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Their system of administration combined both their own as well as Roman elements. The new social order saw the dominance of the military commander, who became the monarch & a new nobility, drawn from warriors and an educated, Romanised elite. Peasants, who constituted their armies, became impoverished due to continual warfare. This led to their enserfment to feudal lords. There existed 2 kinds of groupings in feudal Europe- serfs and lords in villages and craftsmen & journeymen or apprenti who were part of the guild organization in towns. Common to both was small-scale production. Marx focused on the factors which led to the transition from feudalism to capitalism. New geographical discoveries and sea routes increased overseas commerce. Manufacturers and traders consequently established themselves in new towns, outside the control of guild organizations which restricted production beyond a certain point. Constant civil wars and the increasing power of the monarchy diminished the position of the feudal lords & they freed many of the serfs. The conversion of arable land into pastures due to an increase in the price of wool also freed up a lot of labour. The increase in vagrancy saw the enactment of legislation to subject the peasantry to the discipline necessary for the wage system'. Thus, the availability of a mass of free proletarians' was the precursor to capitalism. Marx identified 2 stages of productive organization in the capitalist period.
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In the first stage, production grew due to increasing division of labour. However, this was not enough to meet the demands of ever-expanding markets. This resulted in the improvement of technical knowledge and henceforth mechanization became a hallmark of capitalism. Marx believed capitalist society to be divided into 2 main classes- the bourgeois or the capitalist class which owns the means of production, & the proletariat or the working class which sells its labour in the market. The capitalist operates on the profit motive & does not pay workers, drawn from the industrial reserve army, wages equivalent to the value created by them. The surplus value becomes the source of this profit. Further division of labour increases the alienation of workers in that they do not feel a sense of pride and ownership over the fruits of their labour. Marx uses the term capitalist anarchy' to describe the inherent instability of the system due to constant revolutionizing of the instruments of production and its subjection to market forces. The concentration of property and wealth in the hands of a few, also leads to greater political centralization with laws being formulated in favour of the bourgeois. Marx applauded the move towards industrialization and urbanization for freeing men from the burden of traditional ties and sentiment and simplifying class antagonisms. He believed that capitalism harboured its own seeds of destruction. The concentration of labour in the workplace, combined with their increasing pauperization, would end their isolation and create consciousness of their exploitation. Their numbers would rise further due to the descent of the petty bourgeoisie into poverty. This will lead to greater polarization of the classes and eventually the working class will transform from a class in itself' to a class for itself'. According to Marx, all previous historical movements were led by minorities but the proletarian movement is the self-conscious, independent movement of the immense majority, in the interests of the immense majority.' Earlier, a new type of class society would emerge but only in this case will workers unite to overthrow the bourgeoisie and establish a classless society. Later, scholars like Renner commented that the nature of capitalist society had undergone a change & was no longer the same as Marx had experienced. He looked at how laissez-faire capitalism was increasingly being subjected to state intervention, leading to new problems. Marx believed that although initially class struggles would have a nationalist character, it would eventually move beyond national boundaries. Following the revolution and a brief period of the dictatorship of the proletariat, a communist society would be established. Despite the importance of this conception to his ideology, Ritzer says that Marx spent very little time ruminating on it & was critical of utopian socialists. Bottomore & Rubel claim that his failure to do this kept him from becoming fully aware of the complexity of the issues involved. In general, however, he saw it as a classless society where private property would be abolished. In the
In the first stage, production grew due to increasing division of labour. However, this was not enough to meet the demands of ever-expanding markets. This resulted in the improvement of technical knowledge and henceforth mechanization became a hallmark of capitalism. Marx believed capitalist society to be divided into 2 main classes- the bourgeois or the capitalist class which owns the means of production, & the proletariat or the working class which sells its labour in the market. The capitalist operates on the profit motive & does not pay workers, drawn from the industrial reserve army, wages equivalent to the value created by them. The surplus value becomes the source of this profit. Further division of labour increases the alienation of workers in that they do not feel a sense of pride and ownership over the fruits of their labour. Marx uses the term capitalist anarchy' to describe the inherent instability of the system due to constant revolutionizing of the instruments of production and its subjection to market forces. The concentration of property and wealth in the hands of a few, also leads to greater political centralization with laws being formulated in favour of the bourgeois. Marx applauded the move towards industrialization and urbanization for freeing men from the burden of traditional ties and sentiment and simplifying class antagonisms. He believed that capitalism harboured its own seeds of destruction. The concentration of labour in the workplace, combined with their increasing pauperization, would end their isolation and create consciousness of their exploitation. Their numbers would rise further due to the descent of the petty bourgeoisie into poverty. This will lead to greater polarization of the classes and eventually the working class will transform from a class in itself' to a class for itself'. According to Marx, all previous historical movements were led by minorities but the proletarian movement is the self-conscious, independent movement of the immense majority, in the interests of the immense majority.' Earlier, a new type of class society would emerge but only in this case will workers unite to overthrow the bourgeoisie and establish a classless society. Later, scholars like Renner commented that the nature of capitalist society had undergone a change & was no longer the same as Marx had experienced. He looked at how laissez-faire capitalism was increasingly being subjected to state intervention, leading to new problems. Marx believed that although initially class struggles would have a nationalist character, it would eventually move beyond national boundaries. Following the revolution and a brief period of the dictatorship of the proletariat, a communist society would be established. Despite the importance of this conception to his ideology, Ritzer says that Marx spent very little time ruminating on it & was critical of utopian socialists. Bottomore & Rubel claim that his failure to do this kept him from becoming fully aware of the complexity of the issues involved. In general, however, he saw it as a classless society where private property would be abolished. In the