(August 23, 2021 at 3:57 pm)HappySkeptic Wrote: Marxism is a product of its time, when industrialists abused their power, and workers were little better than slaves.
Reforms to reign in the excesses made Marx's writings a "solution" to a problem that no longer existed.
Marx was just plain wrong about economics. He wasn't wrong about the exploitation he saw. Following Marxism today would be foolish -- instead find an economic system that balances the right to get ahead with your own hard work, and the right not to be screwed over by the rich. That's what most countries in the West are trying to do.
I wouldn't say that all the problems Marx observed no longer exist. They were driven back by a surge in worker power and government enforced reforms, but they are not gone. Business has regained much of that power and now withholds most of it's wealth. We've seen virtually no gain in worker compensation in 30 years and healthcare coverage has only eroded. And labor unions have become almost absent. I would say Marx would not be pleased.
Why is it so?
~Julius Sumner Miller
~Julius Sumner Miller