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Keywords: Summary
Marx; emancipation;
exploitation; poverty; machine; This paper analyses some of Marx’s ideas and attitudes that
fictitious capital. have been the subject of debate, support, dispute and controver-
sy during the 20th century. All these ideas, in the second decade
Šijaković I.Ten of Marx’s Ideas That Survived the 20th Century, pp 75-87
Author: of the 21st century, can be the basis for research, analysis and
Dr. Ivan Šijaković is a criticism of the same phenomena Marx spoke about 150 or 160
Professor of Sociology at the years ago. In this paper, we point out ten key ideas of Karl Marx
Faculty of Political Sciences of that were theoretically important for the analysis of events and
the University of Banja Luka,
B&H. social changes during the XX and early XXI centuries.
Correspondence:
ivan.sijakovic@fpn.unibl.org
Field:
Theoretical sociology
DOI:
10.5937/politeia0-19911
75
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Šijaković I.Ten of Marx’s Ideas That Survived the 20th Century, pp 75-87
ble resources and destroys the environment, and the idea of democracy. According to
then financial derivatives, consumerism Iftode (2015), democracy does not appear
and the education system. Here, we will to function as a concrete political practice,
only indicate the direction of criticism of but as a projected experience and a messi-
democracy, as due to the size of the text, we anic form without concrete content. In con-
are unable to carry out the criticism of the temporary societies, throughout the world,
other, mentioned elmenates. there are deep gaps between the ethical core
We are aware of the numerous antino- of democracy (as an instrument of freedom)
mies, weaknesses, fragility and limitations and political practice based on manipula-
of democracy and its intertwining with tion and violence (Schwarzmantel, 2011).
totalitarianism (Lefort, 1988). The partic-
ipation and interaction of citizens in con- HUMAN EMANCIPATION
temporary democratic processes more and
more leads to the “loss of the meaning of Marx writes in On the Jewish Question,
a political” (Howard, 2002). Democratic and in The Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy
ideals and moral rules give way to national of Right, that man’s emancipation comes
and religious identities, war threats, corrup- after civil and political emancipation. In
tion and crime (Stout, 2005). The critique fact, Marx speaks of four types, four phas-
of democracy must be fundamental. This es of emancipation: first, religious eman-
implies criticising the theory and the prac- cipation, emancipation from religion (as
tice of democracy. A critique of the theo- “opium for the people”) or self-alienation
ry of democracy requires a “deconstruction of a man in religion; secondly, the civil
of the contemporary notion of democracy,” emancipation, demanded by Enlighten-
while the critique of practice encompass- ment, by means of separation of a civil soci-
es the criticism of existing political sys- ety from the state, initiated by the French
tems and institutions that have emerged as bourgeois revolution; third, political eman-
a result of the application of doctrine (Tron- cipation as a struggle against the denial of
ti, 2009). Both of these historical dimen- rights to some social subjects to participate
sions of democracy (the practice of majority in public affairs (women, Jews, minorities);
dominion and the doctrine of freedom) are fourth, “emancipation of mankind”, social,
77
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ПОЛИТЕИА · 2018 · Год. 8 · Бр. 16
human emancipation. In a discussion with achieve emancipation with the help of tech-
Bruno Bauer, Marx concludes that in a soci- nology, the most recent, sophisticated and
ety as it was then in Germany and in other versatile. Previous experiences (135 years
parts of Europe, it is not possible to achieve after Marx) show that states, governments,
a social, “emancipation of mankind”, or a political parties, movements, corporations,
human emancipation, but only partial polit- associations, NGO’s are unable to achieve
ical emancipation. Here, Marx emphasised human, “general human” emancipation and
his well-known thought that “social eman- full freedom. Why? Because there are two
cipation of Jews is possible only as - eman- major obstacles. First, collective identities
cipating of society from jewry.” Only then (hard identities: religious, national, politi-
will there be an “emancipating of the Ger- cal, ideological, and local) neglect and sup-
mans into humans” (Marx, 1989: 88). press a person, as an individual. There is
Unfortunately, Marx’s attitude was no emancipation and freedom for man, as
called into question. Some authors even an individual, while captured in “self-al-
considered that there were elements of ienation”, in the collective identities. There
Marx’s anti-Semitism within that attitude is no emancipation of man where the citi-
(Rockmore, 2002: 48-50). However, these zens of one state are divided into members
authors did not understand that Marx was of the “dominant nation” and members of
talking about the emancipation of society the “national minority” and if their political,
from jewish, as a stereotype, and not from civic and cultural participation and activi-
Jews as people (as citizens). Marx asked the ty in society depends on it. Secondly, every
question as to why we only identify Jews form of human emancipation is disabled
with selfishness, egoism, greed, usury, from: a high degree of poverty, crime, vio-
blackmail, the accumulation of money and lence, corruption and nepotism in society.
wealth, when it is inherent in other people.
If we get rid of such practices, we will be PRODUCTIVE FORCES AND
able to achieve the emancipation of man. RELATIONS OF PRODUCTION
Marx points out that “man is the greatest
being for man,” giving the moral impera- Production forces are the driving forces
tive for future human emancipation. for the development of a society. The rela-
Nowadays we can say, paraphrasing tionship between productive forces and
Marx’s idea of the emancipation of Jews, relations of production is the basic law for
that the LGBT population can only be the development of society and the foun-
emancipated, by emancipating the socie- dation of sociology, economics and history
ty from “LGBTism”. The same can be said as a science. The productive forces (means
for the emancipation of Rom, of feminists, of production and labour) are “the basis of
POLITEIA · 2018 · Vol 8 · No 16
Šijaković I.Ten of Marx’s Ideas That Survived the 20th Century, pp 75-87
and the type of authority) as a framework writes in Capital I and Engels in The
in which the production forces are pinned, Condition of the Working Class in England
developed and improved. Marx emphasises and Marx and Engels in The Communist
that “the social history of people, is always Manifesto, are still present in contemporary
the history of their individual development, societies, but in different circumstances and
regardless of whether they know it or not”. with other means of production. Marx won-
Material relations are the necessary forms dered, “does the rented work, the work of
in which each individual and collective the proletarian, create wealth and property
activity of people is realised. But the mate- for him?” He replied, “By no means. He cre-
rial and economic relations in which people ates capital in, that is, increases the capital
“produce, exchange, spend,” and organise а of capitalists who exploit the rented work.
social and political life are “transient and Private ownership is increased only when
historical forms”. They change depending the worker is exploited by capital. The hired
on the development of productive forces, worker and capital are in constant contrast:
which are constantly looking for new eco- the capital increases more and more, the
nomic, social and political frameworks of hired worker is reduced in absolute terms.
their development. The hired workers “are goods as well as
If we look at the beginning of the 21st every trade item and therefore are exposed
century through the prism of Marx’s theo- to all conditions of competition and mar-
retical discourse, we will see that informat- ket fluctuations” (Marx, 1977: 475). The
ics, robotisation and digitisation are new exploitation of workers continues to be con-
productive forces that change all the exist- tinuously developed by the development
ing social relations (dictatorships, autocracy, of modern industry and further expanded
theocracy, nationalism, and localism). The by involving women and children in hired
productive forces of the 21st century con- work. When the exploitation of the work-
sist from the hardware, software, robots, 3D er is completed at the factory and he gets
printers (printing clothes, buildings, human his rent, then exploiters from other areas hit
skin), nano technology, artificial raw mate- him: “landlords, traders, lenderses “ (Marx,
rials, scientists, computer programmers, 1977: 475).
operators, engineers and web designers.
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From Marx’s point of view, at the end of All this leads to the collection of wealth
the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centu- on the one side, causing an “accumulation
ry, the analysis of the exploitation of work- of misery, hard labour, ignorance, moral
ers (as well as other categories of employees) and spiritual decline on the other, workers’
has to be shifted from the national to the side”. The expansion of poverty encom-
global space. Today, multinational compa- passed a number of social strata, as Marx
nies are the bearers of the exploitation of testifies, “small and middle stocks, small
workers (employees). We will illustrate this industrialists, traders and renters, crafts-
in the case on the FIAT company from Italy. men and peasants, all falling to the level of
A worker at FIAT in Italy earns (on aver- the proletariat,” because their small capi-
age) € 1,900 a month, at the FIAT factory tal is insufficient to enter in the big indus-
in Turkey, he earns € 900, in Slovakia € 600, try, or their knowledge and skills are not
and in Serbia, € 350 (FCA, 2017). We see useful for the new industrial mode of pro-
that now, apart from owners and managers, duction (Marx-Engels, 1968). In his alalysis,
a worker from Italy also participates in the Marx reveals that industrial development,
exploitation of workers in Turkey, Slovakia scientific and technological discoveries,
and Serbia. Now we can set up a thesis on increased human efforts and work, do not
the phenomenon of the total exploitation of lead to an improvement in the living condi-
workers. The second example shows that tions of an enormous mass of people. Marx
there is regional exploitation in the EU. For reveals the fundamental contradiction that
example, there are differences in the degree leads to poverty in capitalism: on the one
of economic development between some hand, permanent industrial growth and
EU regions on the scale of 1:30, such as “infinite accumulation of capital”; on the
Old Zagora in Bulgaria (1) and North Rhine other hand, the endless misery of workers,
Westphalia (30) in Germany (Eurostat, their families and masses of other people.
2011). This example confirms the analysis Marx’s idea about the incredible con-
of Imanuel Vallerstein that Europe, for cen- centration of wealth during the industrial
turies, has been developing according to the revolution is still current today. As Thom-
principle of center-half periphery-periphery as Piketty notes (2015), Marx’s view of the
(Wallerstein, 1986), with the centre always concentration of wealth during the indus-
being in Western Europe, and that very rare trial revolution and its principle of infinite
movements of states are in this order. accumulation “contain a key insight that is
important for the analysis of the XXI centu-
THE EXPANDING OF POVERTY ry as it was in the 19th century” (22). Now-
adays, there are more than 1 billion people
The expanding of poverty, on the one living in the world on less than $ 1.9 per
POLITEIA · 2018 · Vol 8 · No 16
hand, and the accumulation of wealth, on day, and more than 2.5 billion people on
the other, appears as the basic dimension of less than $ 3.2 per day, while 50% of peo-
the “capitalist mode of production”, Marx ple live on Earth with less than $ 5.5 daily
points out, because “the position of the (World Bank, 2018). When we consider the
workers must be worse, with the accumula- wealth of the 60 richest people in the world
tion of capital, and regardless of the worker (according to the Forbes list), we can see
being well paid or not” (Marx, 1977: 541). their wealth is greater than the “wealth” of
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3.5 billion people in the lower part of the Then there was the dehumanisation of most
world’s demographic pyramid. Another African countries, the collapse and loot-
example of wealth concentration: In Italy, ing of the former socialist states, the rise
the 300 richest families are worth two hun- of the “global criminal economy”, and the
dred and fifty percent more than the GDP of accumulation of environmental problems
Italy (INVESTIREOGGI, 2017). in the big cities and megalopolises (Castells,
2003). Philippe van Parries (1997) reveals
CAPITALISM DESTROYS THE SOCIAL the greatest contradiction of contemporary
TISSUE OF MODERN SOCIETY liberal capitalism, saying that freedom in
liberalism stands out as the greatest value,
This is one of the fundamental ideas while modern capitalism creates the great-
Marx follows in the analysis of the develop- est inequality among people in the history
ment of society in the XIX century. Marx in of mankind.
Šijaković I.Ten of Marx’s Ideas That Survived the 20th Century, pp 75-87
Capital analyses the causes of the econom-
ic crises which capitalism created via their RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MAN
unnecessary exploitation of nature and man. AND MACHINE
Capitalism destroys the social structure
of society by creating two opposing class- In the first volume of the Capital, Marx
es - bourgeoisie and proletariat. Capitalism mentions the automation of production, the
destroys the family because it exploits all its role of the machine in creating surplus val-
members. ues, stressing that the machine releases the
Nowadays, this thesis should be exam- workers of hard work, but leaves them out of
ined on the example of the XXI century work, throws them out of the work process,
society from an ecological, economic (espe- also extends their working time and increas-
cially financial), political and social point of es their exploitation. The productivity of the
view. The economic crises that appear are machine, emphasises Marx, is measured by
cyclically destroying some industries, some degree to which it replaced human labour
regions, states and local communities. There (Marx, 1977: 346). Marx notices the par-
is a lot of literature that points to the harm- adox in the relationship between man and
ful consequences of the liberalist (neo-lib- machine, in that the machine “as the most
eral) phase of capitalism. Ulrich Beck talks powerful means of shortening working
about how globalisation and world poli- time is transformed into a means of trans-
tics are subtracted power to national poli- forming the worker’s total time and the life
tics and the nation state. He points out that of his family to working time available for
we are in the “world risk society” and par- accumulation and capital increase” (Marx,
aphrasing Hobs (homo homini lupus est) 1977 : 361). In this way, there is a specific
concludes that the political theory of a risk phenomenon that the machine, which was
society starts from the principle “man- supposed to be man’s “friend and assistant,”
kind to mankind lupus est” (Beck, 2004). destroys all “moral and natural boundaries
Manuel Castells, warns us that the end of of working time” and turns workers into an
the Millennium and the beginning of the object and a “conscious” supplement to the
21st century have led to a new polarisation machine. Marx notes that the capitalist, as
of the world with rich and poor countries. owner and capitalism as a system abuses
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ПОЛИТЕИА · 2018 · Год. 8 · Бр. 16
the machine and transforms it, rather than products. However, jobs, such as 3D design-
using it as a means to improve human life, it ers, ecology jobs, genetic designers, stress
destroys the conditions of the worker’s exist- developers, vertical farmers and intelligent
ence. The machine “breaks down the price footwear and clothes designers will experi-
of labour below their value” and thus “the ence an expansion in the coming decades
means of labour kills the workers” (Marx, (The Futurist, 2013).
1977: 383). Marx concludes that all antag- The question arises: what can we do to
onisms between man and machine do not prevent mass unemployment? It is vital to
derive from the properties of the machine, shorten working time, then continually
but from its capitalist use. improve education, as well as introduce a
In order to find a way to eliminate the primary income for all unemployed.
contradiction between machine and man,
Marx speaks of a “total worker” as a “social FICTITIOUS CAPITAL
worker”, ie, the “social working body”
comprised of the one who constructs the Analysing the flows of money and capital
machine, the one who makes the machine, in the mid-nineteenth century, Marx notic-
workers with new skills working on new es a new phenomenon as far as money is
machines and workers whose skills are not concerned, not only as a means of payment,
sufficient, and they were driven out of the where goods are sold for money, but money
work process. All of them need to pay their is exchanged for money, that is the begin-
rent via the increased productivity generat- nings of trading with money. Marx talks
ed by the machine, but it is all appropriated about new types of capital: “credit capital”,
by the capitalist. “lending capital”, “interest-bearing capi-
All these questions about the relation- tal”, “bill of exchange capital” as a types of
ship between man and machine are still “financial alchemy” that doubles and triples
current, because modern man is confront- capital through interest and credit systems,
ed with the robotisation of production and making it fictitious instead of real. The loans,
services, leaving millions of people out of checks, bills and numerous small deposits
work. More than two billion various jobs “unite large sums of money and thus form
will disappear by 2030. It makes up almost the money force they have at their disposal”
50% of the total in today’s number. This (Marx, 1974: 339). Thus, the money from
will be primarily due to the development of “trading turnover goes into general circula-
technology, which is dominated by digitisa- tion” and becomes a means by which it is
tion. Trucks and vehicles will be digitised traded in a special way (trade with credits,
and managed by robotic pilots. Educa- bills and checks). Marx notes that differ-
tion moves from classrooms to the Inter- ent conditions can cause demand for money
POLITEIA · 2018 · Vol 8 · No 16
net. Automatic production abolishes crafts and capital: insufficient production, exces-
and manufactures. Computers will alert the sive stockpiling, the desire to send goods
patient to changes in his organism, based to markets in India and China, and the like.
on daily biorhythm monitoring, and robotic This demand can not be covered by real
dentists will install the implants. 3D print- money, for this reason the mechanism of the
ers already prints human skin and organs, fictitious capital is launched: the loans; bills
while drones deliver mail and various of exchange that circulate for months from
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one company to another, before they turn most countries in our time (Elsässer , 2009:
into money and sometimes do not get to 37). It is known that financial derivatives
become “real money”; then checks and var- caused a crisis in Southeast Asia (Taiwan,
ious other forms of borrowed money. Marx Hong Hong, Singapore, Malaysia) in 1998,
states, it is often not possible to determine as well as a major financial world crisis in
how much money comes from “real sources, 2007-2009. Therefore, Elsässer named these
actual purchases and sales, and which part derivatives (hedge funds, CDS, options,
is fictitious” and consists of a circulation futures, unsecured loans) as “financial
of bills of exchange, deposits and checks, weapons of mass destruction” (Elsässer,
thus transferring “property from hand to 2009: 38).
hand and without the help of money “(Marx,
1974: 338-341). Marx clearly saw the use of MARX AS PREDECESSOR FOR THE
the fictitious capital. Namely, the state col- IDEA OF GLOBALISATION
Šijaković I.Ten of Marx’s Ideas That Survived the 20th Century, pp 75-87
lects real money from citizens and gives
them bills with a certain, very attractive Marx suggests the possibility of inter-
interest. The problem is that the state turns nationalising productive forces and glo-
real money into “magnificent villas and the balisation through the revolutionary role
purchase of cannons” and thus, it becomes of new technologies that will allow a radi-
“irretrievably lost” money. Instead of real cal leap from “the realm of necessity to the
money, citizens have only “papers with realm of freedom”. Marx pronounces that a
a right to ownership”. All of these papers, large industry has created a world market
Marx calls “paper duplicates of a destroyed that began with the discovery of Ameri-
capital” (Marx, 1974: 355). ca. The world market has enabled the enor-
On the trail of Marx’s forecast, one mous development of trade, seafaring and
should analyse the state of “virtual money”, land communications. This development
which in the world economic space is 17 has further affected the expansion of indus-
times more than the world’s GDP (Elsässer, try. The expansion of industry, trade, mar-
2009: 35). It is clear, Elsässer accentes, that itime affairs and railways contributed to
this “fictitious capital” does not arise from the the rise of the bourgeoisie. “In barely
material production or from concrete ser- a century of class rule, the bourgeoisie has
vices, but as the very root of the Latin word created more massive and colossal produc-
says (derivare) “was created as a result of tion forces than all the previous generations
the work of financial magicians”. Elsässer together.” We see, therefore, that the mod-
points out that Marx could not even assume ern bourgeoisie itself is a product of a long
that, beginning in the 1970s, the US econo- developmental path, a series of upheavals in
my and other developed countries would be the way of production and traffic.
backed by fictitious capital. It was especial- Wherever it came to power, “the bour-
ly difficult to assume that “private financial geoisie destroyed all feudal, patriarchal
sharks will in our time put into circulation and idyllic relations. The bourgeoisie, with
duplicates of non-existent capital in the all its past activities, viewed with pious
form of derivatives, which is much high- fear, removed the illusion of holiness. It
er” than could have been held by govern- turned doctors, lawyers, priests, poets and
ments in Marx’s time, or governments of scientists into paid hired workers. The
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ПОЛИТЕИА · 2018 · Год. 8 · Бр. 16
my of national states. These elements now- human race and every individual, and she
adays need to add virtual communication has its own objective laws that govern us”,
and virtual space, and instead of the bour- and if we violate these laws, we bring our-
geoisie, include scientists and technologists, selves to danger. According to Marx (1989:
as subjects of globalisation and contempo- 249), “depletion of soil, forest surfaces, coal
rary social changes. mining, iron and the like, by the industry
and trade,” mean that for capitalism, a quick
84
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ditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/rs)
profit is more important than the welfare of Elsässer, J. (2009). Nacionalna država i
people or the maintenance of the fertility of fenomen globalizacije. Beograd: Jasen.
the country.
Engels, F. (1947). Ludvig Fojerbah i kraj
CONCLUSION klasične nemačke filozofije. Beograd:
Kultura.
In this paper, we presented ten of Marx’s
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important for the analysis of society in the Company web site.
21st century, as they were in the 19th centu-
ry. We are aware that there are many more The Futurist (2013). September-October.
of Marx’s ideas and theoretical attitudes that
are important for social sciences in the 21st Iftode, C. (2015). Postmodern Ethics, Mul-
Šijaković I.Ten of Marx’s Ideas That Survived the 20th Century, pp 75-87
century. We will only mention alienation, tiple Selves, and the Future of Democra-
class, class struggle and class conscious- cy. in. Journal for the Study of Religions and
ness, criticism of ideology, then numerous Ideologies. Winter.
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cians are in the social sciences, whose ideas co finaziario, Luglio.
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© 2018 Објавио часопис Политеиа (politeia.fpn.unibl.org). Ово је чланак отвореног приступа и дистрибуира
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ПОЛИТЕИА · 2018 · Год. 8 · Бр. 16
CEKADE.
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ditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/rs)
Иван Шијаковић Прегледни научни рад
Šijaković I.Ten of Marx’s Ideas That Survived the 20th Century, pp 75-87
подржавају а неки оспоравају. Све ове идеје могу да пред-
Аутор: стављају, у другој декади 21. вијека, основу за истражи-
Др Иван Шијаковић је про- вање, анализу и критику истих појава о којима је Маркс
фесор социологије на Факул- говорио још прије 150 или 160 година. У том погледу, исти-
тету политичких наука чемо десет кључних идеја Карла Маркса које су биле битне
Универзитета у Бањој
Луци, БиХ. у теоријском смислу за анализу догађаја и друштвених
промјена током 20. вијека и почетка 21. вијека.
Коресподенција:
ivan.sijakovic@fpn.unibl.org
Област:
Теоријска социологија
DOI:
10.5937/politeia0-19911
87
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