The nineteenth-century thinker’s ideas may help us to understand the modern world's economic and political inequality.
The new world of globalisation has created new modes of production, communication and networking, but there is a problem here. The wealth has not been evenly distributed.
As the wealth becomes more concentrated, the rich get richer and the middle class starting sinking into the mire of the working class - this is a well known effect of globalisation as jobs move overseas.
Karl Marx is not wrong yet. He said there would be 2 types of people: those with property and those who sold their labour. 133 years later he is still correct.
Marx has produced works which have stood the test of time. They still retain their vitriolic venom even now. "The Communist Manifesto” is like a calm bomb about to go off in your local street. He was a true revolutionist who has stood the test of time.
You can put Marx back in his place in the nineteenth century, but he will not stay there - he seems to transcend space and time.
Inequality has been with us for a long time. In the nineteenth century it was industrial capitalism, and now in the twenty first century its financial capitalism.
The only thing that can ever reverse it is political change, but these corporations are now so much bigger than our governments that in essence its them who hold the keys to change.
We invented these social arrangements, so we better stand up to them soon if we want to change anything.