Volume 46, Issue 1/2, 2014/2015
David Schweickart
Pages 67-77
https://doi.org/10.5840/owl20156813
Marx's Democratic Critique of Capitalism and Its Implications for a Viable Socialism
This paper argues that Marx¡¯s critique of capitalism is not, as commonly believed, a critique of the ¡°free market.¡± I argue that the ¡°market¡± under capitalism should be understood as a three-fold market¡ªfor goods and services, for labor and for capital. I argue that Marx¡¯s critique is essentially a critique of the latter two markets, and not the first. Hence theoretical space opens up for ¡°market socialism.¡± I proceed to elaborate briefly what specific institutions might comprise an economically viable socialism that would not be vulnerable to Marx¡¯s critique.