This
week we started Karl Marx and his philosophical beliefs. One of his main
beliefs is that class struggles under capitalism are violent. He lists several
reasons for this conclusion and the first consists of that they are divided
into two. The first is the Bourgeoisie class who are the owners of the means of
production. The second is the proletariat who are the workers or producers. Dr.
J made it clear that we are just merely workers and that the owners of the
means of productions are people much higher than our status, such as Steve Jobs
or Bill Gates. They not only own their companies but also, built them. They do
not work. They just sit back and watch their companies rise. So my question is
that I wonder if there is a way the workers are ever able to become an owner of
production or if they are just workers all their life? I would think that Steve
Jobs and Bill Gates were workers once and then suddenly became apart of the
Bourgeoisie class but what if they were always just meant to be apart of that
class? His second reason for why class struggles under capitalism is violent is
that basically people who do the most get the least and people who do the least
get the most. We discussed this in class and the main example was that of how
the iphone is produced and at what costs. We came to the conclusion that it
probably only really takes about 80-90% less than what it goes for on the
market or in the store. His third reason is that the condition of workers under
capitalism have to become more and more wretched which is basically saying that
the poor become poorer and numerous and the wealth become wealthier and fewer.
I believe workers can rise to the top to become someone like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. Everyone in America (unless they are born into family money) must work to the top in order to become successful like that. However, I believe that once they do get to the top, most forget they were once the servant. They get obsessed with success and money and forget the little guy. It's sad, but that's what money can do to humanity. I'm not saying that Steve Jobs specifically was a crooked man, I'm saying it's very possible for wealth to cloud your judgement and morality.
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ReplyDeleteI think for anyone to become a Bouregoise, they have to work hard at inventing someone that is unique and allow their product to be worth buying by others. They have to have a set of skills that is so few in number and valuable that they eliminate the number of competitors who also process that skill. In order to become a Bourgeoise, you have to own everything you needed to produce that product, and from there you have to have those who make your product. These are the only ways a worker could actually become a Bourgeosie. They have to make enough money to be able to afford the materials used in making the product.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Caroline. I think that anyone that really wants to be at the top, can make their way there. Yes, they may face more obstacles than a person born into power and wealth but I do not see it as being impossible. I also think that White Collar crimes are becoming more and more popular in todays world and I think that is just what happens when power and money gets to your head.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the class struggle is a very real issue when it comes to Capitalism. There is never a situation where everyone in the world would be happy and satisfied with everything in their lives, but Capitalism opens the door for a lot more people to be upset or unhappy. This causes a lot of problems because then people will begin to revolt or cause more problems that there already are. There will always be competition, but it should never cause serious problems in society.
ReplyDeleteAnyone has the potential to be a bourgeoisie, but as I started to think about this question I formulated my own question. What if people like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were once bourgeoisie and were a part of Marx's idea of the proletariat taking power over their current bourgeoisie? The only reason why I think they are bourgeoisie today is because as Marx's states the proletariat did not want to work together. So I think Jobs and Gates are the results of single handed proletariat revolt, and as time went on they became what they revolted against.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this I began to think of the idea of stocks and how those may pay a role in who owns the company. Because most companies have stocks that people can buy, granted, the founder of the company generally owns more than half the stocks, but for that other half, what class are they in? They truly can say they own a portion of say Apple, but they neither founded it nor did they help it come to be. It just makes me wonder what Marx would think about that system. Would he put a third class for the middle class that owns stocks? It makes me wonder.
ReplyDeleteWe, as workers, to me, can become whatever we strive to be if we are set on becoming something more. If we rise to our fullest potetial we could become part of the bougiouse one day. And when we did, we could quite possibly change the way those people are seen because we used to be one of those workers under the bougiouse. We struggled just like they do now. That's just my personal thought on it.
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