Economic theory as a whole means nothing to me, and is usually a vehicle serving my further baffledness (which never seems to end). I am not the kind of person who can understand things from an objective and detached view, but insist on relating everything to my own experience and trying to mold it to fit my own mindset, or at least not break my mind by trying to conceptualize it. However, looking back at Marx and having had the discussions we’ve had, I understand a bit more why Marx can be considered “modern”.
My working definition of modernity at the moment is an awareness of the past, present and future; it is about the self and all its idiosyncrasies (it is about navel gazing, to be sure) but it’s also about others, being aware of external perceptions and motives the way you are aware of your own thoughts and your own movements. It is about seeking (and sometimes finding) meaning in the parts of life that are found beyond the basic necessities. It deals with a world whose existence is no longer about mere subsistence, no longer made up of the moment-to-moment struggle to find food and shelter.
The extraordinary thing about Marx is that he deals with one’s isolation from the work of one’s hands. Others brought this up in discussion as I recall, but I am only just understanding it. Say I work in a shoe factory and I make tongues for the shoes. I can make a thousand tongues a day and never even see the shoe they’re attached to. I will never wear any of those shoes, and I will never meet any of the people who are using the work of my hands. In a sense the work becomes essential (you are helping to meet the shoe-needs of so many people, as well as helping out your employer and getting a paycheque to support yourself) and yet it becomes trivial.
And I think that’s part of what modernity is — that attempt of awareness of your place in the midst of things, figuring out where you are in “the system” and realizing there is so much more outside of that. Realizing you are an integral part of that, and yet a miniscule part of it. The sense of awareness and of resulting alienation seems to pervade all the works we’ve looked at so far.
Although Marx manages to deconstruct a relatively recent phenomenon (industrialization) in terms that the layman can understand, he also makes one aware of one’s place within the “new” economic system. Gone are the days of what are now called “cottage industries”, gone are the days of buying produce straight from a person’s farm or trading your goods for socks and mittens knitted by a real live person… buying hand-made shoes can still be done, of course, but usually at an astronomical price. And gone is the consequence of self-absorption and of immersion in one’s work as one’s livelihood.
To survive, you must be aware of the vast and varied world you live in, and be able to adapt to a number of different skill requirements. You must also be aware of the fact that the global economy affects you, not just the economy of your village, or the failure of your own yam crop. You must also be willing and able to take advantage of the variety of goods and services for sale. Your morality depends on how well you are able to judge this and apply this to your own life. Industrial economics have changed our way of life and, I would say, our self-perception. No wonder Marx’s work is heralded as a modern text. Perhaps he was the first one to make sense of that idea.
Aly
