The Economy in the United States of America, Essay Example

Undeniably, the economy in the United States of America is in crisis so as the rest of world’s economy. The ongoing recession that is being felt all around the globe can be considered as the worst the world has ever experience since the early 20^th century Great Depression. This situation is proven by the fact that the Dow Jones plunged from a record of 14,000 stocks it accumulated in the 2007 to a low of 6,500 that was recorded in the year 2009. This drop of more than 50 percent has resulted to losing over trillion of dollars in stocks. In addition, banks are getting worried that expected and predicted returns will not be attained especially the sovereign-debt crisis that is happening in Portugal, Greece, Ireland, Spain, Italy and the United States of America (Leslie, 114). This situation can be rooted from the alliance of economic power as a result of the globalization of assets and resources to protect international corporations. As a result, globalized problems in the field of banking, finances and real estates emerged. Hence, it can be said that Karl Marx’s ideas on capitalism might have been right all along. According to the works of Marx, the driving force of capitalism is the exchange of products that can be bought, traded, and sold that have use value or exchange value such as oil. The value of these commodities is derived from the labor theory of value which speaks of the relationship between labor and time spent by workers to produce a commodity (Sweezy, 89).

To elucidate more, money moves capitalism and it covers up for the mistreatment that is the fuel behind the capitalist production. Rich capitalists will invest into the production of a commodity and then turn around and sell such product for profit. However, the workers are getting paid with salaries that will only allow them to get what they need in life (Saad-Filho, 55). The difference between the workers’ wages and the actual value of the commodity created is the gain of the capitalists- a process known as exploitation. Marx further explained that the regeneration of profit as well as its re-establishment will only be attained in deflating the capitals, through low salaries, and unemployment (Lysandrou, 326). Marx knew that crisis is inevitable in this type of economic movement and action- that is the current economic status the society has today. The crisis that the society faces today is not just about the finances but rather the entire system. This is brought about by the fact that the capitalist production is all geared towards making a profit rather than the production of commodities that humans actually need (Wolf, 102). The trend in the economy today is the production of goods that people lived without in the olden days. When an old product becomes obsolete, capitalists will create a new one. There are instances where a product is not even obsolete and new products are being introduced right away. Take for example the Apple products- one of the biggest capitalists in the world. Last year the company released iPhone 6 and then a year after they have released iPhone 6s and people are buying the products. Another example would be Luxottica Group S.p.A that controls more than 70% of worldwide eye wear brand. The products are produced cheaply in China and are being sold for at least $300 per piece. Hence, the rich get richer while the poor get poorer.

Work Cited

Leslie, Sklair. Globalisation: Capitalism and its Alternatives. US: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Lysandrou, Photis. “The Market and Exploitation in Marx’s Economic Theory: A Reinterpretation. Cambridge Journal of Economics 24.3 (2000): 325-347.

Saad-Filho, Alfredo. The Value of Marx: Political Economy for Contemporary Capitalism. New York: Routledge, 2002.

Sweezy, Paul. Theory of Capitalist Development. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1962.

Wolf, Martin. Fixing Global Finance. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008.