Guidelines
Essay Subject: Marx’s Critique of Capital in the 21st Century: Capitalism, Exploitation and Its
Alternatives
Formatting Instructions:
Essay length: You should write between 5 to 7 pages (not including bibliography/reference list).
Spacing/Font: Double spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt.
Bibliography format: Use an academic referencing style consistently, I recommend the Chicago
Manual of Style (guidelines for citing using the CMS are found freely online).
General Guidelines:
We devoted weeks 6 to 9 of this course to Marx’s works. While we read part of the Communist
Manifesto he co-authored with Fredreich Engels, we also focused on his most accomplished work,
namely, Capital. Of all the theories covered in this course, it is beyond question that Marx’s
critique of capital has been the most influential—not necessarily in academia, but surely in the
real world. As a theory that contributed significantly to the shaping of twentieth-century history,
Marx’s account of capitalism deserves close study and evaluation. Considering this, the main goal
of the essay is to show that you can explain and evaluate the continuing relevance (or lack
thereof) of Marx’s theory of capital accumulation.
As we discussed in class, Marx’s work was influenced by Adam Smith’s labor theory of
value. But Marx went beyond Smith in developing a critique of how accumulation was in fact
underpinned by an unequal relationship of exploitation between capitalists and workers. In
Capital, thus, he focused on revealing the real workings of capital accumulation (This is where his
theory of surplus value/exploitation is central). Marx’s theory is still contested today. In other
words, the extent to which Marx’s theory is still useful is partly decided by how we interpret his
writings, but mostly by the unfolding of reality itself.
Considering all of the above: how relevant is Marx’s theory today? This is the
overarching question guiding your essay. In order to address it, however, you should provide a
general overview of Marx’s theory of capitalism and then evaluate the extent to which it is still
relevant today. The essay, then, will focus on explaining Marx’s theory of capital. This means
showing the elements of Marx’s critique, in particular: his labor theory of value, his narrative
about class struggle, his theory of accumulation and exploitation (or surplus value). By explaining
to the reader Marx’s theory, you can show your understanding of it and then provide your
argument regarding the question of Marx’s continuing or declining relevance.
Recommended Structure
When writing your essay, you may follow the points listed below.
1. Introduction: Write a brief introduction for your essay where you simply outline what
the essay argues (remember that while the introduction is the first thing that shows in an
essay, it is better to write it after the main text and conclusion are completed).
1. Elaboration of Argument: This is the main body of your essay—you can be divided into
subsections with your own headings if you find that useful. Here you should explain the
basic elements of Marx’s theory. You may use all or some of the points below to help you
in framing/structuring your narrative.
a. First, you should explain what capitalism is, in the broad sense. You can focus first
on Marx’s perspective in the Communist Manifesto, where there is a general
overview of capitalism and its place in history. That said, remember to use Marx’s
theoretical perspective which focuses on three core elements: classes, commodities
and, most important, the general formula of capital—this last is from Capital not
from the Communist Manifesto. The general formula is the Marxist definition of
capitalism. Explain what the formula represents. Important: here you can work by
describing how Marx’s theory draws on but also goes beyond Adam Smith’s labor
theory of value and of markets (remember my argument that Marx describes
capitalism as M-C-M, while for Smith the whole system is an undifferentiated C-
M-C).
b. Using quotes and/or examples from Marx’s capital, explain the basic elements of
Marx’s critique of capitalism. First, remember Marx and Engels Communist
Manifesto, especially its definition of the proletariat: a sector of the population
that has nothing but their labor to sell. Considering this,
i. What is the relationship between capitalism and the class structure?Who
owns/controls the means of production?
ii. How does owning the means of production facilitate the exploitation of
labor?
c. On the basis of the basis established by (i) and (ii) use chapter 9 of Marx’s Capital
to explain what is surplus value and how it relates to the exploitation of labor.
Importantly, try to connect Marx’s concept of surplus value to his earlier
concept of the general formula of capital.
i. For this explanation you may use the example of the iPhone in order to
show how Marx’s theory of exploitation is concretely reflected
in commodities we consume today.d. If capitalism is grounded in exploitation and creates recurrent crises, are we in a
fatal situation where no alternative is possible?
i. Here you can also discuss whether a universal basic income as proposed by
Wright would address the injustices embedded in capitalism while
avoiding some of the shortcomings in past socialist experiments. You can
go further and discuss McCarthy’s argument in favor of democratic
socialism. Or, you could argue the anti-Marxist point of view and posit
that capitalism could be reformed—here you could draw on Smith.
2. Conclusion: After explaining the aspects of Marx’s theory that we discussed in class, by
way of a conclusion you should briefly discuss whether Marx’s theory is relevant today–
alternatively, you can do this discussion when addressing point d where the question of
universal income and other proposals might be mentioned. Here you should use your own
critical thinking skills.
Of course, you may not be able to discuss all of the above in sufficient detail: there is a trade-off
between providing an overview of everything and being able to provide detailed discussion and
illustration of the most core issues such as exploitation. It is up to you to decide in what direction
you want to go: either provide a more detailed discussion of what you think are the most important
aspects of Marx’s theory or provide a general overview (where scope might sacrifice depth).
References You Can Use
BBC’s Masters of Money (Episode on Karl Marx) (BBC, 2012).
Erik Olin Wright, “1.1 The Parable of the Shmoo” and “1.2 The Concept of Exploitation,” In Class
Counts: Student Edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 3–10.
Erik Olin Wright, “Two redistributive proposals—universal basic income and stakeholder grants.
Focus, 24, no. 2 (2006): 5-7.
Karl Marx, “Capital (1867)” [Section entitled “The General Formula of Capital”] in Sociological
Theory in the Classical Era: Texts and Readings edited by Laura Desfor Edles and Scott
Appelrouth (Los Angeles: Pine Forge Press, 2010).
Karl Marx, Capital, Vol. 1 (New York: Penguin Books, [1867] 1976), Chapter 9, pages 320–329
and Chapter 26, 873–876.
Karl Marx, Capital, Vol. 3. (New York: Penguin Books [1894] 1981), Chapter 2, 132–133 & Chapter
13, pages 317–320.
Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, “The Communist Manifesto (1848),” in Sociological Theory in
the Classical Era: Texts and Readings edited by Laura Desfor Edles and Scott Appelrouth
(Los Angeles: Pine Forge Press, 2010), 51–65.
Michael A. Lebowitz, The Contradictions of Real Socialism (New York: Monthly Review Press,
2012), Chapter 1, pages 29-30, 36-45.
Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, “The Rate of Exploitation (The Case of the iPhone),”
Notebook N°2 (2019).
REFERENCES WITH LINKS
Richard Wolff, “Economic Update: Rise and Fall of the USSR.” https://youtu.be/_Y-TWFKw4tU?si=8_FHhsHMxPVedN9A
Robert J. van der Veen and Philippe van Parijs, “A Capitalist Road to Communism,” Theory and
Society 15, no. 5 (1986): 635–655. https://www.sscc.wisc.edu/soc/faculty/pages/wright/SOC621/vancap.pdf