Karl Marx and Work Karl Marx is known not only as a philosopher but as a revolutionary, whose works inspired the founding of many communist regimes in the twentieth century. Marx had a lot of influence in the creation of the modern world. Trained as a philosopher, Marx moved away from philosophy in his mid-twenties to devote himself to economics and politics. However, in addition to his early overtly philosophical works, his later writings have many points of contact with contemporary philosophical debates, especially in the philosophy of history and the social sciences, and in moral and political philosophy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Marx argues that capitalism is distinctive, in that it involves not only the exchange of commodities, but the advancement of capital, in the form of money, for the purpose of generating profit through the purchase of commodities and their transformation in other goods that can command a higher price, and therefore produce a profit (Philosophy 2003). Marx argues that no previous theorist has been able to explain how capitalism as a whole can make profits. Marx's solution is based on the idea of ​​exploitation of the worker. In creating the conditions of production, the capitalist acquires from the worker's labor power his ability to work for the day. The cost of this commodity is determined in the same way as the cost of any other commodity, in terms of the amount of socially necessary labor needed to produce it (Philosophy 2003). In this case the daily value of labor power is the value of the goods necessary to keep the worker alive for one day. This can be seen in the statement: “we have demonstrated that the worker descends to the level of a commodity and indeed becomes the most miserable of commodities” (Marx n.d.). Suppose such goods take four hours to produce. Therefore, the first four hours of the working day are spent in the production of value equivalent to the value of the wage that will be paid to the worker, this is known as "necessary labor" (Philosophy 2003). Any work performed by the worker beyond this limit is known as “surplus labor,” producing surplus value for the capitalist (Philosophy 2003). Surplus value, according to Marx, is the source of all profit. In Marx's analysis, labor power is the only commodity that can produce more value than it is worth, and for this reason it is known as variable capital. Other commodities simply pass on their value to finished goods, but do not create any additional value, they are called constant capital. Profit, therefore, is the result of the work performed by the worker beyond that necessary to create the value of his salary (Philosophy 2003). It is important to understand that for Marx alienation is not just a matter of subjective feeling or confusion. The bridge between Marx's early analysis of alienation and his later social theory is the idea that the alienated individual is "a toy of alien forces". In the lives of citizens, they make decisions that have unintended consequences, which then combine to create larger social forces that can have an unexpected and volatile effect. According to Marx, the institutions of capitalism themselves are the consequences of human behavior that structure their future behavior, determining the possibilities of human action. For example, as long as a capitalist intends to remain in business, he must exploit his workers to the extent permitted by law. Whether or not he is tormented by guilt, the capitalist must act as a ruthless exploiter. Likewise, the worker must accept the best job offered; there is simply no other option. But in doing so we strengthen the very structures that oppress us. Yes it can.