Was Marx right?

Was Marx correct all along?

There has been much conjecture that the recent financial meltdown heralds the end of capitalism.This has also coincided with a renewed interest in Marxism.

This morning's Times carries a good article from Philip Collins where he reminds us that

His basic point is that there is some good news and some bad news. He gave you the bad news first: capitalism is dreadful. The workers are exploited and the capitalists get rich at their expense. So far, so Lehman Brothers. The good news was that the bad news was bound to come to an end. Capitalism wasn't just nasty, it was doomed. It would collapse under the weight of its own internal contradictions. A bit like Lehman Brothers.

But then points out that

It doesn't really sound a lot like the credit crunch. It is hard to think of investment bankers as the benighted proletariat labouring under the burden of false consciousness. If they are exploited at all, then the bonuses probably soften the blow. Many layers of management, most of it very highly paid, has inserted itself in the gap between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. And there's not much sign of revolution from the working class

Worth a read