Marx's Property Rights Thought

The dissertation aims at clarifying what Marx's property rights thought is. It is necessary to read between the lines from the original works to"restore"a real Marx's property rights thought.I. Main ContentsThis dissertation is divided into seven chapters.Chapter One is on the"class person hypothesis". The"class person hypothesis"is the premise hypothesis of Marx's property rights thought and is of vital methodological significance. The dissertation analyzes the three phases for proposing the economic person. It also points out that three dimensions such as self-benefit degree, rational degree and economic preference degree are needed to fully understand the concept of the economic person. The analysis on Marx's class person hypothesis follows Marx thinking logic from generality to speciality, from abstraction to concreteness. It is expounded from three levels: on the philosophical level, human being are the entity of social relationship; on the economic level, human being are personalized in the economic category; on the capitalist economic level: class person . All these lay a methodological foundation for the following detailed research.Chapter Two is on the"class analyzing method". In view of methodology, the"class person hypothesis"and class analyzing method are the greatest characteristic on property rights in Marx's economics. The relationship between workers and capitalists is the game between class rights.The externality of behaviors of two classes in capitalist society is quite obvious, but it can not be internalized. Coase Theorem is useless. The most typical and significant characteristics in the economic behavior of class person is to pursue the maximized benefits of class entity, in the game of class benefits, the working class try to solve the distributive issue fundamentally in the nature of production. The political benefits targeted by class person are above the economic benefits.Chapter Three is on"the property rights". The western property rights theory originates from the attention on"externality". Marx's property rights thought originates from the research upon relations of ownership systems. The landmark concept of Marx's property rights thought is the system of ownership or proprietary right and the structure of power and functions. The landmark concept of the western property rights thought is the property rights or right and power cluster. The contrast and the comparison of the structure of power and functions and power cluster help to understand the property rights accurately. This chapter conducts a diversity of comparisons on essential meanings of the above two and analyses the nature of the property rights. Marx's theory on the origin and evolution of property rights is concretized on the property rights issue of historical materialism. This chapter analyzes the evolution model of Marx's property rights and his"economic power deciding property rights theory". Marx realizes that transaction need consume resources, systems need expend cost, analyzes the cost which is considered as the transaction cost today.Chapter Four is on"the capital property rights". The essence of the capital property rights is the corrosion of the capital right to labor right, however this capital doesn't claim the right on another capital. Marx analyzes the process in which the capital property rights corrode the labor property rights, does the research upon systems of the formation of original capital property rights (primitive accumulation) and the self-development of capital property rights (normal accumulation). Marx does not think capitalists'control and exploitation on workers originates from incompletion of contrasts. He thinks it came from capitalists'private ownership in the means of production. The cooperating force is manifested in the form of internal productivity of capitals, which causes the capital to control enterprises. The surplus claim right is the requiring right surplus value in essence. The formation of the average profits further demonstrates the class nature of capital property rights: different capitalists groups exploit the surplus according to the same surplus rate.Chapter Five is on the"labor property rights". Labor transaction causes the ownership law of goods to change into the capitalist'possessing law. Capitalists purchase the long term right of labors once only, meanwhile purchase a group of rights attached with labors at another price, thus control"surplus control right"over labors. The classification of working days is defined in a model. M is defined as the capitalist'property right, V is the upper limit of labors'property rights. Workers can't obtain any real"surplus"out of it. Labor's subordination to capital in form develops into the factual subordination to capital."Antinomies"is an important proposition: workers have the property rights over normal working days. Capitalists have the property rights to extend working days. The rights of two parties are in confrontation. Power plays a decisive role between the equal rights. This is the famous"Marx Theorem"."Rights will never surpass the social economic structure and social cultural development restrained by the economic structure."Chapter Six is on the"land property rights". The land property rights reflect and demonstrate the land productive relationship in nature. The dissertation analyzes the integration and separation of the land property rights, power and functions. Land rent is the fundamental form to realize the land property rights. Land price is brought about and decided by the land rent. Capitalist land ownership functions in the"purely economic form". Land rent is capitalized. Land nationalization is the vital component of Marx land property rights thought. He thinks that land property rights are superfluous and harmful in view of capitalist production mode. This chapter makes a comparison between Marx land property rights thought and land property thought of New Economics.Chapter Seven is on"class, property rights and social harmony". Harmony includes the unity of differences. The harmonious society constitutes different classes, people of different social strata, groups of peaceful society. A harmonious society requires a fair property rights foundation which is made up of various economic elements and which is in accordance with its members: first the property rights and property freedom should be effectively protected. Public and private possessions are not encroached on; second the property rights should be considerably constrained out of the need of"public benefits". The fundamental rights of all members in the society should be guaranteed."The security valve"for a harmonious society is to be maintained.II. Main Viewpoints The humanity judgment on class person is the premise hypothesis of Marx's property rights thought. In view of epistemology, Marx has a variety of judgments on"realistic humanity". In view of methodology on property rights thought. Marx's most direct judgment is the class person hypothesis. Marx's understanding of property rights is tinted with the strong class approach. The combination of his class person hypothesis and labor value hypothesis is the theoretical reason for his property rights thought in favor of working class benefits and against the behaviors of exploiting class.The class analysis approach is the main research method for Marx's property rights thought. The historical materialism is the general methodology for Marxism theoretical system. He has other kinds of detailed research and narration methods. But the class approach is the most stylistic research method for Marx. Besides his historical materialism as the basis, Marx's distinct class standpoint, clear class line and sharp class insight lead to his revolutionary and scientific methodology of his class property rights thought.The system of Marx's class property rights thought is a kind of"internal自恰". His integrity of the logic system has been focus of questioning in Marx's property rights thought. Marx's property rights thought has its own logic system. On one hand, Marx doesn't have a distinct and elaborate structure. On another hand, generally speaking, his system is subject to the surplus value theory system in a broad sense. Marx did not publish any book on the property rights theory. His property rights thought can be found in his other works. The fragment of Marx property rights thought is not in contradiction with the rightness of internal logic of its contents.The surplus value theory itself is the scientific system with carefully-laid logic. Thus the property rights thought scattered in other works can be logically sophisticated without meticulous structure. However, this logic system was not put forwards by Marx himself. It requires the later generations to experience, research, understand and summarize.Marx's property rights thought and the western property rights theory have their own economic property rights and legal property rights thought respectively, but they focus differently. Marx property rights thought is based upon its stylistic ownership system theory. The ownership of means of production is the core of the theory. So Marx attaches great importance to the jurisdiction of property rights materials. The property rights in the legal sense are determined by the basic ownership relationships. Thus it is in the inferior position. Though Marx did the brilliant exposition, he didn't do the further research. Whereas the western property rights thought originates from the research on externality. That is the research upon the benefit relations between the behavioral subjects under certain ownership of means of production. The ownership"structure of power and functions"and"power clusters"of property rights are the"landmark concepts"of Marx's property rights thoughts and western property rights theory. Their contents are different.The degree Marx pays attention to different propositions on property rights depends on the degree to which these propositions have the relations with the class property rights. From the particular class perspective, Marx observes and does research on some issues on modern property rights theory, for example: externality, risks or uncertainty, property rights, reward, transaction fee, surplus (the control right and claim right of surplus labor), property rights definition, property rights transition, incomplete contrast, enterprise organization and etc. These issues can be found in his property rights thought all over. He reaches the conclusion on property rights in favor of labors and against exploiters. Marx is not interested in the research on laborers'"laziness"and"moral risks"(e.g. destroying tools), which is involved in his clas viewpoints.Marx's property rights thought is of great and realistic significance in building the socialist harmonious society. In the present practices of building socialist harmonious society, the property rights structure of different classes, strata, and benefit groups provides the harmonious society with the indispensable micro foundation. Those who understand why revolutions take place definitely understand what kind of society can offer the stability and harmony. Marx thought on maintaining the fundamental benefits of laborers and disadvantaged groups and"social security valve"is of great guiding significance in alleviating social problems and building social harmony.III. Creative Viewpoints(1) The class person hypothesis on Marx's property rights thought is put forward. Human nature hypothesis is the premise of economics. There are sayings like economic person, rational person, social person, history person, moral person and etc. in our economics. Based on a great deal of research and careful thinking, the dissertation puts forward the class person hypothesis of Marx's property rights thought.Much research has been done on the class nature and class analytical method of Marx's economics. However, it is a new attempt to take the"class person"as the moral quality hypothesis in Marx's property rights thoughts. The dissertation points out that three dimensions such as self-benefit degree, rational degree and economic preference degree are needed to understand economic person. Other popular explanations in the society are not suitable. The dissertation expounds from three levels: on the philosophical level, human being are the entity of social relationship; on the economic level, human being are personalized in the economic category; on the capitalist economic level: class person .It elaborates from generality to speciality, from abstraction to concreteness. It is a new attempt on Marx's human nature. The methodology is also in accordance with Marx's analytical logic.(2)A logical framework of Marx's property rights thought is provided. It's long disagreed on whether Marx's property rights thought has a logical framework and of what kind of framework it has. Based on Marx's class person hypothesis, the dissertation attempts to bring Marx's various property rights thoughts into an integrated framework, which it summarizes and names as"Marx's property rights thought based on the hypothesis of class person , with laborer property rights as its core". This theoretical framework is the destination of Marx's class person hypothesis, his class analytical methodology, class property rights general and special (capital property rights, labor property rights and land property rights) and the property rights system.. It takes class as the major thread and carries it throughout the whole dissertation, practically applies Marx's methodology of from abstract to concrete and from analysis to generalization.(3) The different property right thoughts of Marx and the New Institution are explicitly grasped . The same terminologies are often interpreted differently in the New Institutional and Marx's property right theories, which are dealt with in many parts of the dissertation and some are even compared in details. Take surplus for example. In the new institutional property right theory, it refers to"contract surplus","cooperation surplus", yet in the latter, it refers to"labor surplus"; As to who owns the surplus extortion right and the surplus domination right, the former thinks that ownership helps solve the problem of"assets maltreatment"and get rid of idleness and the latter points out, as cooperating power represents itself as the productivity of capital, surplus naturally goes to the owner of means of production; As to the determination of value, the former believes in the value theory of property rights, which thinks value is determined by the degree of the property right cluster and its intensity and yet the latter believes in labor value theory; As to the definition of property rights , the former puts forward the idea that the institution which has the comparative advantage in violence determines the definition of the right, the latter insists that"economic power defines the property right";"Coarse theorem"maintains that"the internalization of externalities"can solve the problem of externalities, however, the clashes of class interests in the conflict between labor and management can't be internalized and while Marx's theory maintains that"when rights are equal, power determines"; The symbol of western property rights concept is"right clusters"whereas that of Marx's is"power and functions structure". The plural form of the concept of right clusters is different from the vertically separated and unified"power and functions structure"composed of proprietary right, ownership right, allocating right and employing right and etc..(4) Class analysis is applied to the construction of a harmonious socialist society. Social harmony is the essential property of"socialism with Chinese characteristics". Class methodology doesn't contradict social harmony. Harmony is"concord with difference","different ideas working together and harmonizing mutually"and"taking in all different ideas and compromising". Harmony is the integration of various differences and conflicts and harmony doesn't mean complete agreement, denial of conflicts or evasion of differences. The dissertation thinks that Marx's property rights thought methodologically agrees with"the thought of harmonious yet different social harmony, meanwhile it points out that class analysis is the foundation of the thinking methodology of class cooperation, coalition of workers and farmers, unified front and the cohesive force in the socialist revolution and construction. From the point of view of class, stratum, interest group theory, public selection theory, property right theory, harmonious traditional cultural foundation and Marx's theory that in the rapid development of initial and mid period of capitalism, intensified contradictions provide clues, the dissertation illustrates in various aspects the significance of Marx's property rights thought in the construction of a harmonious society.