Relevance of Marxism in the 21st Century

Outline

Thesis: Despite Marx's prediction of the consequential effects of capitalism, in the 21st Century, his theory has a diminished social, political and economic relevance.

I. Marx theory of alienation;

A. Background of the theory

B. The theory of alienation

C. Thesis statement

II. Social

A. Limitations to Marx's vision of future society and human' Interactions

B. Social network in the 21st century

III. Political

A. Democracy

B. Influence of democracy on governance and workers' rights in 21st century

IV. Economic

A. Economic condition has improved compared to the era of industrial revolution.

B. Minimum Wage

V. Summary-

A. The present day social, political and economic global trends

B. Capitalism improved people's lives in 21st century

Karl Marx formulated this theory in the 19th century, the dawn of the industrial revolution. Losey, asserts that during this time, people's major concern was in the workplace. Most jobs paid low wages, were monotonous and unsafe. Many employers experienced difficulty recruiting and retaining workers because of poor working conditions. This theory, an abstract of his 1844 manuscript described alienation as a consequential effect of capitalism. According to Cox, Marx's theory of alienation, describes four aspects of alienation; the first one is workers' alienation from the objects or products they produce. The second aspect is workers lack of control over the production process. Thirdly, the workers are alienated from other human beings especially family and the fourth is alienation from species being. Despite Marx's prediction of the consequential effects of capitalism, in the 21st Century, his theory has a diminished social, political and economic relevance.

Human beings are social beings; there are complexities in their interactions and interpersonal relationships today that seem to overcome time and distance. Marx believed in social network, but he could not envision what the world has to offer today. He explains in the manuscripts that 'the individual is the social being' and that 'Society does not consist of individuals; it expresses the sum of connections and relationships in which individuals find themselves. Marx saw capitalism as a threat to this setup and alienation from one another as the outcome. This element of his theory fell short of the present day situation where Information and communication technology has revolutionized social interactions. 'Information and communication technology, which include software and hardware platforms such as mobile phones,

computers and the internet, allow families to connect virtually in lieu of geographical proximity' (Bacigalupe and Lambe, 14).

In addition, present day politics play a major role of safeguarding citizenry interests. Democracy today has been embraced globally, De Mesquita and Downs argue that it is a fact that the richest countries in the world are democratic. In this democracies, workers are organized into unions that define, advocate and protect their rights unlike the 19th century when imperialism was the order of the day. Worker's