Economic Inequality Research Paper

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Kenya Guidry SOC 545 10/9/14 Research Paper US Economic Inequality: A Marxian Perspective The United State arose from an idea that all people are created equal, and that all people have the same life chances as those in their cohort. The primary goal of the Founding Fathers was to create a place in which all people would have the same access to their inalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of land. While many would argue that this is still the primary goal of Americans today, others would posit that the goals and ideals held by the Founding Fathers is a lot different now. It seems that economic inequality in the US is one of the most debated topics in politics today. Throughout the years, the numbers of those who suffer from …show more content…

Technology, tools, and other sources of labor are the forces of production that make up one part of the mode of production. The other part of capitalism, and the part that contributes the most to the economic inequality in capitalism, is the relations of production. These are the relationships between classes that become institutionalized through the capitalist mode of production. Through these relations, the bourgeoisie are able to decide which jobs are given to the proletariat, how much they are paid, and how the proceeds from the commodities are …show more content…

Because the bourgeoisie garnish all of the profit while the proletariat creates the goods that are being sold for that profit, the bourgeoisie have the power to distribute money to the proletariat in whatever fashion they deem appropriate. The proletariat has minimal power, and the lack of it leads to poor working standards, long workdays, and minimal profit to justify these conditions. While the face of capitalism that Marx and Engels came to know has changed over the century since their evaluation and criticism, what has not changed is the distribution of power, and the inequality that is a direct effect of this mode of production. Marx and Engels predicted that conflict between the forces of productions and the relations of productions are destined to ensue, and a new mode of production will arise from this contradiction. All class conflict that has happened throughout history has followed this timeline, and Marx and Engels posit that the same fortune is destined to happen to the capitalist societies of the West. While this never happened in their lifetime, nor has it happened since, it would not be difficult to imagine it happening in present time or soon after. [Finish

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