Marxism and the end of capitalism

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Abstract
The development of society occurs through the change of its socio-economic structures. In Marx's opinion, in accordance with the provisions of Hegelian dialectics, this change occurs as a result of the resolution of the internal contradictions of each of them, leading to its transformation into "its other" – a formation of a higher level. The capitalism that dominates the planet today arose from feudalism, and must disappear as a result of the resolution of its basic contradiction – the contradiction between labour and capital (between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie). As a result of the revolution, the latter will take power with the ultimate goal of building a classless society. In reality, however, capitalism differs from previous formations in that under it the social division of labour is not limited to the ruling and exploited classes of each country. It takes on an international (or, more precisely, inter-civilizational) character: Western European civilization exploits all the others that have been turned into colonies. Due to this, its development is accelerated, which benefits not only its bourgeoisie, but also all segments of the population. Accordingly, in this division of labour, the workers of the "advanced countries" also find themselves on the side of their bourgeoisie. For them, the anti-capitalist revolution loses its meaning. And yet such a revolution took place, but not in the place and not in the way that Marx had assumed. It did not take place in "most advanced countries", but in one country-civilization – in Russia. Russia, on the other hand, had not yet had time to completely get rid of feudal relations, and at that time it was gradually turning into a semi-colony of the West. But it was in a special economic geographical position (severe climate), which, firstly, complicated its colonial exploitation, and secondly, conditioned communal traditions. All this made the revolution in it directed both against world capitalism in the face of its not yet fully formed comprador bourgeoisie, and against the remnants of feudalism, that is, not proletarian, but nationwide, mainly peasant. It was able to win and survive only thanks to the sharpening of the contradictions between the imperialist powers at that time. The Soviet Union, which emerged as a result of the revolution, began to develop economically and culturally intensively, clearly demonstrating the advantages of post-capitalist (socialist) socio-economic relations. However, the disintegration of its dominant social group (nomenclature) under the influence of the capitalist encirclement led to the elimination of these achievements. And then the development of the situation went in a "natural" way. The conditional West continued to exploit other civilizations. But its forms changed. If at first it was robbery by various kinds of conquistadors and unequal exchange in trade, then in the "classical" period there was an organized exploitation of colonies by the countries of the metropolis through the comprador bourgeoisie. But with the formal dismantling of the colonial system after World War II, Western multinationals come to the fore, moving production from their home countries to former colonies with cheap labour. The organization of production in the former colonies became possible thanks to global scientific and technological progress. It involves the transfer of advanced technologies, appropriate equipment, the training of qualified labour, etc., that is, the industrialization of former colonies with the simultaneous deindustrialization of former colonial powers. This changes the social composition of the population in both countries due to changes in the level of education, well-being and social status in general. The difference in intellectual level between these groups of states – the basic condition for the capitalist division of "mental" and "physical" labour – has begun to level out, leading to the end of capitalism. The collective West does no

Keywords
the main contradiction of capitalism, the social division of labour, the colonial system, the transfer of production, the revolution in Russia, the role of the proletariat, the elimination of the division of mental and physical labour, the unification of mankind.

Cite this paper
L.A. Griffen, Marxism and the end of capitalism , SCIREA Journal of Sociology. Volume 9, Issue 3, June 2025 | PP. 256-281. 10.54647/sociology841443

References