Philosophy of Management and

Organisations

MANG2057 - Individual Essay

STUDENT ID: 32571755

MANG2057 | Word count: 2771
Introduction

German philosopher Karl Marx is one of the most influential and prolific thinkers of the 19th
century, whose philosophies have had a significant impact on social and political movements
throughout history. His theories had a major impact on the development of socialism and
communism and still remain relevant in the 21st century.

Best known for his writing of The Communist Manifesto, with Friedrich Engels in 1848, Marx
critiques capitalism and the exploitation of the working class (Wood, 2012). Marxism, an
economic, political, and social theory, examines the various effects capitalism has upon
economic development and labour, stating that worker revolutions favouring communism
over capitalism are unavoidable (Levi, 1991). It states that socialism and eventually
communism will replace capitalism after it self-destructs (Laski, 1999). Marxism has had a
significant influence on several social and political movements throughout history, with the
Russian Revolution being one of the most notable.

Marx's ideas remain as relevant in today's society as they did when first formulated in the
19th century. Globally, capitalism still affects many individuals in the form of low wages, pay
disparity and the exploitation of labour. In the early 1970s, Braverman famously supported
the Marxist notion that the capitalist system is what has led to the degradation of work and
that the labour process has been transformed from a craft into merely a mechanised process
(Braverman, 1974). Through this, it is clear that Marx's theories and emphasis on the need for
a socialist revolution are still applicable and important.

In this essay, I will be exploring Karl Marx’s views and philosophical outlook on capitalism,
with specific emphasis on the class struggle and Marx’s notion of the dictatorship of the
proletariat. Additionally, I will discuss alienation and exploitation due to capitalism and finally,
various critiques of Marxism and a communist economic system.

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Class Struggle

The communist manifesto (1848) highlights how capitalist systems exploit workers and how
the system would collapse if deprived of workers' labour power; unable to operate nor
generate any profit. The introduction of the manifesto notes how our society's history is
essentially a ‘history of class struggle’ (Marx and Engels, 1848). This connotes how class
struggle has been the driving force of societal issues and how the current capitalist system is
evidently the culmination of this. The introduction concludes by emphasising that workers
should act in a “revolutionary reconstitution” of society and a rallying cry of, “Workers of the
world, unite!” (Marx and Engels, 1848).

Marx outlines society as being comprised of two distinct classes, who inherently have
conflicting goals, beliefs, and viewpoints. Individuals who own businesses or property and
control the means of production and distribution of goods and services are known as the
bourgeoisie (Perry, 2002). They are the main beneficiaries of the profits generated by this
system. Whereas the proletariat are those who work for the bourgeoisie in order to survive
and whose labour transforms raw commodities into profitable economic goods. The
proletariats are the individuals who are most affected by capitalism's social and economic
inequalities (Perry, 2002).

The bourgeoisie strives to maintain power and wealth, whilst the proletariat seeks to better
their working conditions and increase wages. This class conflict is central to Marxism; with
Marx arguing that the only way to attain a more equitable society is to overthrow the
capitalist system, replacing it with socialism. However, this perception of class struggle can
be seen as contradictory, as a capitalist society creates universal human interest and benefits
multiple parties, rather than only being a form of societal oppression (Panayotakis, 2004).
Braverman argues that the labour process is directly shaped by the interests of the capital,
with the bourgeoisie only seeking to maximise profits, increase productivity and reduce
labour costs (Braverman, 1974).

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Marx’s perception of society being split into two distinct groups can be seen as outdated and
inapplicable today, as it oversimplifies the complexities of modern society. In this respect, it
neglects the possibility of social mobility between classes. Marxism can be seen as overly
deterministic in dooming the working class to a life of oppression and poverty while implying
that the bourgeoisie will always have power and control (Rattansi, 1985). Furthermore,
Rattansi contends that the Marxist view of class struggle fails to consider the changing nature
of class and power in today’s society; disregarding that class divisions are no longer as clear-
cut and new forms of oppression and power also influence social change (Rattansi, 1985).

The Proletariat Dictatorship

The dictatorship of the proletariat is a more radical Marxist-Leninist political concept, stating
that the proletariats should hold political power, ruling society and steering it toward
communism. It argued that this notion of a proletarian dictatorship is a practical means for
achieving a truly classless society (Levi, 1991). Following the revolution in 1917, Lenin or
Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov and the Bolsheviks sought to implement a communist administration
in Russia after ousting and executing the tsar, his family, and associates; this became known
as the communist party (Trotsky and Eastman, 2017).

Various Marxist ideals were reformed under the communist party. They reclaimed land,
redistributing it among farmers to reform Russia's agricultural sector. Additionally, labour
conditions were improved by limiting work to a weekly maximum of 40 hours. People who
helped overthrow the government were mainly poor low skilled workers and peasants, which
led the party to attempt to create a system of free education to help the individuals who are
too poor to pay for this themselves (Robert William Davies and Davies, 1998). The communist
party, led by Lenin, created the Checka (the secret police) to instil fear and use violence
against anyone engaging in counter-revolutionary actions. Born out of Marxist ideology, the
party was contradicting its inherent values by means of oppression, control, and exploitation
of individuals in society. Such activities should be condemned by them, not utilised by Lenin's
dictatorship.

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Russia, now known as USSR, became dominated by Stalin in 1927 following Lenin's death
three years prior. Stalin is now regarded as one of the most prolific and immoral dictators in
history, who like Lenin was guided by Marxist ideologies and ideals. Amongst many other
oppressive policies, Stalin held ethnic cleansings whereby he ‘cleaned’ around 1.2 million
Kulaks (rich peasants) (Brooman, 1988). He illustrated how Marxist ideologies could be
skewed into supporting the narratives and campaigns of Stalin and other individuals in power.
The proletariats assumed the responsibility to cleanse their nation of anyone allied with
Stalin’s rule and capitalism.

As has been demonstrated, Marx’s idea of the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ proved to be
ruinous, resulting in great purges, loss of life and oppression and exploitation of Russian
society at the time – which can be seen as the result of Marx and Engels philosophies. Marx
saw the proletariat dictatorship as a means of ensuring social justice and protecting the
working class from exploitation through the unequal distribution of power. Evidently, such a
concept would be difficult and problematic to implement in today's complex global economy.

Alienation and Capitalism

Marx's critique of capitalism highlights the isolating and dehumanising effects of working
within a capitalist system and the division of labour which leads to the ‘alienation’ of workers
(Maidan, 2011). This sociological and philosophical critique points out that workers are
alienated when deprived of autonomous thinking, perhaps shown through monotonous
production jobs.

Braverman notes that the capitalist system has led to the alienation of workers from the
labour process, emphasising that this alienation is a result of the concentration of control of
the labour process in the power of management and deskilling of labour (Braverman, 1974).
He continues to argue that this alienation is what leads to a decrease in productivity and
worker morale. It could be argued that such alienation still exists through repetitive, dull jobs
with little stimulation or variety such as factory and assembly line work. Through assembly
line work, workers are usually assigned a specific task and isolated from the rest of the

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production process, with the monotonous nature of these kinds of jobs leading to feelings of
alienation and dehumanised through feeling like a cog in a machine. This form of labour
mirrors the ideas of Karl Marx and demonstrates how the alienation of workers still occurs in
some aspects of labour today. Managers and organisations often forget the value of
transparent thinking and leadership in striving toward change in the workplace and in decision
making processes.

According to Marx, the alienation of workers in capitalist systems occurs in four distinct ways.
These are alienation from the product of labour, from the process of labour, from other
workers and from human nature (Mukhopadhyay, 2020). It is noted that alienation can have
a long-term negative impact on employees and organisations, thus effort should be made to
provide meaningful work, and a sense of autonomy and belonging to create a fair and just
workplace environment (Shantz, Alfes and Truss, 2012). Though it can be said that these ideas
are less applicable and relevant in today's society as employee voice and feedback have a
greater impact through regulations, worker unions and laws (Maidan, 2011).

Exploitation and Capitalism

Marx and Engels highlighted the extent of exploitation and oppression of the working man or
proletariats through means of capitalism. They note that the only response to this would be
a proletariat revolution to cease control over the means of production.

Adler highlights that the economic power of the employer is the means by which the capital
exploits workers for the benefit of employers and is still prevalent today, despite the means
of production having changed from the time of Marx’s writing (Adler, 2007). He suggests that
the power dynamics between employers and workers remain the same in capitalist societies
throughout history through the continued unequal distribution of wealth and power. This
exploitation perpetuated by the ruling class is used to maintain the status quo and control
over production and distribution. Adler suggests that the only way to break the cycle of
exploitation is to create a more equitable distribution of capital and power, by giving workers
greater decision-making control and autonomy; consequently leading to increased

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productivity (Adler, 2007). His work highlights that exploitation in the labour process theory
tends to be considered as an economic effect rather than a consequence of capitalism, thus
failing to recognise the significance of the oppression of workers within capitalist societies
(Adler, 2007)

In society today, regulations and laws to protect workers from exploitation mean that
capitalism is significantly less exploitative, and the treatment of employees is fairer and more
equal. Individuals in society are protected through the introduction of J. M. Keynes ‘Keynesian
Economics’ and his demand-side theory of utilising monetary and fiscal policies to regulate
capitalism, reduce unemployment, reduce exploitation of workers and aid economic growth
(Corrado Benassi et al., 1995).

Thus, it can be argued that Marx’s philosophies are less accurate and applicable today, with
Marxism now becoming redundant and outdated. Additionally, countries with strong Marxist
links such as China and Russia can be thought of as having archaic ideals, failing to see the
inapplicability of Marxism in today's society. China is generally regarded as treating workers
poorly, with oppression being pertinent despite the CPC (The Communist Party of China)
being the ruling political party. Moreover, many communist beliefs and ideas are not upheld
throughout the country or are distorted to aid the ulterior motives of the party (Chan, 2001).
The exploitation of migrant workers in China, subjected to low wages, long hours, and
dangerous working conditions, exemplifies how oppression and exploitation in the name of
the communist party still exist (Chan, 2016). Similarly, the Uighur Muslims in China enduring
torture and human rights violations parallels Stalin’s great purges in the early 1900s –
illustrated here is how the minority and individuals with differing beliefs to the leading parties
became the target of oppression and persecution (Smith Finley, 2007).

The Economy and Marxism

A communist economic system can be understood as one where the means of production are
controlled and owned by the state, and wealth generated by the system is equally shared,
eliminating all class distinctions (Holmes, 2009). This type of economy was Marx’s attempt of

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eliminating class divides and struggles by putting workers in control of production and driving
power away from private ownership and the control of the bourgeoisie.

This collective state ownership and economic system would result greatly restrict production
and consequently competition and a drive to innovate. This leads to complacency through a
lack of competition as nobody, other than the state, else owns anything and there is a clear
lack of innovation in goods and services (Holmes, 2009).

As well as discouraging innovation, such a system can lead to workers feeling discouraged,
unrecognised and unmotivated due to the lack of acknowledgement and recognition for their
individual labour. Although various low economic growth countries such as North Korea and
Cuba operate with this form of economic system, through the example of China we can see
how this kind of command economy and Marxist government style can drive economic
success and growth.

Critiques of Marxism

The philosophies and ideas presented by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were revolutionary
and radical at the time of writing, with their political, social, and economic writings aiming to
challenge and reshape societies' belief systems and perspectives.

Marx's belief that society is comprised of two classes, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat was
arguably inaccurate and oversimplistic even at the time of writing. Gidden notes that this idea
of class struggle fails to acknowledge the complexity of societies' different groups and
individuals, something which cannot objectively or accurately be divided into two categories
(Giddens and Cohen, 1973). While the oppression and exploitation of workers by the
bourgeoisie was evident, not all forms of organisations dehumanised and alienated their
workers.

Opposing capitalism, Marxism strives for state ownership and a fair society and economy for
everyone. This leads to one of the most popular critiques of Marxism, highlighting the lack of

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entrepreneurial activity and innovation that would hinder economic growth and limit
consumer choice.

The revolutions in Russia would not have occurred without the philosophies presented in the
communist manifesto. These teachings influenced individuals such as Lenin to overthrow the
Tsar and government in favour of his communist beliefs. This shows that such revolutions
would not have transpired without the influence of Marx and Engels. Thus, proving Marx's
belief that a proletariat rebellion against the bourgeoisie is inevitable to be inaccurate as
without his influence such events wouldn’t have occurred.

Labour process theory, a Marxist-inspired approach to understanding the dynamics of

capitalism, presented by Braverman, investigates the organisation of work and how labour
power is directed toward generating profits (Braverman, 1974). Adler critiques the labour
process theory for its neglect to consider the power dynamics of the labour process and
argues that this theory is inadequate in understanding the complexities of labour and the
workplace today (Adler, 2007). He poses that the outdated theory is inadequate in keeping
up with the fast-changing nature of labour today, including the role of culture and identity,
the role of technology and the implications of globalisation and how these impact the labour
process (Adler, 2007). Adler challenges the traditional Marxist view of labour as a commodity,
suggesting that it should be seen as an activity of individual workers and their collective
experiences. He highlights the need for a more holistic approach to labour relations and to
understanding the economic, social, and political context of labour (Jermier, 1998).

Conclusion

The capital system is the root of many social and economic issues, and as evident in Marx’s
argument, capitalism thrives on the exploitation and oppression of workers (proletariats) by
those controlling the means of production (bourgeoisie). Marxism, although radical and
revolutionary at the time, has been the impetus for numerous deaths and several revolutions.
Marx’s vision of a classless society meant that individuals lost their individuality, merely
striving for the status quo and lacking the desire to innovate and progress.

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Marxism highlighted that a revolution between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie was the
inevitable consequence of capitalism, which echoes the events of the 1917 Russian
Revolution. Thus, it is important to recognise the accuracy of certain Marxist philosophies and
ideas presented in the communist manifesto. While the utopian idea of an equal and fair
society and economy is idealistic in many ways, it is clear that such a vision cannot overcome
inherent capitalist systems.

Ultimately, it may be said that through such an analysis that Marxist views and ideas are
outdated, inaccurate and inapplicable in today's society, which poses a stark contrast to the
19th-century backdrop in which it was first created.

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