Critical for Marx is the fundamental imbalance of power between the classes

Structuralism seeks to critique and change the inequality and exploitation of the working class that capitalist and liberal viewpoints produce. Karl Marx tried to understand the nature of this inequality. He believed the bourgeoisie, who owned all the capital and means of production, sought to exploit the proletariat, or the working class. Critical for Marx is the fundamental imbalance of power between the classes&rdquo. While a liberal believes the bourgeoisie and proletariat are capable of forming a mutually advantageous relationship, Marx believed “the bourgeoisie and the proletariat are trapped in a decidedly one-sided relationship, with an ‘unemployed army’ of workers frustrating the ability of the labor force to organize itself…giving the capitalists the upper hand in all negotiations&rdquo. Even though;Marx believes that capitalism is fundamentally flawed&rdquo, he still believed that it was a necessary stage toward socialism because it builds wealth, technology, and raises living standards. To understand why the capitalist and liberal viewpoints produce exploitation of the laboring class, we must analyze “the market economy as a system, rather than piece by piece&rdquo.

Structuralists focus “on the production structure inherent in capitalism&rdquo. This structure leads to classes, leading to class struggles that create crises. These crises lead to revolution. Lliberals “have a tendency to view individual actions as cooperative and constructive, not competitive and destructive&rdquo. According to the liberal perspective, the state seeks to be abusive of the liberties of the individual. This leads to tension between the state and the market. Thus, to solve this problem, the liberals believe the government must only “perform the limited number of tasks that individuals cannot perform by themselves, such as establish a basic legal system, assure national defense, and coin money. This was actually one of Adam Smiths central ideas; the government should do the work that private interests won’t. Because classic liberals see the state as destructive to the market, they seek no governmental interference in the market outside of the tasks that people cannot do themselves. This is a piece-by-piece viewpoint of the market economy. Structuralists seek to view the market economy in its entirety. Because they believe that the economic structure is the strongest influence on society, the free market system envisioned by liberals will create class conflicts between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. While liberals believe that the state is a dangerous force, structuralists see that “the state and the bourgeoisie are intertwined to such an extent that the two cannot be separated. This basically means that liberals see the state as an opposing force while from the structuralist view point, only the proletariat sees the state as a dangerous force because of the cooperation between the bourgeoisie and the state. Viewing the economy in its whole, it is easy to understand that the government supports and defends the elite class of bourgeois essentially because they are the capital owners. This is extremely evident in the current state of affairs in the United States. For example, rich oligopolies, such as the banking companies, have an extremely tight connection to the government. Many companies contribute heavily to the campaigns of politicians who, if elected, pass regulation that helps the oligopolies. The government recently passed a bill that makes it harder to file for bankruptcy. The bill was lobbied heavily by the banking industry, which holds much of the capital of the nation. It only benefits the banking industry. It will make it extremely hard for people to file for bankruptcy, and also makes them have to pay back the money. This legislation hurts the working class tremendously while benefiting the banking industry. Thus, it is evident that the government does indeed support and defend the interests of the elite class.