INSTITUTE OF ACCOUNTANCY ARUSHA( DAR CAMPUS)

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

MODULE NAME : DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES

PROGRAMME : BACHELOR OF ACCOUNTANCY

MODULE CODE : AFU 07131

FACILITATOR : MR. Mbogo

DATE OF SUBMISSION : 25 November 2022

Name Registration Number Signature

Kiroiya Akyoo BA-02-0174-2022

Neema Charles

Evelyn Mtaita

Abdulnasir Suleiman BA-02-0152-2022

Ezekiel Kibona

Esther Mwanga

Question

Critiques of Marxism theory towards development?

(Newton 1988) Marxist Theory of development was advanced by Karl Marx in 1818-1883, and he named
his book communist manifesto which was published in 1848. Marx has analyzed the main stages which
have taken place in human history and according to him, all historical events are the results of the
continuous economic struggle between different classes in society. (Newton 1988) According to Marx,
The mode of production which determines the general character of the social, political, and spiritual
process of life is the main cause of social change. (Newton 1988) Using this background, Karl Marx
explains the different modes of production such as Primitive Communalism, Slavery, Feudalism,
Capitalism, and socialism. The following are the weaknesses of Marxist Theory towards Development
and how they impact development.

(Thompson 2021) “The theory ignored the role of peace and stability in promoting
development”. (Thompson 2021) He thought development can only be achieved through class struggle.
He believed that conflict between social classes is the motivating force of development or change but he
did not point out the role of peace and stability. (Anthony 2004) The greatest changes happen as a result
of conflict but the greatest advancements happen during times of peace and stability. It is only through
a stable society can people work to advance themselves technologically and scientifically. If conflicts or
struggles are all that occur then they become the things at the forefront of the human mind, and that
prevents those with the potential of having any other ideas from having them. (Anthony 2004) It limits
the development of a country in one direction. An example of this is the class struggle that occurs in Karl
Marx’s world, because of the class struggle and people feeling exploited this will result in people either
looking for ways to usurp the system or them giving up hope. This hinders the development of an
economy because people will only focus on things that bring monetary benefits and status. It is a
limitation because this means that no one is willing to improve unimportant systems or do tasks or jobs
that are considered low-class. The second scenario is when people give up hope, this happens when
they accept their status and then move towards living and working only to live and not to achieve. This
hinders an economy because it decreases the number of people willing to make a change, and thus it
limits the changes that can occur.

(Thompson 2021) “It does not value the concept of private ownership”. The theory contains thoughts
and ideas which hinder private ownership and a free market. (Anthony 2004) Which leads to poor
competition and a low level of production. (Newton 1988) For example, communalism; which is
encouraged, focuses on sharing of means of production and centralized control of those means of
production. One of the greatest contributing factors to the growth of the capitalist economy is the free
ownership of private property and the free market. (Anthony 2004) The private ownership of factors of
production is important because it allows an economy to possess industries to go in separate directions
which diversifies development, but even though diversified the development always gears towards the
people because it is ultimately to be useful to them; in order for it to be bought by them. The free
market is discouraged by Marx but it is a brilliant situation as it allows the factors of demand and supply
to control the market. (Anthony 2004) The factors of demand and supply are made by people’s choices
of goods and services and thus are decided by the people. An economic system with these 2 factors
allows the people to decide not only the direction that an economy but also the advancements that are
made. Banning private ownership of factors of production means that they will fall into public
ownership, this will result in the populace having access to goods and services, but the access and
provision of the goods and services being inefficient due to lack of competition, and external pressure.

(Thompson 2021) “Marxism limits opportunities for entrepreneurs”. (Newton 1988) It does this
because in a communist society everything is centralized, and the government decides what is
produced, at what quantities, and at what quality. In this system, there are no entrepreneurs but rather
government agents who provide goods and services. It limits opportunities by only allowing people to
work on, produce and provide certain goods and services. Doing anything other than what is
commanded is deemed as breaking the law and can lead to serious consequences. This limits
development by not allowing any development to take place in any areas that have not been decided
on.

(Newton 1988) The theory enforced the form of dictatorship, through the decisions and commanding
power that the government has, for example in communalism and socialism the government or the
state controls all the means of production through their power by commands, ideas, and resource
management. (Newton 1988) One of the key features of both communism and socialism is government
control of crucial factors of production. (Thompson 2021) This centralizes the control of an economy
under one leader, which makes it easy for them to hold the country hostage in socialism, or for them to
usurp control in communism. In both of these scenarios, the leaders of these economies always possess
the power necessary and resources to take over a country; it is not a matter of how but rather, do I feel
like becoming a dictator? The existence of a dictatorship has always led to a drastic decrease in
development. This is because a dictator wants their power to last forever and they will work to ensure
their society is stagnant both physically and mentally. A dictator will never pass down advancements
that will hurt their reign instead they will only hand down changes or advancements that benefit them.

(Thompson 2021) “It tries to Abolish religion”. (Thompson 2021) Under the Marxist theory of
development, you would have the freedom to have faith, but you would not have the freedom to
practice it in any way that is organized. (Thompson 2021) As you know religion would ultimately place
one group in a superior role over the others, which goes against the theory of Marxism, as Karl Marx felt
that religion was used to control people. (Thompson 2021) This would limit development because it
would limit the ways of thinking into one path. Being able to think of advancement in only one direction
is incredibly limiting to an economy. An example of this is the capitalist mindset of money first. This ideal
only prioritizes that which brings wealth to an individual, not that which brings technological
advancement. This thinking will lead to people choosing roles that grant the biggest financial benefit to
an individual and leaving the minor roles unpopulated; roles like scientists or researchers, that are
crucial to development but that do not pay as much as investment bankers. This reason like the others
will only force development in one path.

Karl Marx’s theories focused on complete control and that is why they limited development. He saw that
the best way forward was united, and he was right, as communist countries like China have benefited
greatly from this strategy, but the theory is flawed, and it ignores crucial factors to the human condition,
to the extent that capitalism becomes a more attractive option, especially once you consider that it is
remarkably different from what he imagined it to be.
Reference

Anthony L Hall. (2004). Social policy for development . In J. Midgley, Social policy for development . SAGE
PUBLICATIONS .

Newton, K.M. (1988) Marxist criticism, SpringerLink. Macmillan Education UK. Available at:
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-19486-5_7 (Accessed: November 30,
2022).

Thompson, K. (2021) Eight criticisms of the traditional Marxist view of society, ReviseSociology.
Available at: https://revisesociology.com/2016/04/11/eight-criticisms-of-the-traditional-
marxist-view-of-society/ (Accessed: November 24, 2022).

Thompson, A.K. (2021) The Marxist perspective on society, ReviseSociology. Available at:
https://revisesociology.com/2016/04/10/the-marxist-perspective-on-society/ (Accessed:
November 24, 2022).