Karl Marx started and ended his life as a member of an oppressed group. Being of a Jewish heritage, a descendent of a long line of Rabbi in Germany, Marx had every idea what it was to be on the outside looking in. However, Marx had the opportunity to do something that most do not, trade in his stigma, his Jewish heritage, in order to maintain and grow his legal practice. Relinquishing his stigma did not however remove the awareness that Marx had in regard to the construct of society and classes. This awareness spurned a series of political, social, and, perceived, radical ideals and theories that made him an enemy of many land; including his homeland of Prussia. Keenly affected by the mistreatment of the poor by the government and peasant
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At this time Marx became intellectually influenced by Henri de Saint-Simon and his followers (Appelrouth & Edles 2012). During this time Marx formulated Christian Socialism, an attempt at organizing modern industrial society according to the social principles espoused by Christianity (Appelrouth & Edles 2012). The contributions of many forward thinkers went into forming the established theories of Marx including, but not limited to, political economists Adam Smith and David Ricardo. During this time Marx also established a longstanding collaborative relationship with Friedrich Engels (Appelrouth & Edles …show more content…
Employees of Walmart. According to Marx the root of capitalism is commodities, how these commodities are processed is dependent on which level of society is processing them. The laborer functions on the level where the circulation of commodities is C-M-C, the transformation of commodities into capital in order to exchange that capital for commodities (Appelrouth & Edles 2012). This cycle is normally one in which they never really get ahead, because the capital which they receive is barely enough to cover their purchased commodities. For Walmart however the cycle works somewhat in reverse, M-C-M, capital into commodities and back into capital (Appelrouth & Edles 2012). Walmart invests capital into its employees by way of pay in exchange for the commodity offered by the worker, their labor, which in turn grants Walmart additional commodity through sales. The money that Walmart puts out in pay to its employees is just enough to provide basic sustenance, the wages received by the employee are often cycled right back into Walmart by purchasing those basic items. So, Walmart benefits twice by this arrangement because not only do non-employees shop in their store, but employees as well, so commodities paid out are paid right back in. Most of the positions at this store provide no real source of income or personal achievement which more often than not results in the alienation of the employee. Many employees are
At this time Marx became intellectually influenced by Henri de Saint-Simon and his followers (Appelrouth & Edles 2012). During this time Marx formulated Christian Socialism, an attempt at organizing modern industrial society according to the social principles espoused by Christianity (Appelrouth & Edles 2012). The contributions of many forward thinkers went into forming the established theories of Marx including, but not limited to, political economists Adam Smith and David Ricardo. During this time Marx also established a longstanding collaborative relationship with Friedrich Engels (Appelrouth & Edles …show more content…
Employees of Walmart. According to Marx the root of capitalism is commodities, how these commodities are processed is dependent on which level of society is processing them. The laborer functions on the level where the circulation of commodities is C-M-C, the transformation of commodities into capital in order to exchange that capital for commodities (Appelrouth & Edles 2012). This cycle is normally one in which they never really get ahead, because the capital which they receive is barely enough to cover their purchased commodities. For Walmart however the cycle works somewhat in reverse, M-C-M, capital into commodities and back into capital (Appelrouth & Edles 2012). Walmart invests capital into its employees by way of pay in exchange for the commodity offered by the worker, their labor, which in turn grants Walmart additional commodity through sales. The money that Walmart puts out in pay to its employees is just enough to provide basic sustenance, the wages received by the employee are often cycled right back into Walmart by purchasing those basic items. So, Walmart benefits twice by this arrangement because not only do non-employees shop in their store, but employees as well, so commodities paid out are paid right back in. Most of the positions at this store provide no real source of income or personal achievement which more often than not results in the alienation of the employee. Many employees are