W.E.B. DuBois: Picking Up Where Marx Left Off
Katherine Jones, Yahoo Contributor Network Dec 25, 2006
More: W.E.B. Dubois Proletariat Feudal Social Theory Marxist
FlagPost a comment Many people have tried to poke holes in the theories of Karl Marx. Critics claim that Marx's theories were fundamentally flawed because he did not account for large corporations that are able to use their purchasing power to drive down the prices of machinery. Marx is also criticized for failing to consider the effect of religion on the unity of workers. Finally, critics argue that Marx does not consider race in his theories (Collins and Makowsky 39). Marx did forget to account for race in his writings. However, W.E.B. DuBois, a Marxist, explained race in a way that fits nicely in with Marx's theories.
Marx lived during the beginning of a new era in Europe. The old feudal regime had been replaced by a new capitalistic system (Collins and Makowsky 38). Marx theorized that this shift occurred naturally because it suited the needs of the growing economy better than the old feudal system. The feudal system did allow for the expansion of industry (Collins and Makowsky 35).
During the feudal era, the ruling class earned their privilege through lineage. Their wealth was gained through taxes and inheritances. Those left without privilege or wealth were serfs. This class depended upon the feudal lords' land to maintain subsistence. In between the feudal lords and serfs was a middle class of merchants (Collins and Makowsky 38).
When capitalism took over, the once merchants became capitalists, or the bourgeoisie. Capitalists were individuals who owned the means of production. They became the new upper class. The old feudal system of power gained through privilege was replaced by a system in which wealth meant power. The middle class, once the merchant class, dropped out of the equation while serfs remained the lower class (Collins and Makowsky 38).
This new class split helped solidify Marx's theory that the economy of an era defines its class divisions (Collins and Makowsky 33). Serfs were now forced to sell their labor in order to survive because they could no longer live off of their feudal lords' land. They became wage earners known to Marx as the proletariat, who worked for the capitalist upper class (Collins and Makowsky 35).
For a time this system of capitalism was able to thrive because the capitalist and worker had to work together in order to survive. In fact, Marx theorized that the worker would adopt the bourgeois's "class consciousness". "Class consciousness" was the idea that individuals view the economic world according to what is situation is most beneficial for them. According to Marx, the workers adopted the ideas of the capitalists because they did not own the means of production. In order to survive, they would need to latch onto those who did own the means of production (Collins and Makowsky 35).
As long as workers were spread out, for example farming, they could not centralize and create a "class consciousness" of their own. The rise of industry forced workers to move to cities. Here, surrounded by more people in their own situation, class consciousness was able to flourish (Collins and Makowsky 36).
This is where the downward spiral of the worker began. With a newly formed "class consciousness", the proletariat began to recognize the disparity between themselves and the bourgeois (Collins and Makowsky 36). Disparity existed between the capitalist and the workers because the only way for a capitalist to turn a profit was to exploit the worker (Collins and Makowsky 40).
Marx assumed that if it took one hour to make a bowl, the bowl was worth one hour of labor (Collins and Makowsky 39). In this situation the capitalist cannot make a profit if they pay the worker the actual value of their labor. This is because if the bowl is sold for the same price the worker is paid for an hour, the net profit is zero. Therefore, Marx concluded that the capitalist must exploit the worker, making him or her work longer hours, in order to profit. These extra hours were called "surplus value" (Collins and Makowsky 40). Workers understood that they were being exploited but were helpless to fight it because they do not own the means of production and cannot earn a living without them (Collins and Makowsky 35).
As capitalists expand their businesses they look for new ways to turn an even larger profit. At this point, many capitalists decide to install labor saving machinery rather than employ more workers. Marx however, theorized that this would not add to their profits. Though the capitalist would have an advantage for some time, once other capitalists were able to update their machinery to the same level, profits would be equal in both businesses. This therefore reaffirmed that the only way to profit was to exploit workers (Collins and Makowsky 40).
To spite this assertion, Marx explained capitalists would continue to install new technology. This dependence on technology would create a low demand for labor and in turn workers will lose their jobs, leaving them penniless. Profits were then kept from increasing because the workers who usually purchased the goods could no longer afford the product (Collins and Makowsky 41).
Once technology reaches its pinnacle, capitalists begin to employ workers once again. Because of the high competition for jobs when employment resumes, wages are driven to lower levels than the previous cycle. As the cycle continues, the wealth of the capitalists increases each time as the workers become poorer and poorer. Marx might say this cycle is what causes the economic depression experienced approximately every 10 years in the United States (Collins and Makowsky 41).
Soon the workers will reach a level of starvation due to the high competition for jobs and low wages. Marx theorized that they would revolt against capitalism, just as the feudal lords had been overthrown by the bourgeoisie (Collins and Makowsky 41). This would happen because the workers will feel alienated from their work. In other words, the goods that they produce will be seen through the monetary value are assigned and not through the work that was put into them or the use that can be gained from them (Collins and Makowsky 45).
Communism would create a society in which workers were not alienated from the products of their work (Collins and Makowsky 45). In this society the means of production are centralized and private property is abolished. This would lead to an economic system which provided for all workers based on their need, and only ask for as much effort as the individual was able to give. Marx asserted that no revolt would overthrow this economic system because it provided for all and was therefore perfect (Collins and Makowsky 41).
However, Marx had a one track mind. He was so concerned with class that he failed to explain how issues such as religion and race would fit into his "perfect" society (Collins and Makowsky 39). Thankfully, other Marxists picked up the pieces for him after his death. One such Marxist was W.E.B. DuBois.
W.E.B DuBois was born in 1868, only three years after the end of the Civil War and five years after the Emancipation Proclamation (Collins and Makowsky 192). Raised in Massachusetts, he attended Harvard for undergraduate studies and returned to receive the first Ph.D. awarded to an African-American. As a graduate student he traveled to the University of Berlin to study with the great Sociologist Max Weber (Collins and Makowsky 193).
Under Weber, DuBois learned a tradition of Sociology heavily rooted in the teachings of Karl Marx. Weber emphasized the importance of the politics of stratification to DuBois. This was an idea Weber adapted from Marx and expanded upon. In addition, Weber taught DuBois the importance of doing a thorough socioeconomic history as part of his research. This too echoes a Marxist mentality that proclaims class as the largest determinant of the individual in society (Collins and Makowsky 195).
>From his readings of Marx, DuBois found a basis for slavery in the
United States. DuBois theorized that the bourgeois Marx described in
The Communist Manifesto were comparable to the slave owners of the
United States (Collins and Makowsky 195). In The World and Africa,
DuBois praises Marx saying, "it was Karl Marx who made the great
unanswerable charge of the sources of capitalism in African slavery."
(http://members.cox.net/smrose7
/Marxist%20Concepts.html) This provided DuBois a framework from which he could create other theories of society (Collins and Makowsky 195). In fact, DuBois found evidence for his comparison in Das Capital when Marx wrote: "The discovery of gold and silver in America, the extirpation, enslavement and entombment in mines of the aboriginal population, the beginning of the conquest and looting of the East Indies, the turning of Africa into a warren for the commercial hunting of black-skins, signalized the rosy dawn of the era of capitalist production." (http://members.cox.net/smrose7/DuBois%20on%20Marx.htm) This statement, and DuBois' theories that flowed from it, negate criticism that claims Marx did not, and moreover could not, account for race in his theories.
In his first major work, The Philadelphia Negro, DuBois outlined four types of blacks in the system of stratification. These four groups were the well-to do, laborers, the poor, and criminals. This interpretation seemed to put a negative light on parts of the black community (Collins and Makowsky 199). However, these four groups coincide nicely with Marx's theory. DuBois would undoubtedly agree that the well-to do only encompassed a small percentage of the black community. In Marx's theory, the well-to do would be the bourgeois. The laborers would then make up the proletariat; the majority of African-Americans. Left are the poor and criminals. These two groups would be those who lived off of the livelihood of the other two groups through either begging or stealing. Though Marx did not account for these, they do not discount any of his theories.
Another similarity to the theories of Marx is DuBois' theory of "double consciousness". This concept explained that African-Americans feel caught between two identities: one black, and one American. These two identities divert African-Americans' attention from fulfilling either identity to its fullest extent. It also places undue mental stress on African-Americans to keep switching identities to match their circumstances (Farganis 180).
This idea closely parallels Marx's idea of "class consciousness". In this case, an African-American's identity as an American is a consciousness that agrees with the needs of the bourgeois who are primarily white Americans. This is because without white Americans, black Americans would not have the means to survive because they do not own the means of production. However, when African-Americans are able to share ideas, they are able to develop their own "class consciousness" just as the proletariat created a consciousness in Marxist theory.
One of DuBois' causes was that of education. He believed that above all, education was the key to overcoming an oppressive system. He believed that the "Talented Tenth" of African-Americans could gain knowledge to lead their people into a higher state of civilization. A higher level of knowledge would encourage blacks to fight for political and civil rights and against social justice in stead of being obedient to it (Collins and Makowsky 196).
Perhaps DuBois so heavily emphasized education because he thought it was the only way for a black man to rise above the bourgeois. The bourgeois were those who owned the means of production. Because blacks did not inherit wealth due to slavery, their only way to overcome would be an intellectual wealth because they lacked the means of production.
If the majority of African-Americans were in fact laborers, then Marx's theories could easily apply to the post-slavery capitalism DuBois lived in. In this case, the bourgeois, or capitalists, would be mainly white. African-Americans continued to be offered jobs at lower wages than white laborers. In many cases, segregation kept them from earning a high wage. As a result of this, no matter what level of education an African-American attained, they would still be held in a low wage position by segregation in the job market (Farganis 184). Combined, all of these factors, through slavery to modern day, keep African-Americans as the proletariat of the United States.
In the later part of DuBois' life, he traveled to the Soviet Union. He wanted to see the results of a socialist revolution. After a further investigation of Marx's teaching he continued on his path of activism and social change. The Great Depression brought about the New Deal which DuBois supported. He also hoped that socialism in the United States would go further because of its ability to create social justice and equality (Farganis 181).
Many critics have attempted to debunk Marxist theory by pointing out spots where Marx failed to go into detail. However, theorists who have adopted Marx's paradigm have been able to successfully fill in the blanks and solidify Marxist theory. DuBois is a chief example of a Sociologist who has helped fill in some of the holes in Marxist theory. Specifically, DuBois answered many unanswered questions regarding the relationship of race to Marxist theory. DuBois' contributions have not only validated the theories of Marx, but ensured its enduring power in the discipline of Sociology.
Works Cited
Collins, Randall and Makowsky, Michael
1999 The Discovery of Society. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Farganis, James
2000 Readings in Social Theory. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Rosenthal, Steven
2005 "DuBois on Marx." Hampton, VA: Hampton University, Retrieved November 27, 2005 (http://members.cox.net/
smrose7/DuBois%20on%20Marx.htm).
2005 "Marxist Concepts." Hampton, VA: Hampton University, Retrieved November 27, 2005 (http://members.cox.net/
smrose7/Marxist%20Concepts.html).