Basic ideas of Marxism: a brief overview. The theory of Marxism is: briefly and clearly about the main provisions

Marxism was formed as an integral teaching in the organic unity of all its components. The philosophy of Marxism acts as scientific method knowledge and transformation of the world. The core, the essence of the philosophy of Marxism is formed by the study of classical philosophical questions, concentrating around the relationship of man to the world, the relationship of people among themselves and the nature (essence) of man. There are two stages in the development of Marxism – “early” and “late”. “Early” is characterized by attempts to develop a holistic worldview primarily by means of philosophical analysis. “Late” - here, instead of an abstract construction of man and his essential forces, a more concrete one was formed, based on the study of the economic and social structure of society.

The main theses of Marxism

1. the worldview is based not on religious-mystical or idealistic ones, but on the conclusions of modern natural science;
2. Marxism openly recognized its connection with the interests of a certain class - the proletariat;
3. as a result, a fundamentally new task is set - not to limit ourselves to explaining the world, but to choose a methodology for its transformation, first of all, the transformation of society on the basis of conscious revolutionary activity;
4. hence the center Philosophical studies transferred from the realm of pure cognition and abstract human relations, as well as from the area of ​​abstract reasoning about the general structure of the world to the area of ​​practice;
5. this leads to the fact that materialism for the first time extends to understanding public life;
6. finally, knowledge and thinking themselves were understood differently. Thinking began to be viewed not as a product of the development of nature, but as a result of complex historical social and labor activity, i.e. practices.

Basic principle: antagonism between forces of production and relations of production - driving force in the transition from one to another socio-economic formation (historically certain type societies representing a special stage of its development). Closely related to economics. History is viewed objectively, outside of the individual. For this: social being and consciousness.

• Social existence is the material relationship of people to the world around them, primarily to nature, in the process of production material goods, and the relationships that people enter into among themselves in the production process.
• Social consciousness is society’s awareness of itself, its social existence and the surrounding reality.
• Being determines consciousness; the opposite is generally not true.

Marxism is the knowledge that K. Marx and F. Engels contributed to science. Major achievements Marxism is the discovery of the formational development of society and the creation of the theory of surplus value. In the USSR, knowledge added by V.I. Lenin was sometimes classified as Marxism. Then they said: Marxism - Leninism.

In the USSR, Marxism was not subject to criticism, although some shortcomings in it were already obvious. The most vulnerable spot, perhaps, was the forecast for the development of history given in the Communist Manifesto. It was argued there that with the development of capitalism, the proletariat will become poor both relatively and absolutely. The proletariat was declared the gravedigger of the bourgeoisie. It was argued that capitalism had reached the end of its natural development. The actual course of history did not confirm such a forecast. True, capitalism has not outlived its vices: unemployment and cyclical economic development. But the proletarians do not become absolutely poor; in developed countries they live quite peacefully with the bourgeoisie, and capitalism is progressing both in the field of production and in social direction using significant taxes on social programs. Of course, Marxism remains the knowledge without which it is impossible to correctly assess real situations in sociology and economics. For example, only Marxism allows us to give a clear understanding of the nature of the cyclical development of the capitalist economy. Therefore, science is interested in adjusting this knowledge taking into account the real course of history. One can only welcome the scientific criticism of Marxism, since it will help such an adjustment. In light of the above, S. Kara-Murza’s book “Marx against the Russian Revolution” is of some interest, which contains criticism of certain provisions of Marxism. graduate School social studies does not present its presentation, since it was published in a large circulation, according to our modern concepts, but in the form of a lecture he analyzes its main content, commenting on it from the position systematic approach to the analysis of history.

The history of the 19th century is rich in various philosophical ideas, movements that subsequently changed the entire social structure right up to the present day. Among the outstanding philosophical ideas stand as a separate doctrine (especially for our country) ideas of Marxism. The influence of the theories and philosophy of Karl Marx on world historiography is undeniable and among many prominent historical figures is considered the most outstanding in the history of society, not only in the 19th and 20th centuries, but throughout the entire period of the existence of civilization.

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The emergence of Marxism

The theory of a new economic mode of production arose as a natural phenomenon production processes and the economic structure of Europe at that time.

The emergence and significant spread of a new class - workers in factories and plants - significantly changed the type of social and.

The development of capitalism was expressed in the active exploitation of workers starting in the 30s of the 19th century. This phenomenon was accompanied not by an improvement in the standard of living of the working class, but by the desire to obtain as much profit as possible and increase production productivity. Capitalism, with its main goal of making profit, did not take into account the rights and needs exploited class.

The social structure itself and the presence of insoluble contradictions between classes required the emergence new theory relationships in society. This is Marxism. Followers of Marx naturally were called Marxists. The most famous followers of this movement were V.I. Lenin, I.V. Stalin, Mao Zedong, F. Castro. All these politicians contributed to the active development of the idea of ​​Marxism in society and the construction of socialism in many countries.

Attention! Marxism is the primacy of economic relations over all other aspects of development public relations– materialism.

Philosophy of Marxism

Marx's ideas were consolidated in the mid-19th century. This was an era of rapid development of capitalism, a giant leap forward in German industry (Karl Marx was a German) and the complication of social relations between different segments of the population.

As a bright and unsurpassed philosopher, Marx consolidated the basic principles of the theory in his work "Capital".

This work consolidated the basic ideas of materialism and economic justification a new social system that subsequently changed the world - communism. Classical Marxism was characterized by special postulates. Basic the provisions of Marxism are brief and clear:

• The thinker's teachings were based on the materialism of society. This theory meant the primacy of matter before consciousness, and is a purely philosophical category for understanding existence. However, not excluding, but supplementing its views with theories of dialectics in the future, the philosophy of Marxism acquired a materialistic-dialectical character.
• The division of society is not into social groups and classes, as was previously accepted in most sociological teachings, but into strata, that is, classes. It was Karl Marx the first to introduce this concept, as a type of division of the entire social structure. This term is closely related to materialism, and is expressed in a different classification of social relations between various representatives of society. The sociology of Marxism in this teaching is understood, first of all, by two main types - the class of workers (exploited) and the class of capitalists (exploiters) and the interaction between them on the basis of commodity-money conditions;
• A new way of understanding economic relations between classes, based on dialectical materialism, as the application of production relations of a new formation (with the direct participation of workers).
• Economy makes up society. It is economic (production relations) are the basis for the whole society, the primary source of human relations. Simply put, commodity-money and production relations between people (production, distribution, sale) are the most important thing in relations between different classes and layers of people. This postulate was subsequently consolidated and actively developed in a new doctrine - economic communism.

Division into economic formations

One of the most important postulates in Marx’s teaching was the division of the entire historical period of human development into several main economic and production formations.

Some historians called them classes, some stratification.

But this did not change the meaning - the basis of economic philosophies is the division of people into classes.

It is also noteworthy that the formations are based on the principle of production of goods, devices on the basis of which society developed. It is customary to highlight 6 such formations:

• Primitive communal system. The very first historical period of development human society. With the formation of the initial period of accumulation, there is no division into any classes or estates. All property of the community (collective) is universal and does not have a specific owner. At the same time, taking into account only the initial stage of development of human society, the tools of extraction and production were at a purely primitive level and did not allow producing or collecting enough products other than those necessary only for survival. This formation was named primitive communism It was precisely because property was in the hands of the community and there was no exploitation of the population that the whole society participated in gathering.
• Asian formation. Also such a period in history sometimes called the state-communal system, since subsequently, with the development of mining tools and the improvement of production methods, people managed to obtain a surplus product, that is, accumulation took place in society and surplus values ​​began to appear. In order to distribute products and exercise centralized control, a management class began to emerge in society, which performed only management functions and was not involved in the direct production of products. Subsequently he (nobility, priests, part of the army) formed the elite of the state. This formation also differs from the previous one in the presence and appearance of such a concept as private property, subsequently it was under this formation that centralized states and an apparatus of control and coercion began to appear. This meant the economic and subsequently political consolidation of population stratification and the emergence of inequality, which served as prerequisites for the emergence of a new formation.
• Slave system. Characterized by strong social stratification and further improvement of mining tools. The accumulation of initial capital ended, and the size of the additional product increased, which led to the emergence of a new class of people - slaves. The position of slaves differed in different states, but the common thing was complete lack of rights. It was during this era that the idea of ​​the exploited class as mute instruments for carrying out the will of the masters was formed. Despite the fact that it was slaves who were engaged in production in that era, they did not have any property and did not receive any privileges or dividends from the work performed.
• Feudalism. A period in history that distinguished by the appearance of different classes, however, the main division was no longer between slaves and masters, but into dependent peasants and representatives of the nobility and clergy. During this period, the dependence of peasants was legislatively consolidated, however, during this era, peasants had a minimum set of rights and received a small part of the product they produced.
• – characterized by significant development of the means of production and the development of social relations. At that time there is a significant stratification of society and distributed benefits in the social structure. Appears new class– workers who, having social consciousness, will and self-perception, do not have social rights and are alienated from the distribution and use of basic public goods. The capitalist class is small in number, but at the same time dictates its will and enjoys the absolute majority of the additional product. Power is reformed and transformed from the power of the monarchy, as in the period of feudalism to various forms elective Also, the situation of workers was distinguished by the impossibility of accumulating initial capital without forced labor;
• Communism – highest form development of society. The essence of this formation was that the means of production should reach a level at which all property, regardless of its value, becomes public (general), however, the level of production can meet the needs of all citizens. Classes disappear with this formation, all people have the same rights and social status while performing its function. These were the main features of the communist system.

Important! No one in history has managed to achieve communism, despite numerous attempts by various states, which is why it is often called a utopia.

What is Marxism, briefly

Philosophy and approaches of Marxism

Conclusion

The emergence and subsequent development of Marxism served as one of the clear reasons for global social changes in the life of mankind. With the advent of the USSR, Marx’s theories received their applied significance, which were improved and within 70 years our the country was moving towards building communism, however, such attempts were unsuccessful. Overall, Marx's ideas had a positive impact on the condition of workers around the world, despite social order, and forced the capitalists to improve their social status, albeit to a small extent.

Marxism is a philosophical, political and economic doctrine developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels with the goal of transforming society and its transition to a more high level of its development. Marxism is not just an ideology or a unique view of the world, it is an entire scientifically based doctrine that explains the development of society and the possibility of transition to a new model of social relations - communism. The popularity of this teaching today is very insignificant, but its followers actually predetermined the history of the entire twentieth century. Marxism will be briefly described in this article.

Karl Marx as the founder of the doctrine

The author of the theory, which followers would call Marxism, was the German journalist, economist and philosopher Karl Heinrich Marx. The public figure was born in the city of Trier in 1818, had brilliant abilities in science, and in 1841 he graduated from the University of Berlin, so to speak, as an external student. At the age of 23 he defended his doctoral dissertation on ancient philosophy. Was interested in the teachings of the classics German philosophy G. Hegel, who was an idealist. Over time, Marx took a materialist position, but borrowed the philosophical method of dialectics from Hegel. Thus, the theory of Marxism appeared, the provisions of which were initially spelled out in the Manifesto Communist Party"(1848). Peru this brilliant thinker And public figure The following works belong to him: “Capital”, “German Ideology”, “Critique of the Gotha Program”, “Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts”. Karl Marx died on March 14, 1883 in London.

Sources of Marxism

Marxism is complete system views on everything social processes. But this system can be divided conditionally and its main components, as well as sources, can be determined. The famous Russian revolutionary Marxist V.I. Lenin in one of his works identified three sources on which the ideas of Marxism are based.

English political economy

Marx's teaching is primarily a teaching about economic theory. Therefore, the source of this teaching is economic ideas that precede Marxism, including English political economy. Adam Smith and David Rickard laid the foundation for modern political economy by creating the labor theory of value. K. Marx took the works of English economists as the basis for his theory.

German classical philosophy

In the idealistic dialectic of Georg Hegel, Marx saw the basis of his philosophical thinking. But after reading the works of Ludwig Feuerbach, the philosopher begins to understand that the idealistic position is very shaky and is not even correct. Marx develops a new method, combining the philosophy of materialism and dialectics. As he himself stated, “We have turned Hegel’s dialectic upside down...”.

Utopian socialist thought

Long before the advent of Marxism in Europe, there were many utopian teachings. Their representatives tried to find a way out of the current situation of total social injustice. Among the more famous utopian socialists are Robert Owen, Charles Fourier, Henri Saint-Simon and others. Karl Marx critically analyzed their works and brought socialist thought from the utopian stage to the scientific stage.

Thus, the comprehensiveness of the theory gave it enormous popularity. The development of Marxism was determined by a broad labor movement during the birth of political ideology.

Basic postulates of the theory of Karl Marx

In Marxism it is almost impossible to single out an idea that could be considered fundamental. Marxism is a multifaceted, clearly structured teaching.

Dialectical materialism

The entire teaching of Marxism is built on the philosophical position of materialism, the main position of which is the assertion that matter in relation to consciousness is primary. Consciousness is just the property of organized matter to reflect reality. But consciousness as such is not matter, it only reflects it and also changes it.

Materialistic dialectics considers the world around us as a whole, where absolutely all phenomena and objects are interconnected. Everything in this world is constantly in constant motion and change, birth and death.

The theory of Marxism understands by dialectics general patterns and the development of nature, human thought and society.

Fundamental to the philosophy of Marxism (dialectical materialism) are three dialectical laws: the unity and struggle of opposites, the transition of quantitative changes into qualitative ones, and the negation of negation.

Materialistic understanding of history

Marxism views man not as something separate, but as a social being, as a product of social relations and connections. All types human activity They create a person only insofar as he himself creates them.

The principles of historical materialism are as follows:

• primacy material life over cultural life;
• production relations are fundamental in any society;
• the whole history of human society is the history of the struggle of classes (that is, some social groups with others);
• recognition that history is a constantly moving process of changing socio-economic formations (primitive, slaveholding, feudal, capitalist).

In every socio-economic formation there is a class of oppressors and a class of the oppressed. These antagonistic classes are defined by their relation to the means of production (land - under feudalism, plants and factories - under capitalism). Under the capitalist formation, there is a bourgeois class and a class of wage workers (proletariat). Classes are in constant struggle and, as Marx envisioned, the proletariat must overthrow the exploiters and establish its own dictatorship. As a result, a new just society and the next social formation should arise - communism. It should be noted that Marxism is not always communism; many use this teaching not for political, but for scientific purposes.

Political economy of Marxism

The political economy of Marxism studies historical, successive modes of social production, or the system of production relations. All ideas of Marxism, and political economy is no exception, are built on a dialectical understanding of the nature of society.

The central theme of K. Marx's criticism in the field of economics was the theme of the capitalist mode of production. Marx dedicated his work to this concept and its study. main work- “Capital”. In the work he revealed the basic laws of existence modern society and criticized them as inhumane and exploitative. It is quite difficult to challenge this position of Marx to this day. Many people are forced to work day after day in order not to die of hunger, while others live from this work and practically do not work themselves.

We have examined Marxism briefly, and many of its provisions have been ignored. But it is already quite clear that this is not only not an empty and utopian doctrine, but a whole scientific method for solving many social contradictions. Marxism is not the dogma of Soviet textbooks, it is a living, dynamically developing thought. In the West and in Russia, many intellectuals adhere to the teachings of Karl Marx and his many successors.

Karl Marx (1818-1883) – founder of scientific communism, dialectical and historical materialism and scientific political economy.

The starting point for the evolution of Marx's worldview is Hegelian philosophy. M. most consistently defended the revolutionary-democratic position both in theory and in practice. In 1841, while still an idealist, he made radical and atheistic conclusions from the philosophy of Hegel. Practical activities and theoretical research lead him to a collision with the Gheg. Phil, due to conciliatory tendencies, conservative political conclusions, inconsistency of theories. provisions real public relations and the tasks of their transformation. This resulted in a transition to materialistic positions. Which was significantly influenced by familiarity with real economic relations and philosophies. Feuerbach. In 1844, a final revolution took place in M’s worldview. He changed his class position and moved from revolutionary democracy to scientific communism. This is due to the growing class struggle in Europe. Reveals historical role proletariat. Comes to the conclusion that social revolution is inevitable. Gets closer to Engels.

Marxism was formed as an integral teaching in the organic unity of all its component parts. The philosophy of Marxism acts as a scientific method of understanding and transforming the world. The core, the essence of M.'s philosophy is formed by the study of classical philosophical questions, centered around the relationship of man to the world, the relationship of people among themselves, and the nature (essence) of man. There are two stages in the development of Marxism – “early” and “late”. “early” is characterized by attempts to develop a holistic worldview primarily through the means of philosophical analysis. “Late” - here, instead of an abstract construction of man and his essential forces, a more concrete one was formed, based on the study of the economic and social structure of society.

Basic theses: 1) the worldview is based not on religious-mystical or idealistic ones, but on the conclusions of modern natural science; 2) M. openly admitted his connection with the interests of a certain class - the proletariat; 3) as a consequence, a fundamentally new task is set - not to limit ourselves to explaining the world, but to choose a methodology for its transformation, first of all, the transformation of society on the basis of a conscious revolution. activities; 4) from here the center of Physics research is transferred from the area of ​​pure knowledge and abstract human relations, as well as from the area of ​​abstract reasoning about the general structure of the world to the area of ​​practice; 5) this leads to the fact that mathematics for the first time extends to the understanding of social life; 6) finally, knowledge and thinking themselves were understood differently. Thinking began to be viewed not as a product of the development of nature, but as a result of complex historical social and labor activity, i.e. practices.

Basic principle: antagonism between productive forces and production relations is the driving force in the transition from one to another social-ec. formations (a historically specific type of society, representing a special stage of its development). Closely related to ec. History is viewed objectively, outside of the individual. For this: social being and consciousness. OB - the material attitude of people to the environment. to the world, first of all to nature, in the process of making mat. benefits, and those relationships into which people enter into among themselves in the process of production. OS is society’s awareness of itself, its OB and surrounding reality. B determines C, the reverse is generally not true.

Unlike his predecessors, who defined political economy as the science of wealth, or the science of the national economy, K. Marx showed that political economy is a science that studies the production relations of people, the laws of development social production and the distribution of material wealth at various levels of human society.

Using as theoretical basis the legacy of the great classics V. Petty, F. Quesnay, A. Smith, D. Ricardo, as well as other economists, K. Marx and F. Engels substantiated the economic doctrine, at the center of which was the theory of exploitation of labor by capital. Taking into account the growing socio-economic contradictions of that time, a conclusion was made about the historical limitations of the private enterprise system, i.e. capitalism as a socio-economic formation.

The Marxist approach is based on the characteristic economic system as a method of production - the unity of two components: productive forces and the production relations corresponding to them. Productive forces reflect the relationship of man to nature and are a complex of basic factors of production: material and personal. Productive forces include means of labor, objects of labor and labor. Production relations are objective relations that arise between people regarding material goods and services in the process of their production, distribution, exchange and consumption. The basis of these relations is formed by relations of appropriation - alienation, i.e. property relations that determine the way in which labor power and means of production are combined as the main factors of production.

According to the Marxist interpretation, the totality of production relations forms the basis of society. It is served by a corresponding superstructure in the form of political, religious, legal, etc. relationships. The method of production and the corresponding superstructure, which are in close interaction, form a socio-economic formation.

From these positions, 5 historical socio-economic formations are distinguished:

• primitive communal
• slaveholding
• feudal
• capitalist
• communist (socialist)

A positive aspect of the formational approach is the recognition of the decisive role of the economy or material production in ensuring social development, the identification of dominant forms of ownership and its implementation through the appropriation of part of the created product. But significant disadvantages of the formational approach include the dominance of ideological aspects, underestimation of intangible production, evolutionary forms of development of society and overestimation of violent factors in its dynamics (military coups, revolutions). Historical development appears as intermittent, discrete, the patterns of development of mixed economic systems are ignored. As a result, the formational approach greatly simplified the understanding of the evolution of society.

The main thing in the scientific heritage of K. Marx is his economic teaching. K. Marx dedicated his main work “Capital” to the disclosure of the basic economic law of movement of capitalist society. In it, the analysis of the system of economic relations begins with the commodity as an “elementary cell” of capitalism. In the product, according to K. Marx, all the contradictions of the system under study are embedded in the embryo. The product has a dual nature:

• firstly, the product is able to satisfy people's needs, i.e. it has use value
• secondly, it is produced for exchange and can be exchanged for other goods, i.e. has value

The theory of value is the foundation of the grand edifice of Marxist political economy. Its essence is that the exchange of goods in society occurs in accordance with the amount of abstract labor that is spent on their production. Continuing the Ricardian tradition of understanding value, K. Marx introduced a fundamentally new point into its analysis - the doctrine of the dual nature of labor.

The dual nature of labor means that labor in commodity production is both concrete and abstract. Specific work is work characterized by a specific purpose, skills, organization, professional skill aimed at creating a specific product. The result of specific labor is consumer value. Abstract labor is social labor (expenditure of muscles, energy, brain), abstracted from its concrete form. Abstract labor is a measure of various specific private types of labor. Its result is the value of the commodity, manifested in exchange value, i.e. the proportion of exchange of one good for another.

The value of a product is determined by the amount of socially necessary labor time spent on its production. Socially necessary labor time is the time required to produce any value under existing socially normal conditions of production and at the average level of skill and intensity of labor in a given society. With the help of these concepts, the law of value is formulated: in the process of exchange, goods are exchanged at their value as equivalent to equivalent. This is the law of equilibrium in the market, the law of commodity exchange.

K. Marx introduced the concept of surplus value into economics. The doctrine of the dual nature of labor allowed K. Marx to reveal the “secret” of surplus value. The classical school was unable to explain the origin of profit based on labor theory value: after all, if wealth is created by labor, and labor is exchanged at an equivalent price, then there should be no profit. The principles of labor value and the equivalence of exchange turned out to be in mutual contradiction. K. Marx solves the problem by introducing a new concept - “commodity labor power”. Labor power, according to Marx, has a use value and a cost. The cost of this product corresponds to the cost of the means of subsistence necessary for the reproduction of labor power, and consumer value is determined by the ability of the labor force to work. The capitalist buys on the market not labor, but labor power, i.e. ability to work. The difference between the value of labor power and the value it can create is what Marx calls surplus value. Surplus value is the source of profit for the capitalist. Labor power is thus a special commodity, capable of creating value greater than the cost of labor power.

Surplus value is created by abstract social labor and appears as the unpaid labor of the worker. During the working day, the worker must first produce a value equivalent to the value of his labor power. Marx called the labor spent on this necessary labor. For the rest of the working day, the worker is engaged in surplus labor, creating surplus value. The ratio of surplus and necessary labor and the corresponding working time spent by the worker characterizes the degree of exploitation of workers by capitalists. Consequently, labor power, purchased on the labor market for wages, not only pays for itself, but also serves as a source of surplus value, which the capitalist appropriates free of charge, having ownership of the means of production.

K. Marx, having created the doctrine of surplus value, showed capitalist exploitation as the process of appropriation by capitalists of surplus value created by workers. K. Marx sees two ways to increase the degree of exploitation:

1. direct increase in surplus labor by lengthening the working day
2. change in the ratio of surplus and necessary labor within a fixed working day

He calls the first way the receipt of absolute surplus value, the second - the receipt of relative surplus value.

The first is characteristic of early capitalism, the second – of its mature forms. A reduction in the required time can be achieved by reducing the cost of workers' means of subsistence, due to an increase in labor productivity.

Marx identifies another way to increase surplus value: obtaining excess surplus value by reducing individual production costs in comparison with socially necessary ones. But this type of surplus value cannot be appropriated by all capitalists, and even for individual capitalists it is temporary, associated with the use of innovations until they become public property. Consequently, surplus value always appears as the result of the exploitation of a worker who works for free for the capitalist.

Based on the theory of surplus value, K. Marx revealed the category of “capital” as a self-increasing value expressing relations of exploitation and introduced the division of capital according to the principle of participation in the creation of value: into constant capital, presented in the form of means of production, and variable capital invested in labor. Constant capital (c) is capital that does not change its value during the production process. Through the concrete labor of the worker it is preserved and transferred to the finished product. Variable capital (v) increases in the production process thanks to the abstract labor of the worker, which not only reproduces the value of labor power, but also creates surplus value (m). The division of capital into constant and variable reveals the dual nature of the value of goods. The latter consists of the transferred value (c) and the new value (v + m). As a result, the cost of the created product is expressed:

Capital in its movement constantly increases due to surplus value. K. Marx calls the increase in capital due to surplus value the accumulation of capital. The accumulation of capital is accompanied by a change in its structure, which is represented by the organic structure of capital, expressed by the ratio of constant capital to variable capital.

Since the organic composition of capital increases as a result of technical progress, the demand for labor grows more slowly than the amount of capital. Hence, according to K. Marx, the inevitability of the growth of the army of the unemployed, and, consequently, the deterioration of the position of the working class as capitalist production develops. K. Marx formulated the “universal law of capitalist accumulation”: the accumulation of wealth at one pole, among the capitalist class, is accompanied by the accumulation of poverty, the deterioration of the position of the working class at the other pole.

The growth of the organic structure of capital is due to the fact that in the pursuit of profit, in the fight against competitors, the capitalist is forced to use new technologies and machines, replacing them with living human labor. This strategy of economic behavior has far-reaching consequences:

• firstly, it leads to an increasing concentration of production and capital in the hands of a small elite of society, which quickly gets rich against the background of the impoverishment of the vast majority of the population
• secondly, the need for human labor is decreasing, which means the number of unemployed people without a means of subsistence is growing
• thirdly, the rate of profit on the capital used is gradually decreasing, since, according to Marx, new value is created only by living labor, and less and less of it is required

The main conclusion that Marx comes to is that the position and interests of capitalists and wage workers are diametrically opposed, irreconcilable within the framework of the capitalist system, which constantly divides society into two poles: the owners of the means of production, who buy and exploit other people's labor power, and the proletarians who have nothing but labor, which they are forced to constantly sell so as not to die of hunger. Thus, the doctrine of the internal laws of development of capitalism has turned into a doctrine of the historical inevitability of its death and the justification for the revolutionary transition to socialism. In the depths of capitalism, objective and subjective conditions for its destruction are created, the prerequisites for replacing capitalism with a new society devoid of exploitation. The solution to this problem is happening in a revolutionary way. The first volume of Capital ends with a study of the historical trend of capitalist accumulation.

The second volume of Capital was published in 1885. It is devoted to the study of the production process as a unity of production and circulation, first in relation to individual and then to social capital. K. Marx analyzes the circulation of three functional forms of capital, monetary, productive and commodity. This volume introduces the categories of fixed and working capital and distribution costs. Problems of reproduction are considered.

K. Marx built schemes of simple (constant in scale) and expanded reproduction. He divides all social reproduction into two divisions: the production of means of production and the production of consumer goods. Their relationship is represented by an equation in which constant and variable capital and surplus value appear. The conclusion from the model comes down to the following: with simple reproduction, the sum of variable capital and surplus value of the first division must be equal to the constant capital of the second division, and with expanded reproduction - more than this constant capital. Schemes of simple and expanded reproduction showed how exchange is carried out between two divisions and economic relations are reproduced. Considering the problems of reproduction, K. Marx develops the theory of the cycle. Rejecting Say's concept of the impossibility of general crises of production, he argued their inevitability due to the anarchy of production. Capitalist production moves through phases of crisis, depression, revival, recovery - to a new crisis. The internal logic of the unfolding of the economic crisis is revealed through the following provisions:

• dependence of investment activity on the rate of return
• inverse relationship between wage levels and profit margins
• the presence of a “reserve army of labor”, i.e. constant excess of supply over demand in the labor market

The period of economic recovery is characterized by the presence of incentives for the accumulation of capital, a growing demand for labor, a reduction in unemployment, an increase in wages and, consequently, a decrease in the rate of profit. The fall in the rate of profit reaches such a point that the incentives for capital accumulation cease to operate and investment ceases, unemployment rises, wages fall, prices fall, and accumulated reserves depreciate. These processes, in turn, cause an increase in the rate of profit, which restores incentives for capital accumulation, and a revival and then an upturn in the economy begins.

Marx drew attention to the fact that the cycle acquires a repeating, regular character, since it receives a material basis in the form of a cycle of renewal of fixed capital. The crisis synchronizes the disposal of equipment; the beginning of the recovery phase creates conditions for new mass purchases and, accordingly, synchronization of the processes of its obsolescence, subsequent disposal and mass purchases. Identification of the material basis of 10-year cycles of production development under capitalism is an important theoretical achievement of Marx. During each cycle, economic restructuring occurs, accompanied by an increase in investment and the creation of jobs for the sake of maximizing profits, until, in the process of accumulation, downward tendencies in the rate of profit prevail, entailing a reduction in production, employment, and income, resulting in a new crisis situation. . The ultimate cause of crises, according to K. Marx, is the poverty of the population and limited demand, which indicates the need to change the economic system.

K. Marx and F. Engels believed that communist society would go through two stages in its development (“socialism” and “communism”). At the first stage, private property disappears, planning will break the anarchy of production, distribution will be carried out according to labor, commodity-money relations will gradually die out. At the second stage, the principle “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need” is implemented.

The merits of Marxism in the development of economic theory are enormous. Firstly, a number of the most important features of a market economic system were identified, associated with the growing concentration of production and capital, the intensification of crisis phenomena, and the exploitation of hired workers. Secondly, it was created new language economic science associated with the doctrine of surplus value.

The scientific legacy left by K. Marx is read in different ways and remains the subject of ongoing debate, discussion, and controversy.

Some try to refute the theory of K. Marx, others defend its validity, and sometimes the inviolability of his main provisions and conclusions.

Not all ideas of Marxism have been confirmed in life. Such assumptions as the provisions about the continuous decline in real wages and living standards of workers, the impoverishment of the proletariat and class polarization, and the inevitability of the socialist revolution did not come true.

K. Marx and F. Engels underestimated the potential strength of the market system, its ability to self-development and modification.

A more balanced, objective assessment of the Marxist heritage is the desire to clarify and rethink the ideas contained in his works from the perspective of ongoing changes, the conclusions of economic science, and the achievements of universal human culture.

The indisputable contribution of Marxism to the development of theory is recognized by all scientists without exception. Marxism was a coherent scientific theory that reflected the realities of its time and numerous factual data. The scientific development of many topical problems allows it to be used along with other economic theories to develop modern scientific concept social development.