (Marx, 1956), and although this system has vastly progressed throughout the …show more content…
However this concept only dates back to the last couple of centuries, where the age of enlightenment pushed people to move away from dogmatic belief and think of their individual pursuit for spirituality, happiness, and love (Taylor, 2011). Before this revelation, the main purposes of a marriage were property and reproduction, for example woman of the Himalayan Mountains would marry all the brothers in a family, ensuring that the sacred amount of fertile land available would not be divided between different households (Moghaddam,