Elitist, Weberian and Pluralist models discussed above talk about power originating from a variety of sources. These sources include personal qualities and merits, social standing, educational and professional qualifications, cultural and religious privileges, political and public authority, economic means, etc. No single base or source of power is taken as the primary or the only base or source of power, rather a multidimensional view of power distribution is upheld.
The Marxian theory, on the other hand is a theory of one-dimensional power. Economic base is considered as the only source of power. In the Marxian perspective, economic activity is given primacy because it is important for basic livelihood. All human beings engage in producing those material conditions, which are necessary for meeting basic human needs. Historically, material and economic activities are the primary human activities. It may happen that these activities are organized based on individual ownership and share in material and economic resources and benefits derived from them. In this case, it is a capitalist system. Alternatively, these activities are organized based on equal participation in ownership and equitable share in the material and economic resources. In this case, it is called a socialist system. It is generally argued that human beings by nature, are selfish, at least self-interested, and can be motivated only when they are sure as to what benefit will come to them. As such, the capitalist system of organizing economic activity is more realistic, and may be, the only way to organize society. Everybody says so, must be true!
Marx, however, felt otherwise. He suggests that the capitalist system is organized in such a way that it is exploitative, repressing and dehumanizing. This is because a single class, the capitalist class, is the owner of economic power and engaged in profit-making. The capitalist class owns the means of production, i.e., property ownership, technological equipments and technical knowledge that are required for production. The labour force is engaged in a relationship of dependency due to wage labour and concentration of ownership of means of production in a particular class. Marx in his Das Capital considers economic ownership of private property and means of production as the single most important source of power. The class that owns it is the class that wields power in society. Historically, there has always been a division between those who wielded power because of ownership and those who have been deprived due to lack of it. This division, Marx says is class division. It has manifested in the division of two classes, master versus slave (ancient period), patrician versus plebeian (Roman period), lord versus serf (feudal period) and now bourgeoisie versus proletariat (capitalist period). While the master, patrician, lord and bourgeoisie class has been the owners of private property and means of production, the slaves, plebeians, serf and now the proletariat, have been exploited and oppressed. It appears that Marx suggests a zero-sum concept of power where power of one class is deprivation of the other. Power is based on economic source and the class, who owns the economic powers, wield power. In zero-sum, power of one class is deprivation of others.
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