Was Marx Wrong? The Economic Theories of Karl Marx Tested in the Light of Modern Industrial Development

by I. M. Rubinow

Overview

Amid a storm of invective and abuse heaped on Professor Simkhovitch's head, may be discerned three major criticisms of his book by Dr. Rubinow. The first challenges Simkhovitch's data in regard to the concentration of production; the second, his data in regard to the growth of the middle class; and the third, his optimism concerning the welfare of the masses. This review will be confined to an examination of the statistical data and methods of the two authors.

Simkhovitch's thesis in regard to the first point must be carefully noted. He points out (p. 50): "That a centralization of industry has taken place is an undeniable fact," but contends (p. 51) that "there has been no such far-reaching centralization as the Marxian vision of future economic development presaged." For example, the number of manufacturing establishments in the United States increased in greater proportion than the number of wageearners between 1890 and 1900.

Rubinow, on the other hand, maintains that concentration has been so great (p. 28) that there is no future for small industry; and shows that the data as to growth of establishments were admitted by the Census Bureau to be unreliable. And then he (p. 21) presents a table of "factories, excluding hand and neighborhood industries," for the years 1900 and 1910 which shows that the number of wage-earners has increased faster than the number of establishments. This table is beside the point, for it is just the persistence of the hand and neighborhood industries that is under discussion. Their number, moreover, is very large, being $04,704 as against 207,514 factories in 1900. Further, it must be expected that the increase of concentration in factories should be greater than that in hand and neighborhood industries.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781663541956
Publisher:	Barnes & Noble Press
Publication date:	07/29/2020
Pages:	62
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.15(d)

About the Author

Isaac Max Rubinow (1875–September 1, 1936) was a leading theorist on social insurance and one of the most influential writers on the subject. Rubinow had an M.D., from New York University Medical School and held a Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University. His 1913 book, Social Insurance, was the most influential early work on social security. His work impacted a generation of social reformers, including President Theodore Roosevelt, who used Rubinow's work in drafting the Progressive Party platform in 1912. The Progressive Party was the first of its kind to call for social insurance.