essay about capitalism

Essay on Capitalism

Students are often asked to write an essay on Capitalism in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Capitalism

What is capitalism.

Capitalism is an economic system where private individuals or businesses own goods and services. They make things or provide services to sell for profit. In this system, the market decides prices based on supply and demand. If many people want something that’s hard to get, it becomes expensive. If nobody wants something or it’s easy to get, it’s cheap.

Benefits of Capitalism

Capitalism can lead to innovation because companies compete to make better products. It also gives people freedom to choose their jobs and what they want to buy. When businesses succeed, they can create more jobs for people.

Challenges of Capitalism

Sometimes capitalism can make the rich richer and the poor poorer. This happens because not everyone starts with the same chance to succeed. Also, without rules, businesses might harm the environment or treat workers badly to lower costs and increase profits.

Capitalism in the World

Many countries have capitalism, but they also have laws to protect workers and the environment. Some countries mix capitalism with government programs that help people, like free healthcare or education. This mix can help fix some problems of pure capitalism.

250 Words Essay on Capitalism

Capitalism is like a big game where businesses and people try to make as much money as they can. Imagine a marketplace where everyone is free to sell their goods and services and set their prices. People can start their own businesses, and the ones with the best products or services often make the most money.

Freedom to Choose

In a capitalist system, you get to make choices. You can decide what to buy, which job to take, and even start your own company. This freedom means that if someone makes something really good or useful, they can become successful. But it also means that if they don’t do a good job, they might not make money, and someone else who does it better could win the customers.

Competition

Competition is a big deal in capitalism. It’s like a race where businesses try to outdo each other to win customers. This can lead to better products and lower prices. It’s good for customers because they get more choices and can find things that are better or cheaper.

Money and Wealth

Capitalism can make some people very rich. When a person or a company does really well, they can earn a lot of money. But this also means that not everyone gets the same amount. Some people might have a lot, while others have very little.

Capitalism is all about making money, having the freedom to choose, and competing in the market. It has its good sides, like better products and choices, but it also means not everyone will have the same amount of money. It’s a system that can help people succeed if they have a good idea and work hard.

500 Words Essay on Capitalism

Capitalism is a way of running an economy where private individuals or businesses own and operate the different things needed to make and sell goods and services. This includes factories, tools, and shops. In a capitalist system, the main goal is to make money. People who have money to invest, known as capitalists, spend their money on things that can make more money, like factories or machines.

Freedom of Choice

One big part of capitalism is freedom of choice. This means that businesses can decide what to make, and people can choose what to buy. If a toy company thinks that making a new toy will earn them money, they can go ahead and make it. Then, it’s up to the kids and parents to decide if they want to buy that toy. This freedom allows for lots of different products to be available in the market.

Competition is another important aspect of capitalism. Imagine there are two shops in your town that sell ice cream. One shop might try to have better flavors or lower prices to get more customers. This competition can lead to better products and services for everyone. Companies are always trying to improve what they sell and how they sell it to beat their rivals and attract more customers.

Pros of Capitalism

Capitalism has some good points. It encourages people to work hard and be creative, because they can keep most of the money they make. This can lead to new inventions and businesses. Also, since there is competition, customers usually get to choose from a variety of goods and services that might be better quality or less expensive.

Cons of Capitalism

However, capitalism isn’t perfect. Sometimes, it can lead to a few people getting very rich while others stay poor. If a business owner becomes successful, they might make a lot of money, but the people working for them might not earn as much. Also, in the race to make more money, businesses might harm the environment or not treat their workers well.

Many countries have a capitalist system, but they all do it a bit differently. For example, in some places, the government has rules to make sure businesses treat workers fairly and don’t hurt the environment. In other countries, the government lets businesses do more of what they want.

In conclusion, capitalism is a way of organizing an economy that focuses on private ownership and making profits. It has benefits like encouraging hard work and innovation, and it also has downsides such as inequality and potential harm to people or the planet. Countries around the world practice capitalism in various ways, with different rules and regulations to balance these pros and cons. Understanding capitalism is important because it affects how businesses operate, what products are available, and the overall economy of a country.

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Capitalism Has Become An Ideology In Today's America. Here's How It Happened

Rund Abdelfatah

Ramtin Arablouei

Capitalism: What Is It?

A demonstrator holds a sign reading "I love capitalism" during a protest against California's stay-at-home order in 2020. Capitalism started as an economic system; it has become an ideology in the modern United States. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

A demonstrator holds a sign reading "I love capitalism" during a protest against California's stay-at-home order in 2020. Capitalism started as an economic system; it has become an ideology in the modern United States.

The Throughline team has been thinking about capitalism a lot these days. It's hard not to when so many people are struggling just to get by.

Capitalism is an economic system, but it's also so much more than that. It's become a sort of ideology, this all-encompassing force that rules over our lives and our minds. It might seem like it's an inevitable force, but really, it's a construction project that took hundreds of years and no part of it is natural or just left to chance.

So here's what we did. First, we wanted to look at what makes American capitalism distinct, if it is even distinct ? Is it uniquely individual, uniquely efficient, uniquely cutthroat? Like, these are all the things that we've been thinking about a lot.

A young girl interacts with an employee maintaining one of tanks at New Jersey SEA LIFE Aquarium inside the American Dream mall in East Rutherford. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images hide caption

A young girl interacts with an employee maintaining one of tanks at New Jersey SEA LIFE Aquarium inside the American Dream mall in East Rutherford.

And so we brought together three REALLY DIFFERENT experts who come at these questions from REALLY DIFFERENT points of view.

Bryan Caplan's an economist and adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, Vivek Chibber studies Marxist theory and historical sociology, and Kristen Ghodsee is an expert in what happened after the fall of communism in Russia and Eastern Europe.

And we had a conversational round of analysis that led us from colonial times, through waves of innovation and American development to the American Dream Mall in New Jersey.

We compared the happiness index in countries to see crazy things like how much happier people in Denmark report that they are, compared to Americans.

But that's not all. We wanted to dive deeper into the dominance of Capitalism in the 20th century American mindset .

What's the role of government in society? What do we mean when we talk about individual responsibility? What makes us free? 'Neoliberalism' might feel like a term that's hard to define and understand. But it's the dominant socio-economic ideology of both major American political parties — Republican and Democrats — no matter how much partisan rhetoric might be geared towards absolute division.

And this ideology, this belief in free markets, deregulation, and privatization can be traced back — pretty directly — to a group of men meeting in the Swiss Alps.

On April 10, 1947, a group of 39 economists, historians and sociologists gathered in a conference room of a posh ski resort at Mont Pelerin, Switzerland. Glasses clinked. Cigars burned. A mission statement was written.

And from that meeting, they would start an organization called The Mont Pelerin Society, MPS. The ideas discussed in that room more than 70 years ago would evolve and warp and, this is no exaggeration, come to shape the world we live in. Those ideas have dominated our economic system for decades. In the name of free market fundamentals, the forces behind neoliberalism act like an invisible hand, shaping almost every aspect of our lives.

From the TV advertisements we all grew up watching to the way the internet is understood today.

Capitalism: What Makes Us Free?

That's not all. We're also dropping a third episode on Capitalism this coming Thursday, July 8. For that episode, we explore how religion and capitalism joined forces to change the way we think about our work, our society, and ourselves — the Prosperity Gospel.

To receive it when it drops subscribe here in Apple Podcasts or wherever else you get your pods.

Capitalism - Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas

Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and the pursuit of profit. Essays on capitalism could explore its principles, historical evolution, its impact on global economies, and its role in technological and societal advancements. Critiques of capitalism and its inequalities, as well as its contrast with other economic systems, could also be discussed. We’ve gathered an extensive assortment of free essay samples on the topic of Capitalism you can find in Papersowl database. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Capitalism According to Marx and Engel

Capitalism according to Marx and Engel in the communist manifesto is viewed as a class-based model in the society where individuals are divided into classes based on wealth. The class separation results in class struggle and competition. The capitalism system first causes exploitation of those providing labour that according to Marx and Engel belongs to the proletariat. Because the middle class or the bourgeoisie are in control of everything, including the means of production, the market, politics, and laws of […]

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

In Max Weber's work The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, he attempts to discern a reason why Protestants continuously find themselves with far more wealth than their Catholic counterparts. In part one, Weber will attempt to formulate a reason as to why this observed phenomenon occurs, by looking at key differences between Protestants and Catholics, capitalism, and Martin Luther's key idea of a calling that is absent in the totality of Catholicism. Weber starts chapter one of his […]

Political Problem

The rapid development of the modern world in regards to political growth and independence has resulted in political problems and particular political terrorism and state-sponsored violence. Nations together with their governments are faced with security problems caused by the nuclear proliferation leading to misuse of this materials through wars and violence and terrorism. State-sponsored terrorism occurs when government regime forces or oppresses the minority group. Terrorism is the use of intentionally indiscriminate violence as a means to create terror to […]

We will write an essay sample crafted to your needs.

Global Capitalism during the Enlightenment

History throughout time has led us to where we are today. With the rise and fall of several nations, it has helped shape countries and the people in them, building the world for a better tomorrow. The World Systems Theory is an approach that submits there is a structure for how the world is shaped by history of the modern world which can explain the outcome based on global capitalism. By looking into the past through the eyes of people […]

Global Capitalism

This class has highlighted Globalization and resistance throughout the world. Capitalism has played a major role in the daily lives we live. The free market's adage of "stay out of my way and I'll stay out of your way" has long been how it is viewed by the world. It has driven society apart ever since it took its place in the global system. Exploitation from large corporations has widened the gap between the rich and the poor. Capitalism does […]

Bill Gates Entrepreneur

Bill Gates, along with other companions, created the famous software of Microsoft. Microsoft has, and is continuing to prosper around the globe due to it being created in a free enterprise system economy. However, people may say he only succeeded due to his families wealth and not the free enterprise system. Bill Gates is famously known for his great development of Microsoft in 1976. Microsoft could not have been possible if the united states did not have free enterprise. Without […]

An Idea of Capitalism

Capitalism has expanded and changed in a multitude of ways. From the 1500s, when capitalism slowly began to take shape, up until today, we live in a society dominated by capitalism. In "Capitalism: A Short History" by Jurgen Kocka, he argues that capitalism is "mostly used to denote an economic practice or an economic system, frequently with special attention to its social and cultural consequences." Kocka goes to great lengths to argue that capitalism changed over time because it was […]

Christianity and Capitalism

The founding fathers of the United States wrote the Constitution without any formal role for religion in government activities, but with very broad protections for religious liberty as they expected religious morals to play a large role in shaping the country. Most of the early settlers of the United States were Christians. In the early half of the 18th century, 75 to 80% of the U.S. population attended church (Locke), so the early economy of the U.S. was put in […]

Positives and Negatives of Marxism

Many people believe that 'there is no place for the political doctrine of Karl Marx in 2018'. While this statement sounds sensible and reasonable, some people think that it may be a little unfair to generalize all of Marx's beliefs as being negative and absurd. Negatives of Marxism One of the downsides of Marxism is its attempt to abrogate religion. The reason it does this is because one of the key features of Marxism is to have everyone be fully […]

An Issue of Modern Capitalism

The rise of the current capitalist economy is believed to trace back to the American history. Both Quijano and Wallerstein, "Americanity as a Concept, or the Americas in the Modern World-System, believed that the capitalist economy would not exist without America. The authors draw various evidence that support claims on why America is considered the basis of the rise of a capitalist economy. For instance, three factors are viewed as critical for the development of the capitalist world economy such […]

What is Capitalism?

"Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity" (Herbert Hoover). In the 1920s, America turned away from worldly concerns and began concentrating on domestic affairs. Some might refer to this period in America as the Decade of Optimism. It ushered in many forward thinkers, innovators, innovations, and cultural changes. For example, Henry Ford created an efficient and cheap means to mass produce automobiles. This allowed even those who earned a modest […]

Democratic Peace Theory

After World War II, a known characteristic of affluent, liberal, democratic states is that they tend to not not engage in war with one another. The democratic peace theory attributes to this tendency to democracy itself, claiming that it is a key peacekeeper due to the obligatory culture of democracy to cooperate with the regime, both leaders and citizens for their own benefit. The capitalist peace theory justifies the maintenance of peace on the incentive of trade to maintain peace […]

The War System of Colombia Capitalism

When people think of Colombia they might think of the popular singer- songwriter Shakira or, possibly, cocaine. This paper will discuss Colombia's ongoing Civil War. Colombia can be found on a map in the northern tip of South America. In 1525 Spain began to colonize Colombia but in 1813 Colombia, finally, won its independence back. Colombia has a free market economy, its GDP in 2017 was 309.2 billion USD, ranking at number 39 out of the 200 countries documented in […]

Free Market Capitalism Vs State Driven Policies

Today, in the 21st century, a countries' economy is running one of three ways. One option is being ran on state driven policies. Another is to be ran on capitalism approach. Most countries in the world today are a mixed economy, which is a combination of these two forms. Free market capitalism means the people of the country have economic freedom to buy and sell goods and services without any government intervention, such as price setting, and prices are all […]

Capitalism and Consumerism Throughout Art

How can art be utilized in exposing consumerism's destruction to a Capitalist society? Capitalism is a form of government based on demand and supply. Consumerism is an ideology found within Capitalism. Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts (Dictionary.com) This ties into and benefits Capitalism because this type of society runs based on demand and supply. Meaning, the people get what they want (or think they want), even if […]

Racism Interconnection to Capitalism

Racial unrest has made a ton of social distress all through the pilgrim time frame up to the postmodern time of American history. Institutional restraint and basic bigotry have been the center of social control systems that have kept up mastery over the African American people group and different races considered sub-par compared to white Americans. European Americans, particularly white Anglo-Saxon Protestants, were given uncommon benefits in parts of citizenship, arrive procurement, migration, instruction, and criminal strategy as from the […]

The History and Understanding of the Concept of a Minimum Wage

The concept of a minimum wage is self-explanatory: employees are guaranteed a pay rate that their employers cannot legally reduce. Today, minimum wage laws play a critical role in our economy; but this was not always the case. The first minimum wage laws were enacted in New Zealand in 1894 but did not come to the United States until 1938. The 1930s were defined by the Great Depression, an economic catastrophe that crippled the world, resulting in monumental levels of […]

The Temporalities of Capitalism

With the contemporary fiscal platform that our unyielding human consumption must serve as a catalyst for economic growth, nature is tasked with the impossible. Our environment and the most impoverished people often bear the brunt of the biodiversity collapse brought about by climate change. This change arises from the large-scale production and consumption processes of capitalism. Karl Marx's early philosophical manuscripts of 1844 are best known for developing his concept of "alienated labor," proposing a source for our estrangement from […]

Comparison of Capitalism and Socialism

Our world is steadily evolving, while the wealthy can keep up, the poor stay left behind. With the introduction of the internet we are constantly connected to the rest of the world. This is both beneficial and detrimental to the world. With this expansion of the global market we have become interdependent however we also have access to an abundance of resources. Capitalism is based around the idea of competition, who can work the hardest whereas communism is based around […]

Karl Marx Ideas of Capitalism and Communism

Karl Mar introduced a very thoughtful but controversial communism idea. He believed that social-economic structures influence the world's societal stages of history and revolution rather than reformation as the production cause in society. Moving from primitive society to the slavery principle (master vs. slave) to capitalism (factory owner vs. worker). Marx perceived that the last as well as greatest stage ought to be a classless society, one in which conflicts relating to class come to an end. This kind of […]

Capitalism is an Unparalleled Economic and Political System

Capitalism is a system known for promoting prosperity, wealth, freedom, and more. It goes without saying that any country that has ever existed will have inevitable setbacks. Ideally, the supposed lack of investment of S&P 500 companies in themselves, and homelessness in Seattle, did not come into fruition because of Capitalism. Nevertheless, critics suggest that an alternative to Capitalism is required to fix these issues. But these alternative systems, that they insist on implementing, have consistently failed to meet the […]

Childhood Obesity is an Epidemic in the USA

Introduction Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in the United States and other western industrialized societies. "Childhood obesity affects more than 18 percent of children in the United States, making it the most common chronic disease of childhood" (Obesity Action Coalition). According to the OAC, the percentage of children suffering from childhood obesity has tripled since 1980. A child is considered obese if their body mass index for their age is greater than 95 percent. Childhood obesity is both an […]

Capitalism and its Role

Can radical, rebellious music remain authentic in a modern global society? Alternatively, will the hip-hop message change once it is absorbed into the mainstream? Hip Hop started in the 1970s on the South Bronx streets, and it was a way for black people to deal with experiences of marginalization and oppression. Like punk rock, hip-hop was not considered to be a commercial thing in the first place, but it was an attitude of opposition to mainstream society through sampling, dance, […]

Understanding of Capitalism

Capitalism has been defined in different ways, but the main point is that it involves several organizations holding factors of production and a large number of potential investors unable to get into the market.  This essay will mostly address the issue of capitalism as it is in American continent the first part looks into the authors who have supported the ideas that capitalism is driven by the greed of investors and has related costs for its success.  The second portion […]

Pink Capitalism for LGBTQ Community

Pink Capitalism, plainly, is the incorporation of the LGBTQ movement and sexual diversity to capitalism and the market economy. It is a targeted inclusion of the LGBTQ community to generate a market focused specifically on them. And even though pride parades sweep away the world and legal turnarounds change our perspectives, it’s hard to deny that discrimination against the LGBTQ community exists, especially in the workplace. Pride parades are about celebrating diversity and inclusion. And while we do celebrate the […]

Capitalism in History

Capitalism is historically progressive in the sense that it creates material conditions for communism. It creates the condition to build the beginning of real human history and gives incentive for people to be productive under pretense of equal opportunity. A capitalist economic system rewards creating new products for profit. It is true that the rise in living standards, technological innovations and expanded freedom have come about under our capitalist economy, but it is also true that we have to give […]

What is Marxism?

Karl Heinrich Marx (1818-1883) was a radical social theorist, whose thoughts on social, economic and political systems are generally referred to as "Marxism" (Honderich, 1995). The basic tenets of Marxist philosophy are predicated on Marx's theory of history, which regards human history as a continuous struggle between socio-economic classes (Witt, et al, 1980). According to Marx, a particular class could rule over the rest of society only so long as that class best represented the economically productive forces of that […]

Weber, Exploitation, Capitalism, Protestantism

Introduction Religion is an aspect of the society that has both social and economic ties. As a part of the society, religion interacts with both the social and economic aspects of the society, thus shaping each other. Weber is one of the social theorists who have touched on religion in their theories. The rise of Protestantism in the world brought about various changes, especially in the working sector. While some of the people became hardworking others turned to exploit others. […]

Conscious Capitalism: what is It?

The primary concept of this case is Conscious Capitalism' which introduces a new holistic approach of doing business that seeks for the winning situations for all stakeholders by creating a higher purpose and foster the well-being of all stakeholders from various aspects. This new emerging paradigm eventually is more beneficial for the firm and the shareholders compared to the outcome of chasing after the profit maximization. "Conscious Capitalism: What Is It? Why Do We Need It? Does It Work?"  illustrates […]

Capitalism: a Love Story

The paper will begin by giving a general impression of the narrative, trailed by an assessment of how the narrative affected me. This will be trailed by an examination of whether I concur with Moore's message in the film or not, and why. The decision will be a conversation on whether the film has in any capacity changed my discernment on capitalism. There will be incorporated a catalog page refering to the assets utilized in the paper. In the event […]

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Essays on Capitalism

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1 What’s Wrong with Capitalism?

• Published: August 2015
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Capitalism as a system for economic organization and resource allocation is suffering a worldwide crisis of confidence, with growing inequality, financial crises, and a structural unemployment that affects youth disproportionally. Since the Cold War western capitalism has been treated as the only acceptable form of economic system, andthe public or political realm has itself come to be dominated by the money of special-interest groups. This has in turn led to mass protest movements across the developed and developing worlds, and a weakening of the political center in favor of more extreme political currents. Fissures have been widening between the investor class enjoying growing returns on capital and the wage-earning class suffering declining returns from their labor. And increased financialization of the economy means the traditional economic theories based on production in a classical sense are increasingly irrelevant to the modern economy. Above all a sense of unfairness and decades of growing inequality risk the stability and sustainability of the system and its acceptance, and an erosion in societal trust and the very institutions needed to sustain the system.

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Browse Course Material

Course info.

• Prof. Christine Walley

Departments

• Anthropology

As Taught In

• Cultural Anthropology
• Ethnography
• Social Anthropology

Learning Resource Types

What is capitalism.

Please answer ONE of the following essay questions. In doing so, please offer detailed discussion based on close analysis of the readings for the class. The essay should be 5 pages double-spaced.

• Choose any three of the following theorists and compare their viewpoints on capitalism. How did each understand the nature of capitalism and its implications for society? On what basis did they offer their views? How and in what ways did their perspectives parallel or differ from the other two? You might want to consider how particular historical influences came into play or whether they were in dialogue with or reacting against each other. Which arguments do you find most persuasive and why? You may choose three of any of the following theorists: Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Max Weber, Pierre Bourdieu, Sherry Ortner, Satnam Virdee, David Harvey, or Guy Standing.
• In the 1940s, the work of Austrian economist F. A. Hayek and Austrian economic historian Karl Polanyi emerged out of the maelstrom of two world wars and attempted to address the question of whether or not capitalism was beneficial to society overall. (For Hayek, this question was linked to questions of individualism.) In your paper, describe the viewpoints of these two theorists on capitalism. How and why did they see capitalism as either supportive or destructive of social relations? On what did they base their opposing viewpoints? In your view, who offers the more and less persuasive arguments about capitalism and why?

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187 Capitalism Essay Topics

🏆 best essay topics on capitalism, ✍️ capitalism essay topics for college, 👍 good capitalism research topics & essay examples, 🔥 hot capitalism ideas to write about, 🎓 most interesting capitalism research titles, 💡 simple capitalism essay ideas, 📌 easy capitalism essay topics, ❓ research questions about capitalism.

• Marx vs. Weber: Capitalism – Compare and Contrast Essay
• Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
• Why Capitalism is Better Than Socialism
• Strengths and Weaknesses of the Theories of Capitalist Imperialism Proposed by Hobson-Lenin
• Division of Labor in the Context of Capitalism
• East Asian Capitalism and Its History
• Capitalism vs. Socialism: Comparing and Contrasting
• Conscious Capitalism and Fair Trade The paper discusses the concept of conscious capitalism. It supports fair trade and is relevant to many types of businesses.
• Weber’s and Marx’s Views on Capitalism Comparison The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast political theories and highlight similarities and differences between Marx and Weber.
• Population, Consumerism and Capitalism The author analyzes examines the joint impact of population, consumerism and capitalism on the economy and on the environment.
• Deleuze’s “A Thousand Plateaus” and Guattari’s “Capitalism and Schizophrenia” The book “A Thousand Plateaus” written by the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze and the psychoanalyst Felix Guattari is the second part of the project “Capitalism and Schizophrenia”.
• “Money, Greed, and God: Why Capitalism Is the Solution and Not a Problem” by Jay Richards In his book “Money, Greed, and God,” Jay Richards, an American analytical philosopher, seeks to address the most common myths about capitalism.
• The Market Economy and Capitalism The choice of an economic model is determined by the nation’s economic state and governmental influences. Market economies are characterized by demand and supply forces.
• Poverty and Capitalism in Trash by Dorothy Allison The paper discusses the book titled Trash, author Dorothy Allison. It features the struggles of a violent survivor from a poverty-stricken family.
• Capitalism and Democracy: The Problem of Coexistence The paper examines whether the coexistence of capitalism and democracy provides mutual benefits or enforces detremial mechanisms that strain the relationship between these forces.
• Whole Foods Market Inc.’s Conscious Capitalism Whole Foods Market Inc. is an American chain of supermarkets. The paper describes Whole Foods in terms of its practice of conscious capitalism.
• Capitalism, Climate Change, and Globalization Globalization allowed significant corporations to put a substantial strain on the environment in developing countries.
• Karl Marx’s Critique of Capitalism This paper will examine the key ideas of Marx regarding class division, labor, ideology, and fetishism of commodities in the context of capitalism.
• Inheritance in Capitalism and Ethical Grid Society still goes ahead to praise those who seem to have amassed a lot of wealth for their future generations.
• Capitalism and Gay Identity by D’Emilio and Berube In this paper, the author will review the link between gay identity and capitalism from the perspective of two essays written by D’Emilio and Berube.
• The Industrial Age Impact and the Rise of Capitalism The project focuses on defining the key characteristics of the Industrial Age and analyzing their impact on the worldview of modern people in developed countries.
• Avant-Garde Art, Urban Capitalism and Modernization The avant-garde artists provided experimental and innovative arts, which transformed the social, cultural, economic, and political aspects of society.
• Capitalist Modernity in the 19th and the 20th Century This essay examines the problems, discomforts, benefits and drawbacks created by capitalist modernity in the 19th and the 20th century and its impact on the human society.
• Zuboff’s “Surveillance Capitalism” and Hiring Bias The paper explains what Zuboff means by surveillance capitalism, and how this concept could be used to understand problems like information pollution and hiring bias.
• Capitalism vs. Socialism: Principles and Arguments The rhetorical argument is effective because another claim is the statement about fair distribution based on the market mechanism.
• Economic Systems: Attitude to Work in Capitalism Capitalism highly contributes to the “I-don’t-care” attitude among workers because workers’ duty is to produce more products without concern for their welfare.
• Capitalism and Socialism Systems’ Morality The paper focuses on the capitalistic views as more moral due to the opportunities for individual freedom and open markets that support the development of society.
• Capitalism and Socialism in the Marxist School of Thought The Marxist school of thought claims that capitalism would ultimately evolve into socialism in the same manner that feudalism had developed into capitalism.
• Social Classes and Capitalism: Sociological Theories This article focuses on the ideas of capitalism based on social classes while describing the concepts of perspective, conflict, symbolic interaction, and functionalism.
• “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” by Max Weber In his work “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”, Max Weber gives his ethical views on the protestant religion and its contribution to capitalism.
• Globalization: Climate Crisis and Capitalist Ideology One of the main features of the development of the world community in recent decades has been globalization as part of integration processes that are changing the world structure.
• Raciolinguistic Ideology: Language, Capitalism, Colonialism Raciolinguistic ideology was born from European colonialism, and it suggests that language and race are correlated.
• Capitalism: History and Basics Capitalism represents the dominant economic concept in modern reality, based on private property, the competence of actors, and the principle of supply and demand.
• Capitalism as a Means of Promoting Inequality The degree to which capitalism has impacted the distribution of wealth and opportunities in society has shaped the course of events in the world.
• The Essay “Capitalism and Freedom” by Milton Friedman While ‘some’ time has passed since 1962, Milton Friedman’s essay titled “Capitalism and Freedom” remains relevant to this day.
• Surveillance Capitalism in Shoshana Zuboff’s View Surveillance capitalism is different from information capitalism in that it is based on the commodification of behavioral analysis.
• Church’s Responses to Development of Capitalism This paper analyzes different reactions of the Christian society to the Industrial revolution and defines which is the most consistent with Biblical Scripture.
• Disconnectedness of Political Freedom and Capitalism The paper is about the disconnectedness of political freedom and capitalism, which indicates that the latter does not promote or guarantee the former.
• Contemporary Racial Capitalism in Flint The research shows the poor living standards in Flint, which the author attributes to the deliberate negative activities of the administration.
• Marx’s Objections to Capitalism This essay describes and evaluates Marx’s three main objections to capitalism and criticizes them on the grounds of his underestimation of capitalism’s creative force.
• “Modern Capitalism Needs a Revolution…” by Cohen The social and climatic consequences caused by people’s desire to produce more and more unnecessary goods become so devastating that humanity cannot cope with them.
• Capitalism and Religion: Sociological Perspective In sociological tradition, such scholars as Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber are the most prominent researchers of religion’s role in society.
• Christian Business Operation in Capitalism Although some Christians agree with the fundamentals of capitalism, other Christian theologians propose different economic strategies that best represent Christian traditions.
• Capitalism as a Form of Social Competition This paper aims to describe the thesis that capitalism drives society toward competition and rivalry with the help of scholarly literature and real-life examples.
• Conscious Capitalism: Marketing Plan Actions The intensity of the market competitiveness is reduced by the company’s deliberate focus on recreation and speed as key features of its products.
• Marxian Alienation in Modern Capitalist Countries This paper aims at answering a more specific version of this question – “is Marxian alienation present in modern capitalist societies?”
• Small Business in an Ideal Capitalist Economy The purpose of this piece of work is to examine the process and includes activities of small businesses ownership in ideal capitalism and evaluate the possible sides of the concept.
• Why Capitalism Is Superior to Socialism The comparison of the two economic systems is rather complex and involves many aspects, but various facts and numbers are showing the superiority of capitalism over socialism.
• Capitalism in Business and Modern World With all the criticism it receives, capitalism has played a key role in many of the humaachievests, including technology, science, and culture.
• Capitalism in Brook’s Vermeer’s Hat and Rediker’s Slave Ship This essay comprises a comparison of Brook’s and Rediker’s depiction of how global capitalism was perpetuated in a social, political, and economic context.
• Alienated Labor in Capitalist Societies The alienation of labor is an integral part of capitalist society since it is built on producing and exchanging goods.
• Universal Health Care Under Free-Market Capitalism During the last centuries, certain attempts were made to stabilize healthcare services and choose between universal and single-payer care types.
• The Theory of Capitalism: Hayek’s Arguments Friedrich Hayek strove to defend traditional concepts of morality in economics and fought the progressive representatives of the new era who sought to destroy the classical canons.
• The Superiority of Socialism Over Capitalism In the capitalist environment, which leaves large corporations to dominate the economic discourse, the planning process becomes disrupted and starts lacking homogeneity.
• Conscious Capitalism Description: Humanity and Business Conscious capitalism or marketing is gaining popularity as companies seek to embrace compassion in their business ventures.
• Crumbling American Dream: The Thrive of Capitalism The notion of the American dream has now become a universal matter. The thrive of capitalism has made the American dream a desirable state of things unachievable in the near future.
• Rhetorical Analysis: Capitalism and Socialism Both systems have their flaws, but capitalism is more practical and efficient in bringing prosperity and reducing scarcity, which means that it is better.
• The Impact of the Industrial Age and the Rise of Capitalism The definition of the key features of the industrial epoch and the early capitalism would help discuss them in relation to modern times and values.
• Capitalism and Socialism, Democracy This kind of system is illustrated by having recognized equality rights and freedom both in a social setting and political locale.
• The Industrial Age and Capitalism: Key Features and Impacts on Society Capitalism can largely contribute to the deterioration of interpersonal connections in communities and lead to the overall worsening of the quality of life in the long run.
• Understanding Economics: Definition of the Capitalism Wealth creation in a capitalist system relies on private ownership of property. Individuals are given the freedom to own and control the property.
• Authoritarian Capitalism and Western Liberal Version This paper supports authoritarianism for economic development as compared to a democratic system. It mostly examines a state that advocates for the authoritarian regime.
• Democratic Capitalism and Morality in America The problem of the level of the salary in the modern world remains core in economics in the condition of the free market.
• Marx’s Criticism of Capitalism and Sociological Theory This paper tells about Marx who contributed to sociological theory by linking the economic structure of the society and how it affected social interactions.
• Democratic Capitalism and Individual Liberty Democratic capitalism is the economic and political system based on individuals’ potentials in an environment of cooperation and trust.
• Social, Technical, Economic and Ideological Factors of a Capitalist Economy Capitalism has been defined as that economic system that that allows both wealth as well as its production means to be controlled and owned privately.
• Marx’s and Weber’s Opposing Views of Capitalism Weber is among the profound critics of Marxist ideologies. They have opposing views on the issue of capitalism even though they share some similarities on the same topic.
• US Capitalism. William Leach’s “Land of Desire” William Leach’s “Land of Desire” is concerned with exploring the development of consumer capitalism in the US between 1890 and 1932.
• The Industrial Age and Capitalism Industrial Age can be defined as the time when people became actively engaged in the development of manufacturing machinery.
• Capitalism and Its Benefits to the Public Goods The basis of capitalism is the freedom of economic activity of individuals within the state, which provides protection, justice, and order for the functioning of the system by political power.
• Socialism as an Alternative to Capitalism in the United States This report seeks to evaluate socialism as an alternative to capitalism as the primary economic system of the United States and present viable solutions to the issue.
• Public Capitalism in Promoting the Common Good Capitalism is both an economic and political system in which the financial market, production, and concepts of private ownership are driving factors for operation and success.
• Capitalism: Benefiting the Public Good In the purest form of capitalism, which is a laissez-faire economy, power is concentrated in the hands of private individuals or businesses that own capital goods.
• “Freedom and Capitalism” by Milton Friedman The principle behind the book “Capitalism and Freedom” was that the government only existed for the will of the people, and thus served as the means towards a goal.
• The Industrial Revolution & the Rise of Capitalism The Industrial Age and early capitalism have made a significant contribution to the perceptions of wealth and business. This paper discusses this theme in presentation style.
• Friedman’s Free Market Capitalism A free market economy is a system in which the prices of goods and services are determined purely by the demand and supply in the market.
• Capitalism in “Out of This Furnace” by Thomas Bell This paper is intended to discuss the structure and general ideas of capitalism based on the phrase of the main character of the book “Out of This Furnace” by Thomas Bell.
• Exploitation and Profit in Capitalism Although the exploitation of people by other people has always existed, the capitalist rule has transformed this practice into something unique and to some degree acceptable.
• Industrial Age and Early Capitalism The Industrial Age and early capitalism have made a significant contribution to the perceptions of wealth and business in contemporary society.
• The Vision of Capitalism: Adam Smith vs Karl Marx Comparing Smith’s vision of the impact of the capitalist economy to that of Marx, it can be claimed that the former offers a more positive evaluation of the relevant outcomes.
• Work Motivation: Capitalism, Individualism, Institutionalism The reasons why people work can be found in Weber’s Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. The key constituents are calling, predestination, and asceticism.
• The Status of Capitalism in Communist China In the current paper, the author reviews some of the important factors needed for a capitalist economy to produce wealth. The discussion will be made in relation to DeSoto’s arguments.
• The Role of Markets and the State in Different Approaches to Understanding a Capitalist Economy Capitalism is an economic policy used by the government aimed at minimal participation in production. This paper looks into issues associated with capitalism.
• Consecrating Capitalism: The United States Prosperity Gospel and Neoliberalism
• Capital Ownership via Capitalism: Main Features and Differences
• Knowledge Capitalism: Business, Work, and Learning in the New Economy
• Capitalism’s Anglo-American Model and the German Economic Alternative
• Industrial Production and Capitalism Drivers of Social Change in History
• Investor Capitalism and the Reshaping of Business in India
• How Did Communism and Capitalism Lead To the Cold War?
• Europe and the Economic Crisis: Forms of Labour Market Adjustment and Varieties of Capitalism
• How Does Shared Capitalism Affect Economic Performance in the UK
• Understanding Capitalism: Competition, Command, and Change
• Cooperative Capitalism: Self-Regulation, Trade Associations, and the Antimonopoly Law in Japan
• Capitalism, Socialism and the Mixed Economic System Compared
• Corporate Islam, Global Capitalism and the Performance of Economic Moralities
• Criminal Justice System, Capitalism, and Victimization
• Free Marxism, Global Capitalism and the Human Being as a Commodity
• Global Capitalism and Imperialism Theory: Methodological and Substantive Insights From Rosa Luxemburg
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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Animal Farm — Themes Of Socialism And Capitalism In Orwell’s Animal Farm

Themes of Socialism and Capitalism in Orwell's Animal Farm

• Categories: Animal Farm George Orwell

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Published: Feb 8, 2022

Words: 1147 | Pages: 3 | 6 min read

Table of contents

An outline for an argumentative essay about capitalism and socialism, argumentative essay example about capitalism and socialism, introduction.

• Introduction to "Animal Farm" by George Orwell
• Thesis statement

The Setting and Initial Call for Change

• Introduction to the farm and Old Major's speech
• Highlighting mistreatment and poor living conditions
• The incentive for change among the animals

The Socialist Revolution

• The plan to overthrow Mr. Jones
• Creation of a more efficient system
• Implementation of socialist principles
• Commandments for equality and shared labor

 The Corruption of Socialist Ideals

• Manipulation of commandments by the pigs
• Emergence of a power hierarchy
• Greed and privilege among the pigs

The Emergence of Capitalism

• The pigs replicate Mr. Jones's actions
• The growing gap between the privileged and the servants
• Exploitation of the less powerful animals
• Capitalist tendencies leading to corruption

The Transformation into a Communist Society

• Napoleon's rise as a dictator
• The adoption of a communist economy
• The development of a class system
• Manipulative rituals for group identity

The Commentary on Social Classes

• Shifting interpretations of unity
• Establishment of social classes based on intellect and strength
• Orwell's critique of moral issues in the Soviet Union
• Recap of themes explored in "Animal Farm"
• Orwell's critique of both socialism and capitalism

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Karl Marx’s Critique of Capitalism Essay

Introduction, bourgeoisie and proletarians, marx’s moral values, thematic concerns of marx anti-capitalist critique, analysis of marx’s anti-capitalist thought, list of references.

Karl Marx (1818-1883) is a revolutionary communist who helped to motivate the establishment of several communist regimes in 20 th century. Initially, he was studying to become a philosopher although he later shifted his interest to economics as well as politics although his social and moral work has philosophical aspects.

Marx is an obvious anti-capitalist critique as manifested in his work (Marx ‘Capital’ 2007). In earlier historical periods, the society was sectioned it a number of orders which comprised social ranks. The capitalist system is one such societal arrangement in which the bourgeoisie comprised the higher rank and drafted oppressive orders. Thus, the society was segregated into conflicting and opposing camps, the proletarians & the Bourgeoisie.

Under their leadership, the Bourgeoisie had been able to establish massive productive means as compared to the previous generations. They subjugated the natural forces through technological advancements in pursuit of amassing profits.

However, these were the very weapons that would ultimately destroy them, since they enabled the recognition of the proletarians, who comprised the working class. Proletarians only survival was dependent on the labor market to maximize capital. They instead earned peanuts and were taken as objects of commerce, faced with dynamic market changes (Marx & Engels 1848).

As a result, widespread machinery utilization as well as division of labor affected the proletarians where they were converted to machine like creature through monotony, yet low wages. They were enslaved by the bourgeoisie and machinery hence, they became a majority and were empowered in the light of the competitive bourgeoisie class, which created commercial conflicts and fluctuated the earning of the working class. (Marx ‘Capital’ 2007).

Therefore, the oppressive ruling of the bourgeoisie was questioned since it exploited the working class. There was a need to make proletarians a class to lead the society through overthrowing the authority of the bourgeoisie by political empowerment. This would restore moral sanity and democracy by suppressing the capitalist system and encourage socialism.

Therefore, class distinctions would be no more, a condition beneficial for the whole population as Marx assets in the communist manifesto that “Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win” (Marx & Engels 1848 Ch. 4).

Marx questions on such values as: First, universal moral values such as freedom, parity, fairness, independence and self achievement are important for everyone. Instrumentation of various values comprises a logical totality, able to articulate revolutionary humanism, which comprises a crucial aspect to morally disregard capitalism. The moral disrespect against capitalism infamies is an obvious and important perspective which makes the work of Marx impressive.

Secondly, Marx points out that those proletariats were victimized in capitalism by potentially subjugating them. This perspective of class system is able to motivate his anti-capitalist views as he criticizes the political economy of the bourgeois. Therefore, this perspective highlights on the value of justice which is viewed differently by each class’s welfare and circumstances (Lowly 2002). Third, Marx sees a promising liberated prospect of a post-capitalist system, being a communist world.

This way, the negative extensive aspects of a capitalist system are exposed. Forth, capitalist growth destroyed the survival of extra human social formations which were there initially established. This was primitive communism where man lived communally with neither personal property nor patriarchal domination of females. The said values’ importance clearly portrays the immanent views in such a way it refers to actual social force against capitalism (Lowly 2002).

Marx emphasize that capitalism is characterized by inequality as well as class unrests. He points out that the dominant class also known as the bourgeoisie has power over power capital, possessions and production means, thereby affecting the workers as a source of labor, and who exceeds the bourgeoisie.

According to Marx, the inequality in capital production means as well as private property ownership was intense in the bourgeoisie. This empowered the bourgeoisie since it aligned with important social organization aspects as well as subjugation.

This made up the classes of oppressor and the oppressed such that the society was unable to thrive being ruled by the bourgeoisie since there is no compatibility (Marx ‘Capital’ 2007). Class power is compared with political authority and economic power above the working class. This is so since the bourgeoisie were able to rule over the economy as well as the industries, which reflect oppression to the societal majority being the working class.

This is because capitalism always quested to exploit them and attain maximum benefits. Therefore, revolution and work dictatorship for the proletariat or laboring class was to be empowered to lead the society justly. Here Marx assumes that the outcome would be positive since there would be justice, restored by the leadership of the proletariat (Lowly 2002).

Marx anti-capitalist critique envelops several themes which includes the following. First, exploitation injustice, which indicates that capitalism, is solely based on a political economy. The majority, low waged oppressed laboring class produced profits. Injustice was manifested through child labor, low wages, overworking time and most importantly, the squalid working environments the laboring class were exposed to (Giddens 2002).

These conditions added up to particular historical event since the system was inherently unjust as it was based on exploitation and dependency on working class who facilitated direct production. The theme is crucial since it formed the basis for the Marxist laborers movement (Lowly 2002).

Second, freedom failure due to reification, alienation and product fetishism characterized production mode in the capitalist system. The workers were controlled by what they produced and this resulted to independent fetishes beyond their power. Alienation according to Marx arose when the laborer were excluded and became externalized.

The laborer created own world by being personally overwhelmed by poverty, this world was stricken by poverty such that the laborer was unable to have a private property (Lowly 2002). This is compared to religion where the more an individual serves God, the more he is unable to acquire self sustenance.

Third, venal social requirement means that capitalism was controlled by trade value, profit flow and capital amassing, which disregarded qualitative, utility, moral values and human associations and feelings. Marx argues that capitalism initiated a diverse deprivation of social interactions and moral deterioration to pre-capitalist social associations due to economic value that was overemphasized.

Monetary power in capitalism was manifested as production mode degraded the moral values and as money accumulated and was appreciated as personal property (Lowly 2002). Forth, irrationality was characterized by overproduction in capitalism, which portrayed absurdity in that there was extensive subsistence means with the majority having inadequate subsistence means.

Finally, modern barbarism in the capitalist system was manifested through exponential productive forces growth where there was initiation of materialism. In the emerging society, there was solidarity and freedom since capitalism was a forerunner of historical advancement.

However capitalist system was a cause of social erosion since it achieved a public disaster from every economic advancement. This was accomplished through impoverishment laws as Marx points out that “barbarism reappears, but this time it is engendered in the very core of civilization and becomes an integral part of it. It is the leprous barbarism, barbarism which is the leper of civilization” (Lowly 2002). These thematic concerns attribute Marx as a communist and are well structured as anti-capitalist visualizations.

Marx also handles imperialism brought about by capitalism where there is supremacy over the colonized individuals. They have to submit to the imperatives who amass capital by maximizing production. These poor nations are subjugated by the leading class or western civilization.

In the capitalist system, capital amassing is a radical critique of terror of colonial extension through enslavement or extinction of native inhabitants, congests struggles and blacks being sold as slaves. These are regarded by Marx as extreme cruelty and infamy which should not exist in the society, all in the name of making profits and curbing historical advancement (Lowly 2002).

The Communist Manifesto, Marx exults in authority over nature facilitated by thriving of the capitalist system. The bourgeois hostility in only portrayed in the capitalist system as having to exploit production mode in opposition to the natural surroundings (Marx & Engels 1848).

This is through labor exhaustion as Lowly asserts that “Each progression of capitalist agriculture is a progression not only of the art of exploiting the laborer, but also the art of depleting the earth’s soil; each progression in the art of augmenting its fertility for a time is also a progression in the ruination of its durable sources of fertility.

Capitalist production therefore develops the technique and the combination of the process of social production that exhausts at the same time the two sources from which are obtained all wealth: the earth and the laborer” (Lowly 2002).

Marx’s concern is on personal relations with respect to the significant resource of the source of labor. He emphasize that capitalism intercede social interactions in production for the laborers while the capitalists’ concern is on products traded in the market. This economic relation was vital for dictating the historical progress of the society (Giddens 2002).

Marx states that amassing capital, structures the social system and to achieve social change, there had to be unrest for contrasting economic interests. A society is structured by production means. His anti-capitalist thoughts in favor of communist society, which would replace feudalism and slavery is obvious. As Marx views it, capitalism was dehumanizing arising from alienation and exploitation of laborers and resulted to poor wages and unemployment (Giddens 2002).

However, Marx asserted that capital class was the finest revolutionary historically, since it developed production means than any class and it destroyed feudalism to a new age of capitalism. As a result capitalism triggered significant development since the capitalist was able to devote profits in emerging technology as well as capital machinery. Marx points out that capitalist exploited the disparity, which existed in labor and commodity market.

He argues that in most advanced industries, input expenses are less than out put expenses to give a surplus value which emanate from surplus labor. He regards capitalists as vampires who exploited the weak for their own good. This was not on maximizing profits, but on the capital as not being equipment but as being interactions among laborers and those who own them i.e. the economic system (Marx ‘Capital’ 2007).

Marx predicts the instability of capitalism since it was constantly faced by crisis where he sees its future as having technological investment rather than on workers, thus profits would decline irrespective of economic development (Marx ‘Capital’ 2007). Consequently the capitalist would amass wealth and power while the proletariat would become impoverished. The structural crisis would pave way for a post-capitalist society, socialism or communalism, which would be facilitated by the proletariat.

They would conger production mode and advance social relations by abolishing the bourgeois to a system that has fewer conflicts (Marx & Engels 1848). The emergent society would disregard self-alienation and would be liberated from labor market to pave way for a democratic society for the benefit of all people. This is a utopian world where states would be unnecessary since they are meant to enhance alienation.

In the communist age, the proletariat would be empowered politically and rule to socialize production means. The transition from capitalism to socialism would be characterized by revolutionary changes and political transition era of the proletariat leadership, who would nullify the state. This would be peaceful in some nations, which possess strong democratic formations but in others, which are based on centralized state values would be marked by violence (Price 1986).

It is clear that the notion of historical progress, characterized Marx anti-capitalist thoughts. The existence of capitalism is by no means to be justified since it was marked by limitations such as oppression, being against nature and having a single motive of maximizing capital. Marx exposes these limitations in as critical manner and proposes a revolutionary change into a communist society.

However, his thought and prediction was not attained since the society today is characterized by economic instability and most importantly, the ruling class who amass riches and power of a given society. Irrespective of that, this problem is not being resolved properly in any society, thanks to Marx who critiqued the system and tried to offer solution for the same.

Giddens, A. 2002. Capitalism and Modern Social Theory: An Analysis of the Writings of Marx, Durkheim and Max Weber . New York: Cambridge University Press.

Lowy, M. Marxism and classical sociology: Marx, Weber and the Critique of Capitalism. Journal of Modern Society & Culture , Vol. 1 issue 3, summer 2002. Retrieved from http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article1106

Marx, K and Engels, F. 1848. “The Communist Manifesto (1848)”. Marx/Engels Selected Works , Vol. One, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1969, pp. 98-137; February 1848. Retrieved from https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/index.htm

Marx, K. Capital: 2007. A Critique of Political Economy – Vol. I-Part I: The Process of Capitalist Production . Edited by Friedrich Engels. New York: Cosimo, Inc.

Price, R. 1986. Marx and education in late capitalism . Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman & Littlefield.

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