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Unit-9: Origin of Capitalism, Theories of Capitalistic Development Surplus Value and Process of Capitalism

4. control of production : The manager appointed by the capitalist controls the complete production notes
activities of labour and power. Under this control also come the power to appoint skilled and unskilled
workers, how many should be dismissed, and further, what method should be used for working, and
in what number on measure should the product be produced.
5. control of financial rules and regulations : Many decisions are important in the capitalist system.
How and when to arrange for money in the factory, how much and when to give credit on the product;
all these decisions are taken either by the manager or director of circle or the capitalist. The worker
is not involved in this process and activities of decision–making, though it is the workers who have
to pay for any wrong decision taken at the level of the financial system.
Capitalism came to our country during the British Raj. The Biritish opened machines–factories every
where, they gave a communication facilities and laws. The first attack on the feudalistic system in the
villages was during the British Raj. In reality, the British started the chain of fundamental changes in
the land–system, only after consolodating their position in India. The new tax–system finished the
age–old land–lord system and established land ownership in two forms the zamindary system in
certain parts of the country, and in other parts private land–ownership of farmers. One can understand
the feudalistic zamindary system, but by giving legal rights of land–property ownership to farmers
the British started the capitalist system in agriculture. Now the agricultural land did not belong to
the state, it became privatized.
In this reference, A.R. Desai has written in the social background of Indian nationalism : “In this way
the victory of the British over India, brought in an agricultural revolution. By starting the custom of
private land ownership, the British created the necessary ground for the expansion of capitalism in
agriculture. One of the main reasons for brining the change from the old capitalist–feudal economic
system in India to capitalist formation were related to land related changes.
Many sociologist, economists and political scholars have worked on the origin and development
in India. Marxists too have a lot to say on the subject. From all these descriptions, it is clear that the
capitalist system only strengthened from all the developments that have taken place in India after
the British Raj upto now.
Marx has written a clear description of the capitalist state in ‘Das Capital’. His analysis is base on
productive powers and production related. His argument is very simple : when productive powers
increase, capitalism expands. But with this expansion, the distance between production powers and
production relationships increases, and as a result there is struggle. As a result, Marx thesis states
that as capitalism increases, so does the opposition to it. And a stage will come when there will be
revolution. Just as feudalism was build on the corpse of slavery; just as capitalism was build on the
corpse feudalism, so will socialism be build on the corpse of capitalism. This is materialistic dialectics,
this is the materialistic concept of history, and this is the result of the changed means of production.

socialist stage

Marx, viewing his materialistic history on the basis of the production means of Europe and Asia,
defines that, this chain of dialectic materialism will always continue. The laws of history cannot be
negated. When the state of slavery, discarded the state of equality, that is the negative was negated,
then it necessary to negate capitalism too.

Notes The Socialist Revolution in Eastern Europe can be said to have started in 1848,
when Marx and Engels put forth the declaration letter of the Communist Party

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