Marx: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

by Peter Singer

Human nature is not as pliable as Marx believed. Egoism, for instance, is not eliminated by economic reorganization nor by material abundance. When basic needs are satisfied, new ‘needs’ emerge. In our society, people want not simply clothes, but fashionable clothes; not merely shelter from the weather, but a house to display their wealth and taste. Granted, capitalist enterprises spend billions of dollars trying to persuade us that we need things that we really do not need, but we cannot put all the blame on advertising. Desires to own and consume items that are not necessary for our physical health and well-being emerge in the non-capitalist world as well, often in the face of disapproval from the official ideology. Unless rigid uniformity is imposed—and perhaps even then—these desires will find an outlet.