The Economic System of Our Times

 

Why Marx Was Right by Terry Eagleton

   It is no secret that in our times, most economic systems around the world are generally. Even in China, the economic system is a mix of capitalism and Marxism. However, Marxism is still one of the most well-known form of economic system in the world. It was once very well supported in the western society during the late 19th century, but lost population vastly after the industrial revolution. 

  In the past, I have taken Economics as one of my majors during secondary school in Hong Kong. I have always held great interest in economics and especially towards the relationship between the economy and politics. During my days in school, economic systems weren’t properly introduced and I only grasped a tiny bit of information about them, for example, I knew capitalism was about people owning stuff and communism was about people owning stuff together. After finishing all my examinations in secondary school, I had some time before going into college and I bought this book hoping to get to know more about Marxism. However, the more I get to know about it, the more I doubt it. 

  From just reading the first part of the book, I can already feel how high hopes Marx had on humanity. The whole point of this economic system is based on the presumption that people won’t become greedy and corrupted and can society can work without governing. He predicted correctly about how the income gap would enlarge as capitalism continues to grow and I am impressed, but on the other hand, I doubt whether Marxism would ever work. In the book, it precisely stated the pros and cons of capitalism and focused on discussing the cons. I agree that capitalism has created many negative effects on society as a whole, but is communism really a better solution? Or should I say, a plausible solution? 

  To be honest, I have always thought of how life would be if capitalism suddenly disappeared. What would happen if our life turned into communism the next second? Marx said that the reason why communism haven’t been implemented fully is because of capitalism discrediting it. But I doubt whether it really is the perfect choice for human kind. If it was, then discrediting from capitalism wouldn’t have succeeded. When I was younger, a teacher of mine often mentioned how her childhood was. According to my memory, she was born in the time when capitalism was barely implemented in China. She said that stores would be closed before five in the afternoon, and if you buy a can of meat, you would have to share it with everyone – everyone could just come up and stick their finger in your can of meat and eat from it since everything is owned by everyone. I was reminded of this sharing while I was reading. I was shocked when I heard this story since I never experienced it. To this day, I still fear that this would happen some day since I like having personal belongings and personal space. 

  I once had a conversation with one of my schoolmates on communism and capitalism. She was a supporter of communism and I wanted to understand more. We talked about how communism would work in modern society. “Is it like a society where we don’t need to use money to get our daily necessities? Or we get paid for working with food and stuff?” I asked. It’s been years and I forgot her answer, but I still think of it often. I imagine that money would no longer dominate society and we would turn into a barter society like how it was during the ancient times and then some goods would replace money and it would go back to capitalism again but just with a different form of assets. 

  In the book, it was mentioned that if someone dedicated his or her life to Marxism, he or she would then have totally missed the point of Marxism as having a life after Marxism is the whole point of it. I find this point really sophisticated and I agree very much. I believe this applies not only to Marxism but also other economic systems and political systems. Many people dedicate their life to fulfill certain system’s requirements or rules, but I personally do not think it is worth to drain one’s life like that. Maybe I just don’t love politics that much, or maybe I’m just really subjective. But who am I to judge? Maybe someday I myself will find it worth. 

  In many other books, communism and Marxism has always been connected to dictatorship and dystopian stories. But in this book, it is very much described as a solution to all problems, including racist, sexist, income gap and much more. I look forward to continue reading and see how these points are proven. 

  I find myself sort of biased while reading this book due to my personal experiences and I expect myself to understand more about Marxism that it may even change my viewpoints of communism.