Introduction:
Karl Marx is a communist while Smith supported capitalism. Marx saw a community where people produced to meet their wants and those of the general society. Smith views economics as a moral responsibility; this comes out clearly in his theory of the market forces of demand as well as supply. He also brings out the economic role of state in enhancing capitalism in the recent world. He wrote a book in the 1770s when Mercantilism prevailed, he insisted on the need for an unregulated market through labor division and unregulated trade. However, Karl Marx opposes the idea of capitalism; he argued that it caused division in the society by favoring the rich while the poor were made poorer. In his book, Das Kapital, Marx opposed capitalism because it insisted on making abnormal profits at the expense of the consumers, misuse of labor, personal property ownerships and its decentralization. Karl advocates for communism while Smith favors the practice of capitalism.
Marx and Smith view on the labor process:
Capitalist sees labor as a personal responsibility; Smith notes that people work for their interests; this at the end creates economic progress and social coercion, this is achieved in a free society where government intervention does not prevail. Marx also states that labor is a personal initiative though the end results benefits the whole society. However, he is against the idea of uncontrolled markets as he sees this as the oppression of the workers by the capitalists.
Marxism view is that labor is the only means to production. The value of the product is measured by the volume of labor applied in production. Labor is the commodity in the capitalist world, and thus the view of Marxist is that labor is misused in wages form because the surplus value is moved to the buyer, who in this case is the capitalist.
Marx views labor as a commodity whose value can be known by weighing the amount of time invested in the manufacturing process. If a laborer invests 4 hours of work, it means that he has, on average had to take up to 4 hours every time to produce his labor power. The working hours can differ depending on a certain limit; it is not a fixed factor. It is not easy to determine this minimum limit which Marx sees as the total hours that an individual must invest in the production to earn a living. Marx (1906) see capitalists as the consumers of the laborers working hours, if an individual are the final consumer of his time, then he is stealing from the capitalists.
However, the capitalism view is that the working hours should have maximum and not minimum limits, meaning that someone cannot work at the expense of some time limits. The ability to work is determined by the physical capabilities and the need to perform other social obligations as family matters and religious duties. Smith, an advocate of capitalism shows that the labor power can be given in terms of the day’s rate. Capitalists believe that he can make labor work in his favor on any given day; he equals the usage value of labor to a single day. Smith view is that capitalists have to benefit from the working time of the laborer and the use of his commodities must benefit him greatly amidst the cries of the laborers who were involved in its production process. Smith (1778) emphasizes that the purchasers rights must be maintained, though the capitalists working hours are on the maximum. The laborer can claim his right of the working hours by reducing the extended labor hours to the normal duration.
Marx emphasized on materialism, he shows that people can transform their economic standing by the use of practical ways of production. This need to improve ones lifestyle will trigger production. He states that value can placed on labor depending on its price in the market, he shows that the money owners who are majorly the capitalists, as the owners of the labor power, this leads to the exploitation of the laborers because they are powerless. Smith (1778) views labor as anything that can be used in the production process. He noted that the importance and the commodities value can be measured using the labor units used in its production. Smith sees skill and labor division as the major factors in that help in the boosting of labor productivity. This has led to trade separation and increase in the output, this Smith attributes it to the increase in the laborers skills, time saving and the improvement of the machinery that allows a person to perform more than one work. Smith notes that labor division leads to amassing of wealth and a society that is well organized with a high technological power.
The introduction of the machinery in the market is seen as a means of degrading the human labor in the socialist world. Marx (1906) argues that it removes laborers in production line and reduces their earnings. Machines are seen as competitors in the labor market.
Capitalism sees the introduction of machines as a blessing in that it helps in doubling the days work and increasing the volume of production. The capitalist reduces the wages levels paid to the laborers as machines reduce the number of the workers and the overall level of wages. Socialism opposes the use of the machinery in the process of production as this is seen as a major factor in propagating unemployment and the resulting poverty in the economy. Marx views machinery as a discriminatory factor applied by the capitalists as they sought the labor of women and the small children. This increased the number of the wages of the working family. Communists accuse the capitalist economies for the misuse of women as well as children, a factor that Marx sees as morally degrading because capitalist view humans into machines for surplus production and the resulting super normal profits (Marx, 1906) . Machinery has reduced the labor value and increased the number of people at the capitalists command, this Marx argues that it brings exploitation of labor. Thus, socialism sees machinery as a brush to do away with the societal morality and as an instrument to sweep the natural allowances of the normal working day.
Capitalistic and communism view on Division of labor:
All the economists agree that labor division has benefits as well as its shortcomings.
Communists’ views labor division as alienation as the workers with very poor skills are required to work on some portion of work locking out individuals who are qualified and talented. Marx sees this strictness in the specialization as a means to hurt the workers who are highly experienced, in his view this makes a laborer more of a machine than human. He sees this as a drain on the physical as well as on the spiritual performance of the machine and the employees (Marx, 1906).
Smith sees labor division as a means to gaining the level of economic growth, he says that this betters the society as production becomes faster because one person is not required to perform at all levels of production. He sees a factory with a small number of people where each is trying to perform at all the levels of operations, an individual managed to finish a small task within a long period of time and less efficiently, he notes that if a laborer can specialize in one part, he could perform the work faster and more efficiently while allowing his counterparts to specialize in the areas where they perform at their best. In this case production rises efficiently. He argues that this increases the dexterity of the workers and helps in sharpening laborers skills and efficiency in the performance. Marx argues that this deteriorates the workers mind; he notes that in cases where the capitalistic has employed few workers, in the case of increased demand for his product he will employ more people. He however, will order the employees to divide labor as they are specialized. The main issue here is that workers are not allowed to interact and to expand their knowledge on the other areas of production. The workers are limited in the diversification of their knowledge and interests. Smith also notes that this might lead to a demotivated work force as they are expected to perform routine work which causes boredom and dissatisfaction. The workers will be turned into machines. Thus all the economists emphasized that it’s the responsibility of the government to educate and to train its population on the various phases of production that would will lead to good performance in more than one work.
Conclusion:
The classical economists agree that production is a necessary condition in enhancing the growth of the society. In a free society, individuals can produce goods and sell them in absence of government restriction; the market could also be regulated by the laws of demand as well as supply. This is the capitalists’ view that has gained great support over the years, communism has been passed by time and technology and thus most nations of the world have adopted the capitalists view. Smith forecast a situation that would bring benefits and economic freedom to the society. Marx lived in the days of industrial revolution and was hurt by the conditions of the workers in the British factories, that is why he condemned capitalism. He however helped to shed light on some of the economic ideologies. However, capitalism is the freedom that allows the underprivileged people in the society to make a living and the wealthy to increase their earnings.
References
Marx,K.,(1906). Capital: A Critique of Political Economy – Vol. I-Part I: The Process of Capitalist Production Chicago: Charles H.Kerr.
Smith, A., (1778). An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations, Volume 2 London: Methuen & Co., Ltd.
