Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my kind supervisor Professor Guennoun Mohamed for

guiding me step by step, weekly, during semesters five and six to learn the
methodology that facilitates the challenge, writing this paper. I would thank him
for the help he has given me in writing this research paper. Besides I am also very
grateful for the other professors who provided me with many ideas that are
related to the subject matter. In writing on this topic, there were several
obstacles like lack of knowledge concerning economics and capitalism. Yet thanks
to technology (Youtube, Google) where I managed to find some figures in
economics like Yanis Varoufakis and Richard Wolff. The lectures or speeches of
these two economists helped me build a number of ideas about today’s
capitalism. Special thanks to my friends in the seminar who made a great effort in
presenting many plays. We, whether consciously or not, helped each other in this
writing mission. Needless to say, the ultimate responsibility for what follows is
mine, though I should add that my family, my beloved mother, and my dear twin
in particular, encouraged me to challenge the hardships of this study project.
Their words have given me the energy and spirit to never give up.

1
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………………1

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………….3

Chapter one: Understanding the Theory of Capitalism

1.1- Defining Capitalism………………………………………………………………………………..6

1.2- Ideology of Capitalism…………………………………………………………………………..11

1.3- Capitalism versus Socialism…………………………………………………………………..17

Chapter two: Aspects of Capitalism in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman

2.1- Willy’s Pursuit of Wealth……………………………………………………………………… 23

2.2- Howard as a Representative of Capitalism……………………………………………..30

2.3-The Failure of Willy’s dream………………………………………………………………….35

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 40

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………………………..42

Introduction

2
Capitalism is a very complex concept. It has an intricate historical development.
Some say that it is a result of the industrial revolution; and others believe that its
origins lie in the Protestant religious beliefs, Calvinism in particular. Today, it has
been introducing itself to the world as a problematic system, the reason why it has
attracted numerous thinkers and critics. It is the force that directly and
automatically influences the other systems or forces either harmfully or helpfully.
This paper aims to analyze the concept of capitalism, not in its very details, in the
way it is operating in societies, specifically in the USA. The focus will be on
studying capitalism not in its pure mathematical aspect, but on the way it is
implemented in the societies that hold it; so there will be a kind of collaboration
between economics and sociology. One cannot deny that capitalism is a very
complicated issue. It is an organization that works only through active
globalization, active free market, active democracy, and progressive technology. In
other words, it is not an independent force. Mainly, the paper is an attempt for
examining and understanding some of the mechanisms of capitalism.

Of course, the choice of the topic has been related to a number of reasons. The first
reason is that the problems of capitalism are growing and spreading dramatically
and dangerously. It has got uglier than before. Everyone knows that something
wrong in it, that is to say, politicians and capitalists, especially the rich ones, are
making it more monstrous, grotesque, unjust, undemocratic. The second reason is
Death of a Salesman which is a criticism of the system through art. The characters
of the play play an important role in selecting the topic. The story depicts an
American family that dreams; yet the dream no more works because the economic
system it lives in is not stable, not secure. The third reason is that understanding
capitalism should take the priority, since it is the root of many diseases like
inequality, social insecurity, wars, exploitation, public and private financial crises,
corruption, public and private debt, austerity, environment destruction,
unemployment. The paper is going to bring literature and human sciences all
together for the purpose of exploring capitalism as a significant form of culture.

The paper outline critically introduces some aspects of capitalism. It is impossible

to encompass or exhaust the mentioned topic at this stage because it is full of
complex secrets and entangled details.

3
The theory of capitalism has been researched by lots of students or thinkers, in
various branches of studies, throughout the world. It is a matter that deserves to
be taken into account because it strongly affects the world; it is the power that
results in globalization. The purpose briefly is reaching a perception of the concept
of capitalism through bringing various definitions or perspectives that have been
established by various famous thinkers either in the presence or the past, and
through revealing some of its weaknesses. The purpose also is not discussing
capitalism in its pure mathematical and economical standards simply because the
research is not belonging to the faculty of economics.

The rationale of this paper is that modern capitalism is a problem. It is so simply

due to many contradictions and systemic, unhealthy internal facts which are
unavoidable, and nearly unmanageable so as to resolve them. One believes that
economic liberalism encourages individual freedom and progressive growth to the
whole nation. Yet this is not true. Some see capitalism as a modern slavery where
the capitalist stands for the master and the working person stands for the slave.
That is a radical view about the system. Furthermore, one of the problematic
aspects of capitalism is that the major capitalists in a given country interfere in the
political realm, specifically the legislative process in order to serve their personal
interests such as reducing taxes for the purpose of reaching a higher profit rate.
Simply the very rich or the motors of an economy put pressure in the political
sphere to accumulate more wealth. Consequently, this process results in more
inequality, more rage in the level of the working class, more pessimism. The global
capitalism has constantly generated suffering among the working individuals who
ceaselessly labor hoping for raising their fiscal situation so that they could uplift
the social. Briefly, capitalism as an economic, social, ideological and political
organization has become full of viruses that continuously engender destruction,
hopelessness, and all sorts of social problems.

Concerning the organization of the paper’s outline, it will be approached through

two main chapters: the first is theoretical, and the second is practical. The first part
is about the theory of capitalism in which the concept will be examined through
bringing a number of definitions, uncovering some aspects of its history, discussing
its ideologies, and comparing it to socialism or communism as an opposed

4
economic system which is considered the last stage in the Marxist historical
materialism where the proletariat arises to revolt against the political and social
hierarchy. The main distinction between the two economic theories is that
capitalism is based on private ownership of the means of production within free
market whereas socialism is about public, collective ownership of the means of
production. The second part will be approached practically through using Arthur
Miller’s Death of a Salesman perspective of the notion of capitalism. The play
depicts an American family that lives in a capitalist society.

Going back to the theory, one cannot deny that capitalism is a very complex,
difficult subject matter that requires deep, professional knowledge in many
disciplines like sociology, economics, history, philosophy, political science. This
paper will shed light on some famous ideas about the theory. For instance, the
meaning of private property, free market, growth, specialization, money. Of course,
the main goal of the paper is to reveal the negativities of capitalism that lead to the
death of the salesman.

The emphasis on capitalism is important. It is the force that guides the world in the
present day. It is also the source of many social problems because it constantly
opposes democracy in the sense that it is not organized for the masses or the
majority. Defining democracy, it is the process in which citizens directly participate
and determine decisions that shape their economic and social situation. In all
forms of capitalism, there is an inconsistency with democracy; most of the
decisions that affect society come from the top. That is a clear flaw. On the other
hand, one should question the sort of freedom that capitalism embraces. It is said
that the value of freedom in the mentioned system is manipulated. It allows
unaccountable accumulation of wealth, unaccountable interference in the political
sphere by the very rich, unaccountable dehumanization of the working poor,
indifference in terms of treating the environment. Thus, one cannot talk about
capitalism without bringing other cultural values that constitute it like democracy
and freedom.

Chapter 1: Understanding the Theory of Capitalism

1.1 Defining Capitalism

5
 Capitalism, as a word, has historically been into a circle of immense controversy. It
has taken various senses because of particular political and social realities. Some
philosophers have defined it depending on their social and intellectual experience;
others view it through revolutionary perspective. Thinkers have constantly
thought about it as a term, as a system, and as a theory, since it has been the major
engine globally. The word has taken different senses, meanings and forms.
Sociologists, economists and historians are debating and analyzing it intensely
because it is full of secrets, problems, and unexplainable facts.

So, what does capitalism really mean?

In the past, capitalism as a noun took its full sense which refers to an economic,
social, ideological and political reality along side with the emergence of a class of
men called the elite bourgeois society that owned the means of production. It is
meant that it was a result of profound social and economic change that occurred
due to the rise of industrialization in late C19. Raymond Williams’ keywords,
published in 1976, examines the origins of the word. It identifies that capitalism,
capitalist, and capital functioned differently in various stages in history. In Arthur
Young’s journal of Travels in France, the noun capitalist appeared to describe those
who are in the position of owning labor power and capital, that is to say, the
producers of supply within a society. Capitalism generally has been indicating a
particular historical economic system that represents a specific stage in the human
history. In the 18th century, it, as a word, was derived from the adjective capital
that was taken out of the Latin word caput meaning head. It is said that the first
use of the French word Capitale took place in the 12th and 13th centuries in the
sense of referring to funds, stocks of merchandise, money. Briefly, capital in
English has existed for centuries in the form of renting, merchandising, trading. 1

Adam Smith, the father of capitalism and the establisher of economics, viewed that
the only way to generate growth and wealth to the whole nation is embracing a
moral capitalism. He defined the theory in relation to free market in which labor is
divided in the sense of specializations. The man experienced the early beginnings
of the mentioned system where people were celebrating it because it seemed new

1
R. William, Keywords: a Vocabulary of Culture and Society (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS New York,
1985) Capitalism 50.

6
 and less unjust than feudalism. He is considered the center of capitalism because
he has established its main ideas that still operate concretely in markets
internationally. One of Smith’s major ideas about his model of capitalism lies in his
famous metaphor, the invisible hand. The latter is the basis of a moral successful
capitalism. It means that market offers an opportunity for every human being who
is looking for satisfying their own self-interest to intentionally or unintentionally
benefit other people. For him, the invisible hand and division of labor are the only
resources of a sufficient productivity that results the wealth of nations. Of course
the perception of capitalism varies from historical context to another. Because
exploitation of labor, child labor, and social disparities increased, Karl Marx came
to be the first radical critic of capitalism. He, unlike Smith, aimed to show the ugly
face of the economic system people lived in. He saw capitalism from a class
struggle point of view. The man also distinguishes between capital as a formal
economic category and capitalism as a system of wage-labor that is imposed by the
owners of the modes of production. In his famous book Das Capital2, he does not
use the form capitalism; yet the word capitalist and the phrase capitalist mode of
production appear more than 2600 times.

Basically, capitalism is an organization that is based on the production, distribution

and consumption of a commodity. It is about private ownership of the means of
production within a market economy. The general elements that constitute any
form or model of capitalism are the existence of money system, private property,
technology and market. The system mainly is characterized by supply and demand.

John locke, in his Second Treatise of Government, establishes a religious view of

capitalism. He justified private property when he says that God gives the earth to
humans in common where they can freely and privately labor to have a property of
their own. Yet many thinkers have viewed this perspective as very traditional and
limited.3

To define capitalism professionally, one should not limit it by the bounds of a

single academic discipline, typically economics. It is an organization that is
characterized by politics. Government intervention in economics is unavoidable. It

2
britannica.com/topic/Das-Kapital
3
John. Locke. The Second Treatise of Government. (Jonathan Bennett 2017) chapter 5: Of Property

7
is always behind the system. Capitalism cannot step out from government. The
latter interferes either directly or indirectly to put economic laws and strategies
that balance and regulate the market and confirm peace, justice, and paid taxes.
Clearly, capitalism is not autonomous in relation to the state institutions.

Capitalism is private and free enterprise that is mainly characterized by private

property, capital accumulation, wage labor, competitive market, and financial
system. Clearly, it is about a number of private actors that owns capital within the
frame of the market. Of course, the ownership of wealth legitimates an
intervention outside the market frame. Capitalism is generally about private, free
ownership of the means of production. The role of the government is helping the
big free capital owner to discharge their individual responsibilities, to achieve
several goals and purposes, to protect their freedom, and to maximize their profits.

Capitalism takes several models. In United States, it takes the form of free market
that is rooted in Wall Street, and the ideas of democracy and individual rights. In
this type the government intervention is indirect. Laisser-faire or free market is
the economic system where transactions between private businesspersons are free
from government regulations, privileges and subsidies. It is also called
neoliberalism or liberalization policies where the government puts market
economic policies or rules that typically help the major capital owners to privatize
public sectors, and achieve deregulation, free trade, and reduction in the level of
state funding the public services. Simply, this model is about putting the public
sector in the hands of the big businessmen who invest, get profit and pay taxes.
This has a good consequence which is pushing all citizens to contribute in the
prosperity of the country; in contrast, it leads to a decrease in the quality of the
public services that results not only a progressive shift from private to public
sector, but also suffering among the low-waged working class.

In the east, particularly in China, there is another major form of capitalism, state
capitalism. Of course, politically, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is
dominating. Simply, this type of capitalism is characterized by total state control
over economy. It protects the system from any economic disorder that can be
caused by crashes on the other side of the globe. State capitalism is an economic

8
 system where the state controls the economic activities of the whole nation. In
other words, it is state-owned business enterprise.

For a sufficient understanding of the term capitalism, one needs to examine the
main stages in the history of the system. The most controversial part in the history
of capitalism is laid in the transitional period from feudal society to capitalist
society. The dominant economic system at this stage is called agrarian capitalism.
It was a result of feudalism crises in the late middle ages in the level of food
production, lords or landowners, and peasantry. Mainly, agrarian or agricultural
capitalism emerged to achieve food security. From the 16th to 18th centuries, the
lords became merchants who travelled the world for the purpose of trading and
discovering. This type of capitalism is commonly known as mercantilism. In the
18th and 19th centuries, technological inventions helped develop industries, the
reason why the number of corporations increased massively. Consequently,
urbanization began. It was a crucial transitional period in the history of humanity
that has been called industrial capitalism. Of course, this period was not welcomed
by all sorts of individuals because it caused alienation, nature destruction. Today,
due to progressive technological innovations, modern capitalism has started. It
spreads all over the world because of the processes of globalization. David Soskice,
a British political economist, argues that modern economies vary into two forms of
capitalism: liberal market economies like US and Canada, and coordinated market
economies like Germany and Japan.4 Generally, the modern era of capitalism is
shaped by a very complex relationship with two major types of economic and
political systems: one is based on capitalist ideologies and the other is grounded on
socialist principles.

Another important aspect that supports defining the term capitalism lays in two
major components: supply and demand. They both constitute market that can be
defined as a location and a point in time where a product being bought and sold,
exchanged. Simply, supply refers to the market stocks, the producers and sellers of
needed commodities and demand represents the consumers. In this context, a
healthy, successful market economy is the one that achieves equilibrium between
supply, goods, and demand, the buyers. Demand, of course, changes due to several

4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varieties_of_Capitalism

9
factors such as individual income, population, expected future prices. So,
capitalism is mainly about competitive producers, capitalists who look for buying
commodities for the purpose of profit.

Profit making is the essential feature of capitalism. It is the money a business

makes after paying all expenses such as the hired employees and taxes. It is every
company’s goal. For some, it is the motive that drives individuals to contribute in
generating wealth and growth; and for others, it is considered exploitation.

Generally, the pillars of capitalism are private property, self-interest and

competition. The first allows people to own estates such as land, houses,
machinery, stocks. The second is the situation where private actors act in pursuit
of their own good that ends up benefiting the entire society. The third is the
process which is situated in free market sphere that helps maximize social welfare.
Capitalism, also, is founded on other pillars: freedom of choice, employer and
employee, limited role of government, technology. Of course, in laissez-fair, market
operates with little or no government regulation; in contrast, in mixed economies
or market-government economies, the market sphere plays a dominant role;
however, it is commonly regulated by non-market institutions, mainly the
government that interferes to correct its failures. Today, mixed market economies
predominate.

One cannot exhaust defining the term capitalism. There is no fixed definition of the
word because it is a process that constantly changes due to political and
ideological realities. Clearly, capitalism functions in societies around the world
differently. It is based on ideas that take many forms in various regimes. The
material part of capitalism is rooted in ideas. This means that capital(ism) carries
ideologies.

1.2 Ideology of Capitalism

A better understanding of the theory of capitalism requires a careful analysis of its

ideology. It is said that it is an economic and social structure that is based on a
system of ideas. On the other hand, some believe that it is the source of the existing

10
 ideas about it. Mainly, capitalism is an intricate ideological system which has
attracted various thinkers throughout history.

Ideology has been defined as a set of beliefs and ideas. Its subject is the individual
who is the ultimate producer and consumer of the ideas that work within societies.
Thus, the individual cannot stand separately from ideology. Merriam Webster
dictionary defines it as ‘a systematic body of concepts, especially those of a
particular group of people’5. This means that it functions through a system of ideas
that have been created by the dominant class within a social and economic
structure.

Karl Marx views ideology from historical background. He says that the ruling ideas
are the ideas of the ruling class in a particular historical period. In his time,
capitalism operated through an ideological dominance of the bourgeoisie that
owned the means of production. Ideology is essentially the belief that a way of
looking at the world is a universal truth. That is to say, it calls the individuals to
perceive the world as it is. Marx criticizes capitalism as a concrete economic
formation through combining two major schools of thought: Hegelian idealism and
Marxist materialism. This is known as dialectical materialism which is an
interconnection between the idea and the material for the purpose of analyzing
human phenomena efficiently.

Marx, in his beginnings as a philosopher, was a student of Hegel who is the

establisher of idealism which is a method of criticism that believed reality is
fundamentally mental. In other words, the world is actually shaped by ideas. In the
old times, people’s lifestyle was primarily formed by the non-material ideas that
they got from the spiritual realm. Simply, idealism views the material world as a
product of ideas. In contrast, Marx radically rejected this. For him, the material is
as important as the idea. Dialectical materialism is a Marxist approach of thinking
that says that understanding the reality of capitalism cannot be done only through
looking at the ideas of people about capitalism. It requires scrutinizing the real way
human beings make their food, solve their clothing problems.

5
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ideology

11
 Ideology can also be viewed through another Marxist theory: base and
superstructure. The former is dominated by the relations of production, and the
latter takes ideology as central. Technically, the base shapes the superstructure to
maintain the economic, social and political order of society. The base includes
economic conditions and power relations. On the other hand, the superstructure is
mainly an ideological system, the ruling class ideas.

The French philosopher Louis Althusser elaborates how ideology works within the
social and economic structure. He views the state as its engine. For him, the state is
an apparatus that is split into two major apparatuses. The Ideological State
Apparatus (ISAs) includes the state institutions such as education, family, religion,
communication (TV, Radio), politics, law. The Repressive State Apparatus (RSAs)
includes army, police, judiciary, prison. The main distinction between the two is
that the Repressive State Apparatus functions by violence, whereas the Ideological
State Apparatus functions by ideology. This perspective of the state is essential for
uncovering how capitalism works as an ideological system. Althusser, also,
identifies that ideology is inseparable from its subject, the individual. He says that
it interpellates the individual as subject. It gives identity to people. Therefore, he
claims that man, by nature, is an ‘ideological animal’. 6

Mainly, capitalism is regulated by the state. To keep the order, the ruling class
interferes politically to reproduce the ideologies that secure the relations of
production, the base. The state apparatus is formed by the power of the owner of
the modes of production. In other words, the functioning of the relations of
production is ensured by a combination of repression and ideology in which
ideology plays the dominant role. Thus, the state in capitalist society is at the
service of the representatives of the class in power. According to Marxism, The
major role of the superstructure is to maintain the perpetuation of the relations of
production which are originally relations of exploitation. That is to say, it is about
reproducing the core of the system which lies in the process of the exploitation of
the wage-workers.

6
Louis Althusser. On the Reproduction of Capitalism: Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses.
Published by Verso, 2014.

12
 Ideology is the belief in a set of ideas either consciously or unconsciously. If it is
unconscious, it is negative. This means that the subordinate class unconsciously
consumes manufactured ideas that come from the ruling class. If it is conscious, it
is positive. In this case, all classes within a social structure share the same
consciousness of the ideas that are circulated around them. Yet, Marxism
contradicts this logic. Many Marxists state that consciousness is false. Capitalism is
reproduced by falsifying the consciousness of the exploited class, the proletariat.
Mainly, Marx defines ideology as “false-consciousness”. For him, its aim is always
negative, restricting and distorting the class consciousness of the inferior class. It is
a drug that induces a passive acceptance of the horrors of capitalism.

Opposing Marx, Max Weber identifies that the origins of capitalism are not rooted
in the materiality. He is an influential sociologist and political economist who
analyses modern capitalism through understanding its origins. In his famous book
the Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, published in 1905, he tries to
clarify why capitalism exists. He says that the existence of capitalism is primarily
caused by a set of ideas, particularly, religious ideas. He writes that the Protestant
ethic, specifically the Calvinist religious practices are the force behind the
unplanned emergence of capitalism. Protestantism views hard work as a moral
obligation. The Protestants, for Weber, constantly toil and work to mitigate their
feelings of guilt and be loved by God. They continuously accumulate wealth and
invest to fulfill God’s desire, achieving prosperity. Simply, in Weber eyes people
become capitalists as a result of their religion.7

Cultural values help reproduce modern capitalism. The latter typically goes on by
the belief of freedom of competition between the corporate owners. In fact, the
value of competition that is central for the continuity of capitalism comes from
sports. All sorts of sports are based on competition.

Profit is another central ideology within capitalism. Capitalists pursue profit,

money believing that it leads to happiness. They constantly accumulate capital for

7
“It does not yet hold, with Franklin, that time is
money, but the proposition is true in a certain spiritual sense. It
is infinitely valuable because every hour lost is lost to labour for
the glory of God.104.” Max Weber. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. (published in the Taylor &
Francis e-Library, 2005.) translated by Talcott Parsons.

13
 the purpose of getting honor. Profit making is the essential characteristic of
capitalism. Benjamin Franklin once said to a young tradesman that time is money.

Money, of course, is crucial in understanding the ideology of capitalism. In this

context, Marx also criticizes the monetary system through linking between use-
value and exchange-value of commodities. His theory of commodity fetishism
introduces controversial critical ideas about the relationship between individuals,
workers and products of their labour, commodities. Dominic Strinati in his famous
book an Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture provides a comprehensive
criticism of the idea of commodity fetishisim in the context of the Frankfurt School
and the Culture Industry:

Marx distinguished between the exchange value and use value of the
commodities circulating in capitalist societies. Exchange value refers
to the money that a commodity can command on the market, the
price it can be bought and sold for, while use value refers to the
‘usefulness’ of the good for the consumer, its practical value or utility
as a commodity. For Marx, exchange value will always dominate use
value in capitalism because the production, marketing and
consumption of commodities will always take precedence over
people’s real needs.8

The major distinction between commodity and fetishized commodity is that the
first is characterized by being a real need, and the second is a ‘false need’. The
latter is primarily an illusion that is based upon the assumption that people have
true or real needs to be creative and independent economic and social actors in
control of their own destinies. False needs work to deny and abolish true or real
needs. This is the essence of the consumerist society. Money, the price of

8
A lecture by Pro. Belghazi on the Frankfurt School and the Culture Industry in Pop culture and society.
Dominic Strinati, an Introduction to Theory of Popular culture. Chapter Two: the Frankfurt School and the
Culture Industry (51)

14
commodities and goods defines and dominates social relations in capitalist society.
The exchange-value, the price takes over the real, use-value of commodities. In
other words, according to Marxist analyses, the monetary aspect of capitalism
results in the disappearance of the relationship not only between the person and
the product of their labor, but also between person and person.

Private control of the means of production is the heart of capitalist ideology. The
system mainly is all about producing goods as cheaply as one can and selling them
for as much money as possible. The principle of private possession of property
forces workers to be employed by others, the few. It supports oligarchic capitalism
which is an unwelcome form in which power rests with a small number of people.
This means where the resources and power in the economy are concentrated in
the hands of the few. Private ownership, generally, is the exclusive right of a
person over a thing. Of course, there are rules that organize it. Absolute, unlimited
ownership of the means of production within the economic structure of capitalism
is socially unhealthy. In this situation, large number of people has no other means
of earning than by selling their labor power to the small number of people, capital
owners. Generally, this idea of private ownership represents the core of capitalist
society which is about ‘individual over community’. Property types are three:
private, public, and personal. The personal property refers to every property that
can be moved from one location to another like one’s computer, clothes, camera,
car. The public property is everything owned by the state like public roads, public
water supply, public electricity. The private property represents the property that
is owned by a corporation business. Modern capitalism is based on the private
possession of the means of production such as machinery, buildings, tools,
workers. Yet, for Marxists, this contradicts democracy.

The ideology of capitalism takes many forms due to political and social changes.
Within capitalism, there is a branch of what is called anarcho-capitalism which
refers to a pure political ideology that radically advocates the elimination of the
state in the context of private ownership, private property, and free markets.
Anarcho-capitalism ideology is characterized by being self-regulate. This means
degrading the role of the state in the market sphere. It is also called libertarianism
which is an ideological and political movement that supports liberty, freedom of

15
choice and opposes the existing state institutions. This ideology has been
considered to be one of the weakest ideologies of capitalism since it directly
generates social disorder, autocracy and oppression.

It is said that the strongest capitalist ideological system is welfare state capitalism.
It is a concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the economic
growth of the whole nation. It claims being democratic because it is based on equal
distribution of wealth, equality of opportunity, and higher tax rate for those with
higher income. This kind of capitalism opposes free market capitalism in the level
of social insurance, healthcare.

Of course, the ideology of capitalism constantly changes because its concrete

reality always moves. For a better illustration of the concept of capitalism, one
should not neglect its counter-ideology, the opposing system Socialism.

1.3 Capitalism versus Socialism

The relationship between these two economic, political, ideological and social
systems shape today’s reality. Mostly, they are in a constant conflict where each
part uses its mechanisms, ideologies, and power to overpower the other. In this
context, for many thinkers, that is the nature of history which is an endless,
continuum clash between forces that ceaselessly and selfishly look for dominance.

16
 It is known that socialism or communism’s ideological principles have been
established by two major revolutionary thinkers: karl Marx and Friedrick Engels.
In their revolutionary, famous document the Communist Manifesto, published in
1848, they put the pillars of communism that come into existence after what they
call resistance and class struggle: “the history of all hitherto existing societies is the
history of class struggle”. The engine of history is fundamentally characterized by
an endless clash and struggle between the superior and the inferior, and between
the ruler and the ruled.9

Marx and Engels adopt the Hegelian idealist dialectics into tradition materialism.
Simply, the today’s general status quo is not only a result of conflicting dialectical
ideas, but also a product of historically revolutionary, concrete, materialistic and
economic decisions. This is considered to be the Marxist perspective of history:
historical materialism. The latter is simply a series of economic, social, political and
ideological systems: primitive or tribal society, slave society, feudal or agricultural
society, capitalist society, socialism, and finally communism or utopian socialism.
In each of the mentioned systems there are weaknesses and contradictions.

The Marxist theory of historical materialism is based on the assumption that

within every economic system there are conflicting forces and ‘internal
contradictions’. In other words, it includes systemic problems. It constantly tries to
find solutions. Yet, in the end, the internal contradictions become unmanageable
that results in an explosion where a system dies and a new one is born. There is
first tribal or communal society which is the prehistoric period that is shaped by
some limited unnoticed instances of social rank and prestige and very limited
conditions of surviving that result in a transition to slavery. The latter, because it
cannot resolve its problems, it dies. It is replaced by feudalism which also dies due
to some internal problems. Afterwards, capitalism comes into existence. As a result
of its systemic issues, revolutionaries intervene to move to the next system
socialism that leads to the last stage in the Marxist historical materialistic

9
Karl Mark + Friedrick Engel. The Communist Manifesto, (Marxists Internet Archive/marxists.org)
chapter 1: Bourgeois and Proletarians

17
 development, communism which is a moneyless, classless, and stateless utopian
society.10

As a distinction, capitalism is grounded on the private ownership of property,

unregulated free market in which production, circulation of goods and services,
and consumption operate whereas socialism is based on collective ownership of
the means of production. Capitalists think that the government does not have the
right to interfere in private enterprises because it will restrict freedom of action
and decision that are taken by the investors or businesspersons that result in a
decrease in the nation growth process. On the contrary, socialists believe that
economic inequality is unhealthy for the entire society, and the government is
accountable for reducing or eliminating it via implementing strict programs that
benefit the poor like free healthcare, free public education, social security for all
sorts of people, higher taxes on the rich. Politically, both systems claim that they
are fundamentally democratic. Yet in reality, for many critics they are not.

In this context, democracy should not be taken for granted. It is supposed to be a

parliamentary process in which voted representatives of people transparently
make political decisions that benefit the whole nation. However, capitalism is
inconsistent with democracy since elections cannot be allowed to determine the
economic policies that are implemented in many capitalist countries. Socialism,
also, opposes democracy because it encourages unaccountable monopoly of power
by the state. Stalin’s communist version can be an efficient sample. In fact,
capitalism and socialism are not perfect since democracy itself is not. Going back to
ancient Greek philosophers, Aristotle defined it as a constitution in which the free
and the poor, being in the majority, control government; yet the Athenian
democracy excluded women, slaves, migrants. What has been more pertinent
about ancient Athenian democracy was the inclusion of the working poor who not
only got the right to free speech, but more importantly they acquired the right of
political judgment. They were afforded equal weight in decision making
concerning matters of state. In fact, today’s liberal democracies do not have their
roots in ancient Athens; however, their origins lie in Magna Carta, 1688 glorious
Revolution, specifically in the American Revolution. In this context, whereas
10
A Youtube lecture by the American Marxian economist Richard D. Wolff on the History of Capitalism:
Slavery, Feudalism, and Marxism

18
Athenian democracy was focusing on the masterless citizen and empowering the
working poor, current liberal democracies have been grounded on Magna Carta
tradition which was, after all, a charter for masters. Basically, today, both socialism
and capitalism have failed to adopt an authentic democracy. Socialism represents
itself as a force that comes into being to reform capitalism, particularly profit
system, capital accumulation, distribution of wealth while capitalism introduces
itself as a gift through which dictatorship will be eradicated, and by which
prosperity and growth will spread.

It is known that the Bolshevik revolution in 1917 was the first communist political
movement in history. Lenin used the Marxist thought to spread his political
orientation, and establish his political theories known as Leninism. The latter
aimed to achieve a dictatorship of the proletariat and a concrete implementation of
socialism. His political principle was favoring collectivism in a classless society in
which power is put in the hands of the wide majority, the working poor. The man
died in 1924 replaced by Stalin who ruined the socialist project. He used power
irresponsibly to dominate government. Mostly, this is a common weakness of
socialism in which an authoritarian regime prevails through unaccountable
exercise of power.

On the other hand, modern capitalism is also full of unpleasant paradoxical

features. One paradox is the mountain of debts that has been bombarding United
States, Europe, and the whole world. The other is a mountain of idle cash belonging
to rich savers and corporations that are terrified to invest it into productive
activities that can generate incomes from which the mountain of debts can be
extinguished. It is obvious that if the two mountains fail to cancel each other out
through the normal operation of the market, the result will be stagnant wages, less
job opportunities. Consequently, this leads to low aggregate demand which
endlessly reinforces the pessimism of investors who fear to invest their money
because no one will buy what they produce. Of course, the result is reproducing
low demand, unemployment, and more pessimism.

Capitalism, of course, is a phenomenon through which the political and economic

spheres are in a constant interconnection. In capitalism the two spheres cannot be
fully separated. Consequently, the democratic process cannot be fully confined in

19
 the political sphere. That is to say the economic sphere is colonizing the political.
In this context, Noam Chomsky elaborates this perspective by citing his theory of
concentration of wealth and concentration of power. He argues that these two
processes are working in an endless vicious circle. That is to say, rich people get
politically strong and they get into the legislative process in which they shape rules
and laws that economically support them. He identifies ten principles of the
mentioned theory: 1 reducing democracy, 2 shaping ideology, 3 re-designing the
economy, 4 shifting the burden to the masses, 5 attacking solidarity, 6 running the
regulators, 7 engineering elections, 8 keep the rabble in line, 9 manufacturing
consent, and 10 marginalizing the population. The economic power leads to
political and ideological power.11

Today, this is clear in the context of politicians. They have been acquiring less
power. In other words, one can be in government and not in power because power
has migrated from the political sphere to the economic sphere. Decision-making in
capitalist society is in the hands of the motors of the economy, the big
stockholders. The economic sphere is, in fact, undermining itself as long as it
interferes in the political because it causes economic crises such as inequality,
excessive increase in corporate power, dramatic decrease in aggregate demand,
market monopoly. Thus, chief executive officers of corporations are too scared to
invest their cash that they accumulate.12

Socialism is a political and economic structure that is grounded on the assumption

that productive activities and growth are social. This means that society as a whole
benefits from the right of social services like public education and healthcare. The
means of production in this system are fundamentally social rather than
individual. In this context, the working poor are empowered because they have
social rights by which they get the basic needs of living. On the other hand,
unfortunately, capitalism is eliminating the working poor through replacing low-
waged workers with technology, such as, robots, androids, and computers. This
generates more unemployment through which many social problems come into
being. Technology, for many critics, is destroying capitalism. In future, it will
11
Noam Chomsky. Requiem for the American Dream (film by Peter Hutchison, Kelly Nyks, and Jarred P.
Scott)
12
A speech (Capitalism Will Eat Democracy) of the Greek economist, philoshopher, and political activist
Yanis Varoufakis (TED)

20
inevitably result in a Star Trek global society where machines serve the humans
who expand their energies trying to explore the universe and indulge in endless
long debates about the meaning of life.

As a definition, socialism refers to the relationship between the state and the
economy. That is to say the government plays a major role in controlling the
market economy of the nation. As an entity, socialism is known by its belonging to
what is called the left-wing. The latter is a set of political ideas centered around
using state power to provide an equal playing field for all members of a society.
This can include resolving social inequalities in terms of income, race, class,
gender. Socialism is basically a left-wing ideology that is characterized by the
means of production being owned and regulated by society as whole rather than a
limited number of people. On the other hand, there is the right-wing that generally
refers to people who advocate less government involvement in their lives and in
society. Libertarian right-wing ideology is an anti-conservatism ideology that
radically supports the idea of individualism, freedom of choice, and limited state
intervention in social affairs. That is an attempt in which the two ideological
systems, the two powers capitalism and socialism are compared through the
controversial terms left-wing and right-wing. Mainly, the two powers are
competing to dominate.

Capitalism and socialism are conflicting powers. They are both constantly
attempting to reproduce themselves by spreading their ideologies through various
ideological apparatuses. On the one hand, capitalism is based on the belief that free
market produces the best outcome for the society. That is to say government
should not restrict the market process. On the other hand, socialism is grounded
on the assumption that large-scale industries are collective efforts and thus the
returns of these industries should benefit society as whole. Additionally, it
advocates the idea that resources are human rather than individual. It is about
shared ownership of the means of production.

After a very precise scrutiny of capitalist society, Marx rebelliously establishes

communism or socialism as a counter-ideology. Thinkers have been impressed by
his revolutionary ideas, the reason why they adopt his school of thought, Marxism.
The latter has been increasingly invading modern capitalism. Of course, Marxism

21
is, in its essence, a revolutionary political doctrine that promotes the principle of
resistance through which capitalism dies and socialism is born. On the other hand,
the Smithian model of capitalism is still impossible in today’s reality. The man’s
theory has been introducing capitalism not only as a materialist structure, but also
as a moral structure.

Chapter 2: Aspects of Capitalism in Arthur Miller’s Death of a

Salesman

2.1 Willy’s Pursuit of Wealth

Willy, in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, published in 1949, pursues wealth to

uplift his social status, secure his family, and be really liked. He constantly toils to
achieve the dream which, in reality, is still impossible. Of course, he is an American

22
citizen who works hard for the purpose of getting rich. Yet, in spite of his hard-
working he does not achieve success.

Willy Loman is a working class member, a poor salesman. In his youth, he used to
be a very successful seller while today he is old, the reason why he is neglected by
his employers. He ceaselessly labors to have a sufficient salary through which he
can be happy. He also sacrifices himself to help his son Biff be self-secured and self-
reliant. He strongly loves money. Consequently, his relationship with his family
and friends has been reduced to be merely materialistic rather than humane and
valuable. He believes that money is key in being liked by others rather than
personal attractiveness and moral behaviors. Going back to the theory, in fact, this
constant worship of money is basically laid on the values that capitalism has been
teaching to societies that hold it. Particularly, the values that capitalism produces
are essentialized in the materiality. Money and wealth change the whole society
from being based on morality and real values to regarding every human aspect as
being inherited in material economic purposes. The notion of the exchange-value
of commodity confirms that money, the price of commodities alienate the producer
from the product of their labor. On the other hand, it introduces the idea that the
relationship between individual and other individuals disappears and is replaced
by a material relationship between individual and money.

For Willy, a successful man is the one who is financially stable. Undeniably, he
values his wife and children when he refuses Ben’s suggestion which is travelling
the world for the purpose of getting wealth.

WILLY: No, wait! Linda, he’s got a proposition for me in Alaska.

LINDA: But you’ve got... (To Ben.) He’s got a beautiful job here.
WILLY: But in Alaska, kid, I could...
LINDA: You’re doing well enough, Willy!
BEN (to Linda): Enough for what, my dear?
LINDA (frightened of Ben and angry at him): Don’t say those
things to him! Enough to be happy right here, right now. (To
Willy, while Ben laughs.) Why must everybody conquer the

23
 world? You’re well liked, and the boys love you, and someday (2.61)13

Linda believes that her husband should not leave his family for money. She
proposes the idea that a man must endeavor to find the opportunity in his own
country. Her perspective of happiness differs from Ben’s. That is to say she values
close relationship between members of family. She is one of the factors that
prevent Willy from travelling to Alaska.

Willy is a member of the capitalist society. Thus, his motives, actions and
interactions are rooted in the social and economic system he belongs to. In this
context, he behaves depending on his position in society. He has learned the
capitalist way of thinking and acting. That is to say he has been educated how to be
a capitalist. The latter is mainly characterized by an endless pursuit of wealth and
profit. He is part of a system which he cannot escape from. Eventually, he gets
wealth by sacrificing himself. His death guarantees twenty thousand dollars for Biff
who constantly tries to get a job and be self-assured. However, things are not
working the way he desires.

WILLY: Biff Loman is lost. In the greatest country in the world a young man
with such—personal attractiveness, gets lost. And such a hard worker. There’s
one thing about Biff— he’s not lazy. Ibid. (1. 8)

Unemployment destroys capitalism. The Lomans are jobless, the reason why they
suffer. The play took place after the Second World War, late 1940s in particular. At
this period, United States was still struggling with the consequences of Wall Street
Crash, 192914. Biff, Willy’s son, is a thirty-four year old jobless citizen who fails to
achieve his dream. He does not want to be like his father who has entirely
13
Arthur Miller. Death of a Salesman (Viking Press of New York. 1949)
Winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1949, Death of a Salesman has to this day remained a classic. The play’s
intellectual appeal lies in Miller’s refusal to portray his characters as two-dimensional — his refusal to
involve himself in a one-sided polemic attack on capitalism.
14
The play is based on Miller’s father experience as a salesman during the rough times of the Great
Depression 1930s.

24
dedicated himself for running after wealth which he cannot get. Basically,
unemployment prevents the Lomans from being wealthy. Willy is no more
successful in business, the reason why he feels inferior and unsatisfied. He used to
be a well liked successful salesman, but today he is financially and healthily
insecure. He had lots of fruitful business trips. In contrast, in the present day, he is
uselessly trying to find a proper job. He becomes unproductive, worthless and
valueless. In this context, the human value is degraded whereas the materialistic
part prevails. In capitalism, money and wealth are absolutely necessary in
determining one’s social position. In other words, one’s social status is inevitably
dictated by one’s economic status.

Money is the basic factor in capitalism. Success, for Willy, is the moment one gets
an opportunity to sell. That is to say income is the core through which one can
have some prestige. Actually that is a superficial outlook of the meaning of success.
Willy blames himself because he believes he is responsible for the financial crisis
his family suffers from. He believes he makes a mistake by not accepting his
brother’s offer, taking adventures to Alaska where he can have gold, diamonds and
wealth. Money is central in achieving the dream. “Willy: … and there was a question
in my mind as to whether selling had a future for me. Because in those days I had a
yearning to go to Alaska.” Willy regrets his past decision in which he chose selling
as his life business position.

Willy and his sons are looking for well-paying jobs to buy nice cars, house and have
a lifestyle. Regular income deserves ceaseless hard-work. That is the essence of the
American dream which is about the pursuit of wealth that results in prosperity and
happiness. More specifically, happiness in capitalist society is determined by the
quantity of money, capital one owns. Ben, unlike Willy, emphasizes the perspective
that only the materialistic and financial success help uplift the family situation.
“BEN: What are you building? Lay your hand on it.(2, 61) Where is it?” According to
Willy’s monologues or daydreams, the prosperity of Ben’s family is an evidence of
the concrete wealth he accumulates. That is the ideal success. The value of success
in Death of a Salesman is presented as being the only path that every person
should take. It deserves taking adventures and risks. That is to say, the pursuit of

25
wealth deserves sacrificing one’s life. More specifically, Willy kills himself to
ensure a payout for his family.

Willy is, clearly, a complex personality. He has many layers and contradictions. Of
course, this is what makes a literary character look alive. In his journey in which he
struggles hard to achieve the dream, he opposes his sons, Biff in particular. Yet,
sooner, he discovers that he and his son have many features in common. For
instance, he is a failure in the accomplishment of the dream despite being well-
liked. He, in the story, is the failed hero. In other words, he is hero when he refuses
departing his family; on the hand, he is a failure concerning matters of family fiscal
security, and matters of happiness. Apparently, he is a villain because he does not
get into the jungle through which he can get gold and diamond. Ben, actually, is the
successful hero. He proves that the material success is worthier in modern
capitalism. Generally, Willy’s actions have been a result of the entire economic
system.

Willy, as a working class member, symbolizes the fragility of the society he lives in.
His actions, behavior and spirit are products of the institutions of capitalism. In his
society, profit, pursuit of profit and self-interest are the most dominant values. The
monetary aspect takes over other values. Thus, profit making is the motor of
capitalism. Mostly, the major subject that governs the Lomans is the subject of
money.

The simple path to wealth is walking into the jungle. Yet Willy decides to value his
family by leaving them. Consequently, this leads to spiral internal and external
conflicts. As soon as he fails in business, he starts blaming himself. In his thoughts,
he accuses himself for the fact that he does not join his brother Ben who makes it
at the age of twenty-one after coming out of the jungle. Typically, in Willy’s
psychology, there is a kind of shame, self-condemnation and disappointment since
he dismisses his life opportunity through which he can become wealthy. On the
other hand, there is a sort of pride. What makes Willy happy is not the calls he
makes in his business, but the close relationship with his family. He also stabs the
idea of self-reliance. The latter is one of the main American values in which
individualism operates. In other words, the individual is self-dependent. It should
make it solely. It should be self-reliant. However, Willy uncovers the opposite. He

26
does not walk into the jungle for a simple reason: the fact that his family, wife and
sons, cannot survive individually.

The drama, Death of a Salesman, belongs to the literary movement called Realism
which depicts the reality of society. America, as a capitalist society, is based on
values adapted by individuals such as freedom, self-reliance, individualism, and
respect. Yet the economic system of the mentioned nation, sometimes, contradicts
these values. Arthur Miller’s drama attacks and degrades the values, the pillars of
American capitalism. He reveals realistic truths of the system. The misery of the
Loman’s family is a consequence of the wrong policies of capitalism. Actually, what
restricts Willy’s path of running after wealth is not only his refusal to get into the
jungle, but also the inconsistencies of the economic structure of his society.

Willy’s experience of capitalism is displayed through numerous monologues, the

past, and through the outside of his mind, the present. “BEN: You’ve a new
continent at your doorstep, William. Get out of these cities … WILLY (with increasing
anger): Howard, all I need to set my table is fifty dollars a week”. Interpreting his
journey in which he rushes after business and money necessarily requires an
analysis of the whole context. Willy is primarily a product of his society. The
latter’s major concern is money and wealth. What construct Willy’s present
personality is a constant financial pressure. In addition, the family dynamics, the
actions of the Lomans, as they are represented in the play, are basically driven by
the value of money. Yet, it seems that what concerns Willy is not fundamentally
money. It is the idea of being well-liked and known by others. Success for him is
not always attached to wealth. Success is also a matter of name and fame:

WILLY (continuing over Happy’s line): They laugh at me, heh? Go to

Filene’s, go to the Hub, go to Slattery’s, Boston. Call out the name Willy
Loman and see what happens! Big shot! (1, 43)

27
 Willy, actually, does not value wealth and money as much as the idea of celebrity
among other people. He wants his name to be known among population.
Obviously, for him, fame is key in maintaining the family name rather than wealth.

The death of the salesman is a final successful business transaction through which
Biff, his important son, can start his own business, the Loman Brothers Sporting
Line. Pursuit of wealth has been depicted not as a simple process in which the man
labors to get a specific result of his labor, but as a life worthy goal that deserves
suicide. Willy, apparently, fails to obtain wealth and make business for his sons.
That is to say, he does not make it. Yet, after he realizes that the dream is
impossible, he commits suicide to ensure his life assurance, wealth to his family.

Theoretically, a genuine wealth system is a process for measuring and assessing

the actual physical conditions of all the things that make life prosperous. It also
should be defined in the context of knowledge, relationships, beauty, nature, joy,
and happiness.

Undoubtedly, labor as an activity is crucial for Willy’s pursuit of wealth. It, as a

biological process, is fundamental in life process: as Arendt argues in her book the
Human Condition (1958), “the human condition of labor is life itself”.15 That is, of
course, the nature of all existing species. Willy labors for productive purposes. Yet,
as soon as he discovers that his future labor will be unproductive, he thinks about
death which, as he believes, is much fruitful than being alive. He radically accepts
the truth that, only through his death, he is going to get the wealth he and his
family lack. The death of the salesman symbolizes not only the failure of the
American dream, but also the fall of capitalism.

The Lomans represent a sample of the working class families that live under the
liberal policies of capitalism. The family, undeniably, is contextualized in numerous
other institutions which can be economic, educational, and political. Generally, this
set of organizations determines the social and economic status of people.
Governments should put strategies whereby equal distribution of wealth operates.
Arthur Miller professionally builds complex characters that depict, mostly,
capitalism as evil and immoral. Willy’s journey of capitalism reveals its dark side.
15
Hannah Arendt. The Human Condition (the University of Chicago Press, 1958) chapter: 1 (Vita Activa
and the Human Condition), page1

28
2.2 Howard as a Representative of Capitalism

Arthur Miller, in Death of a Salesman, builds a number of characters through which

he criticizes capitalism. The relationship between Willy and Howard shapes
modern business community that is grounded on two actors: employer and
employee.

Howard Wagner portrays capitalism as immoral. He is a rich businessman who

believes in the idea that profit and money are above social relationships. He
achieves the dream without working hard by inheriting his father’s company. He is
a selfish capitalist who represents capitalism as a mere material economic system.

29
 Willy used to be a successful salesman. Today, he is old, the reason why he is fired
by Howard, his dead friend’s son. He contributed to founding the Wagner
Company, but “how much loyalty does a company owe its employees after thirty-
four years of service?”16 Howard, the boss, does not desire Willy because he cannot
make much sells. For him, business is business:

HOWARD: No, but it’s a business, kid, and everybody’s gotta

pull his own weight.
WILLY (desperately): Just let me tell you a story. Howard...
HOWARD: ‘Cause you gotta admit, business is business.
WILLY (angrily): Business is definitely business, but just listen
for a minute. You don’t understand this. When I was a boy —
eighteen, nineteen — I was already on the road. And there
was a question in my mind as to whether selling had a future
for me. (2, 57)

Howard, the employer, values profit and devalues social relationships which are
necessary in society. He represents capitalism as an ugly entity in which employees
are constantly exploited by employers. The idea of exploitation is central in
capitalism. The employer owns the company. In this context, the employer in
modern liberal society is never asked how they have it. In one of his lectures,
Richard Wolff, a Marxist American economist, elaborates mathematically the
relationship between the employer and the employee. He simply splits labor into
two major parts: the embodied labor and the living labor. The former includes the
raw materials whereas the latter involves workers. When these two aspects
collaborate, they give “the total labor”. In order to make a chair, the employer
needs tools such as nails, hammer, woods, leather. In addition, he hires the living
labor which transforms the mentioned equipments into a final product, the chair.
In other words, the chair is an outcome of an interaction between the means of
production and the effort of employees.

16
https://study.com/academy/lesson/howard-wagner-in-death-of-a-salesman-character-analysis.html

30
 In capitalism, the embodied labor, which is a result of the work that is done by
workers in the past, becomes the private property of a few people known as
employers. The latter, to establish a corporation, bring a hundred dollar of the
embodied labor, tools; plus the living labor, the hired employees.

“EL(100) + LL(100) = TL(200)”17

200 dollars is the price of the chair. Clearly, the living labor adds 100 dollar value
to the embodied labor that is owned by the employer. Of course, all this process is
rooted in the employer’s pursuit of profit. To get profit, the employer should
exploit the other part. He divides the value of the living labor into two parts: the
payment of the hired people and profit. Simply, he pays 50 dollars to his employee
and gets back 150 that include his 100 that he gives in the production process, plus
50 of profit. Of course, he needs to get back his 100 to replace the materials used
up in producing the chair and keep the production process going. On the other
hand, he can take the other 100 and give it to the worker who labors to add the half
of the value to the total labor, the chair. However, the capitalist, the employer who
may not physically contribute in the production process, should “rip his employees
off” to gain profit, the 50 dollars. He has to steal from them. He has to pay them less
than the value added by their labor to get profit. The latter, in Marxist vocabulary,
is called the “surplus”.

Willy, the employee, after 34 years of being exploited, is not even appreciated by
the enterprise owner, Howard. The latter represents the few who own the means
of production through which they control the majority. The relationship between
the employer and employee is a basic capitalist mechanism. In this context, it is
obvious that this relationship degrades the moral aspect.

Adam Smith, in his famous book the Theory of Moral Sentiments published in
1759, proposes the motor of capitalism. That is to say he establishes the basic
principle through which capitalism survives: moral principle. He believes that
capitalism cannot go on without being grounded on a system of morals. The moral
17
A lecture of the American Marxian economist Richard Wolff on Levy Economics Institution (Youtube)

31
he sets up in capitalism is based on the principle of sympathy. He argues that rich
people should sympathize with poor people. He states that social ranks are
inevitable because they are part of the human nature. Yet, the essence of his theory
lies in the principle that social and economic hierarchies will be eliminated if there
is a morality based social structure. He claims that ethics and economics should be
interwoven. Self-interest and individualism are natural human behavioral aspects.
Yet there is always a set of emotions through which sociability prevails.

What Howard cares about is acquiring more power, money, richness, respect and
honor. He desires to be admired by other people. He creates his own fashion in
matters of style, dressing, language, behavior. He represents the consumerist part
in capitalism: that is to say the products he consumes should not be in the same
quality in relation with the vast majority of people. The power of the capitalist is
rooted on how much he exploits. Willy realizes he has been exploited. He, in
collaboration with Howard’s father, made the Wagner enterprise. Yet, now, he is
neglected:

WILLY (stopping him). I’m talking about your father! There were
promises made across this desk! You mustn’t tell me you’ve got
people to see — I put thirty-four years into this firm, Howard, and
now I can’t pay my insurance! “You can’t eat the orange and throw
the peel away — a man is not a piece of fruit!” (After a pause.)
Now pay attention. Your father — in 1928 I had a big year. I
averaged a hundred and seventy dollars a week in commissions.
HOWARD (impatiently): Now, Willy, you never averaged...
WILLY (banging his hand on the desk): I averaged a hundred and
seventy dollars a week in the year of 1928! And your father came
to me — or rather, I was in the office here — it was right over this
desk — and he put his hand on my shoulder... (2, 58)

Willy ends up being exploited. He sacrifices his entire life in building Wagner’s
corporation without even being appreciated by the son Howard. The latter’s

32
actions depict capitalism as an immoral system.

To elaborate the relationship between the employer and employee, one needs to
examine Hegel’s slave-master dialectic. In his complicated book the
Phenomenology of Spirit published in 1807, he explores the relationship between
the slave and master that can be implemented in capitalism taking the form of
employer-employee. He identifies that the relationship between the slave and
master is dialectical. It is interdependent. This means that the master cannot exist
without the slave. The master or the employer literally owns the slave or the
employee. He dominates the slave. However, the line of dependency is not running
into one direction; the master, also, depends on the slave. In the context of
capitalism, it is clear that the employer, the master cannot survive individually
without the slave’s effort. Wagner’s corporation is a result of both the slave and
master. More specifically, the enterprise is a final fruit of the dialectical
relationship between Howard’s father and the salesmen, the employees.

Howard depends on profit to stay in business. He, of course, in the surface, looks a
selfish, egoist capitalist. Yet, in reality, he is not totally representing capitalism as
an evil category. For many economists, it is not true when people attack capitalists
as being egoists. Capitalism can be considered to be a religious, ethical structure:
an ideal capitalist is the one who is ready to risk his life and sacrifice his time just
so that production and profit grow. Their personal happiness is extremely
subordinate to profit. Howard obsession with business, his greed, is not always
unethical. His pursuit of profit helps contribute in the continuity of the production
process as well as the continuity of the human race. They serve money so that
money serves humanity.

Undeniable, Death of a Salesman, indirectly, portrays a clash between Howard, the

property owner and Willy, the property maker. That is a clear weakness of
capitalism in which workers are excluded despite being the major force through
which growth is achieved. The greed of capitalists is a basic factor that leads to the
failure of Willy’s dream.

33
2.3 The Failure of Willy’s Dream

In spite of his hard-working, Willy fails to achieve his dream because the economic
system he belongs to does not work for him. The American dream, as an ideology,
has been considered to be a major motivator in which people belonging to the
mentioned country ceaselessly run after opportunities that serve both sides: the
nation and individual. That is to say, the idea of the American Dream is not always
an evil ideology. It is crucial in the economic growth of the nation. However, the
case of Willy in Death of a Salesman stabs its credibility.

The birth of the term “American Dream” takes place in James Truslow Adams’
1931 book, Epic of America. He establishes a theory where everybody’s effort
towards opportunities through which they become wealthy helps progress the
whole land that they live in. The striving of the human being to make a living

34
 essentially means helping the other individuals to make their own living. His
definition of the notion of the American Dream cannot be applied in today’s reality:
“the American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer
and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability and
achievement.”18 Willy offers 34 years to his land, but the result is self-insurance and
unhappiness. Modern economic policies in the United States do not fit in the
growth process of the whole nation. More particularly, the majority of people do
not benefit from the economic progression of the nation. That is an obvious factor
that results in the failure of Willy’s dream.

It is said that the failure of Willy’s dream symbolizes the failure of capitalism. The
economic system Willy lives in does strictly define success as a material
achievement through which happiness functions. In other words, a happy family
should pursue wealth and financial success. Here, it is pertinent to ask the
question: what makes Willy financially unsuccessful? Or, to what extent does he
take the responsibility for the failure of his dream? Actually, he is responsible for
his miserable situation. His own character flaws ultimately causing his dream to
fall. On the one hand, he is an unrealistic person. He usually escapes confronting
reality through lying to people around him. He pretends being happy. His
dishonesty with himself and others is a major obstacle to his success. On the other
hand, just like his son, “he never trains himself for anything”. He just lives without
thinking about his future’s status. Specifically, he does not accumulate wealth
through which he ensures himself in his adultery. Simply, what constrains Willy’s
road towards success is not only the systemic contradictions of capitalism, but also
his tragic flaw about his unrealistic behavior concerning matters of everyday life.
Willy’s own actions and mistakes in his everyday lifestyle influence Biff to believe
that he has become a failure at the age of thirty-four. Willy is not a successful
salesman. This indicates that he is not a successful father. After flunking math, Biff
does not get help from his father. The latter believes that his son should follow his
footsteps to become a salesman, the ultimate dream. Simply, the lesson here is that
the failure of Willy’s dream necessarily impacts the people close to him. 19

Willy radically thinks that being a salesman is the ultimate career through which
18
Wikipedia. J. T. Adams, Epic of America, (Boston [Mass.] : Little, Brown, and Co., 1931.)
19
https://freebooksummary.com/death-of-a-salesman-willy-lomans-failure-as-a-father-24681

35
one can be well-liked and gain material success. Yet, in reality he cannot sell
anything. His failure pushes him to escape from the present reality to the past
where he regrets taking decisions rather than choosing being a salesman. In the
past, his actions were not wise enough. Consequently, he did not make it. He has
been a failure as a father, husband, and businessman.

However, in the end, he corrects his mistakes through ensuring his death
assurance to his sons who will start their own business. In addition, he looks for
being the number one man despite the difficulties. This motivates his sons to work
harder and be realistic. He teaches his sons the principle of running after the
dream:

HAPPY: All right, boy. I’m gonna show you and everybody else
that Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It’s
the only dream you can have — to come out number-one man.
He fought it out here, and this is where I’m gonna win it for him.
(Requiem, 104)

The lesson Willy’s sons learn is that one should fight to become the number-one
man. This displays the strength of the ideology of the American dream. That is to
say, people, in spite of realizing that it is impossible, they still strive to reach
success.

Arthur Miller, in the essence of his play, does not talk about the idea of American
Dream, but, more than that, he uncovers the inconsistencies of present day
capitalism. Generally speaking, “the American Dream refers to the idea that each
citizen should be free to reach his or her fullest potential as a productive member
of society”. Productivity is the main objective behind the mentioned ideology.

Undoubtedly, Miller represents capitalism as a system that creates tragedy rather

than happiness. It is known that in modern economic and social reality, money is
the core of happiness. Being self-secured is fundamentally attached to the material
wealth one owns. Because of his lack of wealth, Willy realizes that his path towards

36
 the dream is thoroughly impossible. Therefore, he literally kills himself to gain
some value and ensure his family financial situation. In this context, the human
value is radically determined by the financial worth. The Lomans, undeniably, love
each other. Yet, love as a non-material value fails to engender a sense of happiness.

Willy does not solely take the responsibility of the failure of his dream. The whole
economic and social structure contributes to the misery of Willy. The social values
cannot stand separately from the economic ones. That is to say, the joke is that
capitalism as an economic institutional entity teaches individuals that the financial
aspect of life deserves killing one’s self. What causes Willy’s breakdown is a total
reliance on the financial success as a source of happiness. He does not reach his
dream both because of lack of wisdom and seriousness, and the inefficiency of his
country’s economic policy.

More than that, the collapse of the American Dream is essentially originated in
inefficient implementation of the value of justice in the economic and social reality.
That is to say, it helps mitigate the social inequalities. Thomas Hobbes, in his
famous book Leviathan (1651) defines the term justice in very simple and
sophisticated words: “justice is the constant will of giving to every man his own”. 20
Here, he refers to the general will of people that is based on altruism and
selflessness rather than selfishness, egoism and self-interest. On the other hand,
the value of justice in capitalism should function along side with an authentic
liberalism. In other words, liberalism must take justice into its process. As a
definition, the notion of liberalism refers to the private will of the individual to
contribute to the development of their own society. This means that liberalism
should not occur outside division of labor which is the major engine of capitalism.
The latter proposes the idea that cooperation among any number of persons is
more productive than the individual effort of the same person in isolation from one
another. Simply, liberalism or individualism must collaborate with socialism to
produce a flourishing society. In this view, in his book the Crises of Democratic
Capitalism, Wolfgang Streeck defines justice as being totally linked to the market:

20
Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan. (London, 1651. Prepared for the McMaster University Archive of the History
of the Economic Thought, by Rod Hay) chapter 1: Of Man. XV: Of Other Laws of Nature. Page 88

37
 … economics as ‘scientific knowledge’ teaches citizens and
politicians that true justice is market justice, under which
everybody is rewarded according to their contribution, rather
than their needs redefined as rights.21

This proposal of the term justice does not necessarily mean excluding it from the
social sphere. Economic justice cannot stand separately from social justice to the
extent that economic theory has been accepted as a social theory.

The failure of the American Dream is rooted in fragile economic policies

implemented by state institutions of capitalism. Frankly, the state should protect
itself from outsiders, rich ghosts, who constantly put pressure on the economic
procedures adopted by the state to serve their self-interest: getting richer.
Undoubtedly, Willy participates in the economic growth of his country hoping for
making his dream functions concretely. Nevertheless, he is excluded from
benefiting from the productive activities he does. This is caused by unsophisticated
policies through which the state protects its citizens in the economic level. The
government cannot govern rich savers. Automatically, it fails resolving the gap
between the superpoor and superrich. Another problem existing in capitalism is
that the democratic process is not determined by people, but rather it is shaped by
the big enterprise owners who aim getting more wealth and power. The crisis of
capitalism is systemic in need of systematic treatment.

21
Wolfgang Streeck. The Crises of Democratic Capitalism. (New Left Review 71. Page, 4)

38
Conclusion
Death of a Salesman exposes the problems of capitalism. It reveals the reality of
modern economic and social system. It is, of course, a multi-dimensional play that
depicts the American family, the American Dream, and the notion of success.
However, the issue of capitalism lies in its core. Miller indirectly represents
capitalism as the first theme. The play seems to focus on the idea of the American
Dream, but more importantly, it is a criticism of capitalism. The drama forces the
reader to change their mind about capitalism. The tragedy of the Lomans is a
consequence of the fragility of the economic structure they live in.

The play is a depiction of a social and economic situation of an American family.

Miller, in Death of a Salesman, states the idea that the Lomans’ domestic problems
are originated in the failures of the economic strategies applied by the state. This
results in a massive distribution of fear among individuals in matters of financial
security and in matters of making a living.

39
 Miller, in the essence of his play, attacks capitalism as being organized for the few
citizens rather than for the majority of people. Consequently, this harmfully
influences the working of the American Dream. That is to say, the individual cannot
achieve self-prosperity in spite of their hard-work. This means that the economic
system is not socially organized.

Miller addresses the issue of capitalism through composing a great realistic piece
of literature, Death of a Salesman. He represents the reality of the American society
in the period after the Second World War by building fictional literary characters
that stand for the society’s experience in the circle of capitalism. He smartly links
two major entities in the human life: economy and society. Of course, he indirectly
announces his political orientation that opposes his country’s political reality. The
play introduces modern capitalism as being corrupt and anti social. More
particularly, the system fails to spread happiness among individuals in society. The
idea of the American Dream revolves around the value of happiness. Miller
uncovers the illusions of the mentioned ideology.

It is clear that the political and economic decisions should serve society in which
happiness circulates. Yet, according to Miller’s drama, people in capitalism are not
happy. This shows that the system does not succeed in reaching a utilitarian social
structure. Utilitarianism, as a definition, is an ethical theory that states that the
best action is the one that maximizes public and private utility, well-being and
happiness.22

Capitalism, as an economic, social, political and ideological apparatus should aim

at achieving prosperity among the majority of people. The system is not merely an
economic entity; it includes a set of beliefs and social practices.

Death of a Salesman, for many critics, is a fascinating work of art that is considered
to be a tool through which a reader starts a challenging project, understanding the
concept of capitalism. It depicts the social, economic and political reality of the
United States. Particularly, it helps its readers “explore” the economic culture of
people living under capitalism. It harshly displays the weaknesses of modern

22
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarianism

40
economic and social reality. The death of the salesman represents capitalism as a
source of tragedies.

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Chomsky, Noam. Requiem for the American Dream. Film by Peter Hutchison, Kelly
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Arendt, Hannah. The Human Condition. The University of Chicago Press, 1958.

Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. New York, 1949.

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