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Introduction
Over the years, as capitalism dominates the economic development of the modern world, Karl Marx and his analysis into the faults of capitalism have been largely discarded by economists. However, his prediction in the fall of wages and the increasing misery, although unparallel to the actual events taking place, is not without its merits. Contrary to the belief that capitalism is the final solution and the infinite last stage of economic and social evolution, through the experience of working men or women, we are reminded often that the system isn’t all that perfect. The article published in 1960 by Thomas Sowell, titled Marx’s “Increasing Misery” Doctrine, although far from being considered a recent piece, reminds us through a series of reinstatements of Marx’s work, that his analysis into the effects of capitalistic progression in relations to the well being of the working people cannot go unheard because of the negative implications of relative misery.
While the overall accumulation of wealth of the modern society is increasing, that increase in wealth is often absent in the lives of the working class. The enrichment and satisfaction we seek through the “natural urge” to work isn’t being fulfilled by the type of work we do anymore. The author associates the work of Marx with the works of Ricardo to further evidence the extreme yet valid views of Marx on capitalism and his theory of increasing misery. He quotes passages from their works to support his argument, and divides the article into four sections by exploring first the Ricardian-Marxian meaning of wages, the meaning of Marxian “subsistence”, some arguments supporting the absolute misery interpretation, and finally the noneconomi ...