Introduction
The paper will present the Marx and Arendt views on the question of freedom's relationship to the economy. Although they seem not to differ from each other on this question, they take different approaches to express their views. Marx sees the two concepts, freedom and economics, as integrally connected while Arendt perceives that freedom prevalence is superior to the economics. Therefore, this paper compares Marx and Arendt views on the freedom's relationship to the economy and argues that Marx's views make sense.
Karl Marx view
The Karl Marx's concept of freedom's relationship to the economy seems to oppose the capitalism. He condemned the free market and viewed it as an anarchic and ungoverned situation. In his opinion, the concept of the free market regulated by the market forces such as supply and demand is blocking the people's ability to seize control over the collective and individual destinies. The masses are alienated because the capital and the market forces are in the control and not the workers. In this case, workers suffer from poverty, lack freedom and fulfillment, and overwork. In the capitalist system, people are not free, since they are regarded as objects, and does not relate to each other as they are supposed to. In other words, only those who do not depend only on selling labor power to earn their living have the power to enjoy the freedom.
Separation and alienation from the potential creativity can be mitigated by a carefully planned system of the society. The society should be without the competition, losses, profits, private property, and money. The private ownership of property is seen as a limitation to reach the freedom (Ilegbisnosa, 2-7). The concept of positive freedom was his concept that can be achieved with debunking the free competition. In the capitalism, only the capital is free not the individuals. He believed that the majority of the individuals could not take advantage of the capitalism since people are only struggling to survive. For Marx, the liberty does not only mean the freedom to the economy, civil liberty, freedom of slavery or freedom of the press. Liberty must involve much more. Being free means developing the human capacity for non-labor and the creativity. With the willing non-instrumental labor, humans can be free from the alienation of the capitalism (Wood, 482). Marx also criticized liberalism because it was a man-made social order, which is enforced, and hence limits the freedom. If people cannot afford basic things, it implies that they are not free. The freedom is perceived as an end in itself, and it is not based on the absence of actions. Marx argued that the free trade in the economy was not the way to reach freedom. Free trade only gives the capitalists freedom to generate and maximize their profits without limitations. Therefore, the individuals owning the means of production are the only ones who acquire the real freedom.
He stated, "It is freedom of capital. When you have overthrown the few national barriers, which still restrict the progress of capital, you will merely have given it complete freedom of action. So long as you let the relation of wage labor to capital exist, it does not matter how favorable the conditions under which the exchange of commodities takes place, there will always be a class which will exploit and a class which will be exploited" (Marx, n.p.).
Arendt view
Based on Arendt writing, the capitalism and socialism have both led to the alienation of modernity, and they are both anti-political. She was opposed to a single institution being in charged and was against the welfare politics that have degraded the government activities (McCarthy, 275-278). She does not explain how the economic activities can support freedom. She segregated the economy from politics. Freedom in the economy can, therefore, be achieved with the economic questions separately from politics. Through a combination of the political and economic powers in the state, the outcome can result in despotism (McCarthy, 279). She wanted to protect the public realm as a space of freedom separated from the private realm. Labor and work are, in her opinion, fundamental activities that are necessary only for the sole surviving. Action or political sphere is the only place where one can leave something behind since it is not a mere necessity, but can create the individuality (McCarthy, 277). The democratic politics have lost the effective control over the economy. To achieve global economy, the need for different political institutions exists (McCarthy, 257). Freedom is a human capacity to act and to be free, which is given to all. Labor work and action are fundamental conditions of the existence. Arendt expresses that "all have the freedom of geographic movement, employment, property, ownership, and even entrepreneurship so that social mobility is possible" (Arendt, 175). Free and competitive markets are essential for the democracy and the allocation of resources. The capacity to be free and to act is given to everybody, but on the other side the political freedom is not. Freedom means to act without being forced by another person.
Freedom is "the Raison deter of politics" (Gloukhov, 12). The politics and political life are the avenues towards the human freedom. The positive manifestations of freedom are expressions, decisions, discussions and are present in the political life (Gloukhov, 15). The freedom does not flourish from the absence of the restraints. More than passivism is needed and the freedom can be achieved only in the public life since the politics is a natural habitat for humans. Freedom does not come if one exists alone and it emerges only in the company of others. She supported that human freedom is not derived from the individual economic actions, but from the action-based and discursive association formed among different people. She sees the freedom different as the liberals and not in the way where less power being exercised results in more freedom. She believes that freedom is primarily derived from politics, and is based on the willingness of the people to form associations by interacting with each other.
Comparison and conclusion
According to Marx, the economic freedom in capitalism is not possible since only capital and movements of goods are free and not the people that produce them. Marx criticized Liberalism and capitalism with the free flow since they are enforced and man-made systems where only a few have the advantage of the system. Only those who have endowed the means of production have the power to achieve the real freedom. Therefore, freedom and economy are interlinked. This relationship can be used to explain the today discrepancy and inequality in the world. The Unites States are among the countries that have the greatest inequality of income and wealth, and the gap is widening with the allocation of money in the hands of the few. By looking from the Marx perspective, we can argue that we have not achieved the point of the abundance of the economy that would result in the freedom. On one hand, the capitalist system today is exploiting the people. On the other hand, the economy is profitable for very few people that can take advantage of the economic system. A classless society would achieve the end of the alienation and result in the freedom. In such an economic system, the capitalists benefit more than the labor. Profitability must not be superior to the people's need.
Ardent did in her writing segregate the economy and politic sphere and did not acknowledge their interdependence and interconnectivity in the modern state. She focused on the capitalist economy and linked it to the corruption of the politics, but did not take into an account the fact that economic activity could support the freedom and culture of the nations. Freedom can be achieved only through the human actions in the public sphere. Freedom is today perceived as a measure of the scope of activities of the society, which allows and prohibits actions and rights. Her concept of freedom is not defined as freedom from interference. In her opinion, the freedom can only be achieved in the politics. If one wants to be free, he/she must be active and not passive in the politics and form association that allow them to relate to other individuals in the society.
When thinking which concepts makes more sense, the Marx concept of freedom is the answer. Marx argues that the possession of the mean of production created through the capitalism allows individual to win the real freedom. People who only depends on selling labor are not in a position to control their own actions and hence unable to develop their human potentiality. Therefore, it is evident that both the economics and freedom are interrelated to the extent that economy must be improved to influence the freedom. This makes sense because individuals in the society are struggling to own the means of production to gain the freedom. In the capitalistic society, those who are worse-off in the economy are voiceless and are usually exploited by those who are better off. In addition, the ability of people to in capitalism to receive goods such as health care and education is determined by their pay, not their need. As a result, it is evident that freedom can only be achieved if there is efficiency in the economic system.
Works Cited
Arendt, Hannah. The Human Condition. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1958. Print.
Gloukhov, Alexei. "Arendt on Positive Freedom." Russian Sociological Review 14.2 (2015): 9-22. Web. 7 Mar. 2016. <https://www.hse.ru/pubs/share/direct/document/162719363>.
Imoisi, Ilegbisnosa A. "An Analysis of Karl Marx’s Theory of Value on the Contemporary Capitalist Economy." Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development 3.5 (2012): n. pag. Print.
Marx, Karl. Speech on the Democratic Association of Brussels at its Public Meeting of January 9, 1848: On the question of Free Trade. 1948. Web. https://marxists.anu.edu.au/archive/marx/works/1848/01/09ft.htm
McCarthy, Michael H. The Political Humanism of Hannah Arendt. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2012. Print.
Wood, John C. Karl Marx's Economics: Critical Assessments. New York: Taylor & Francis Group, 2003. Print.
