Ding Dong, Communism is Dead! Or is it?: How Marxism, as a Criticism of Capitalism, is Still Relevant in the Twenty-First Century

From a global perspective, the tumultuous debate surrounding the topics of communism and capitalism has been a moot point throughout the past couple of centuries. In the twentieth century, the race for technological developments flourished this ideological debate until a significant event happened in 1991. The dissolution of the Soviet Union led many Western citizens to the streets echoing the Munchkin song from The Wizard of Oz: “ding dong, communism is dead!” Although some still pass judgment against socialism despite witnessing its failures, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the relevance of Marxism still remains strong in the twenty-first century as it serves as a useful explanation behind the mechanics of our current capitalist system. Indeed, within modern society, the influence of Marxism has greatly decreased since Karl Marx and Frederick Engels first published the Communist Manifesto in 1848, but it still plays a prominent role as a capitalist critic within the society of twenty-first century of both developed and developing nations, condemning capitalist creations such as consumerism.

The ideological roots of Marxism have coexisted with capitalism in a negative relationship since the late nineteenth century. Capitalism pitted against communism caused economic competition and heated debates over each respective system. Unfortunately for Marxism, in a world dominated by cravings for cable television, the Internet, and SUVs, it was only natural that the influence of Marxism decreased, while the power of capitalism continued to expand. For the first time in human history, capitalism created the possibility of eliminating scarcity. This potential, however, came into conflict with the capitalist social structure tha...

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...rxism discourages the unjust act made by the bourgeoisie against the proletarians, which can be transcended to modern time’s capitalists and the working class in order to bring relevance to the topic. Everyday, the class division within the economy infused with race and gender inequality becomes more apparent as a dominating global threat to the international society’s stability. Marxism maintains its presence today by addressing this problem at its roots, acting as a “living set of ideas that helps to better understand the world”, according to Alan Maass, an editor of the Socialist Worker Newspaper. Marx’s parting words etched on his grace is, “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it”. I believe it is time for us to use the framework of Marxism and follow the yellow brick road towards this change.