Labor is the main glue that holds together the four main factors of production: entrepreneurship, capital, labor, and natural resources. Capital goods, such as machinery require labor to operate to add any value to the process of production. Natural resources need labor to be extracted from their natural setting for them to be of any help in production. Without labor, natural resources will not make any impact or aid in any way in production. According to Marx, it is true that capitalism is an economic system that exploits and alienates workers.
Parenti presents a picture where workers are forced to spend so many hours in the workplace with very little pay—others even work overtime. They are meant to believe that without their ‘boss,’ they will not have their jobs, while the ‘boss’ needs them more. The living conditions for these workers is very poor and one is left with a question of ‘how come majority of those living in poverty are workers?’ According to Parenti in the world we currently live in there is a very small, almost nearly no difference between the poor and the working class. Workers are paid very low wages, which can barely support their necessities and residential taxes. Workers also face the risk of being laid off when their bosses deem it right when they think they are to ‘reduce expenses’ to ‘make more profit.’
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In the late twentieth century, corporates made gains in terms of profits going up to 389%. The same saw the decline in wages which went down by about 21%. Increase in profits should mean that workers are putting their best effort; thus, they require motivation. Underpaid employees are demotivated and are unlikely to work productively because no one seems to recognize their efforts. They are paid very low wages, which cannot compare to the work they do.
Marx was right in saying that capitalism leads to the alienation of workers. Low-level workers are meant to believe that they are inferior to their bosses in the higher level. Executive decisions are made by the bosses, while the subordinates are left to implement them. Basically, shareholders own the corporates so they have the majority say. They are the ones that select the CEOs in the corporates or remove them from their positions if they do not seem fit anymore. They are also the ones who elect or appoint the board of directors. The majority shareholder has the majority power and those owning less percentage of shares have little say.
The video El-Empleo proves that Marx was right about the alienation of workers by capitalism. The ‘boss’ has their own elevator, while the other workers are cramped in one. While the employees wake up early in the morning to go to work, passing through traffic to ensure that they arrive in the workplace on time, their bosses take their time to come to work. The workers are put in a position where they are meant to believe that the boss is more important than them. They are presented with a picture that the corporate world can exist without them which is not the truth. As such as the boss is important, so are the subordinates.
The corporate world is a capitalist system, and there is no way to avoid alienation in the workplace unless one to risk losing their job or they decide to be their own bosses. Workers will always feel inferior to their bosses and will most likely be meek and humble to their bosses. Standing against the boos is a bold move but one which will cost one their job and no one wants that. Bosses make the rules, and they have the majority say.
