Comparison On Marx's Institutional Change With North's

Marx's social development theory, his Historical Materialism is very important to development of the human society. In general Social Structure is institution; social development is a dynamic change course. So we study his thought of institution is very necessary to his study of Historical Materialism. Douglass C. North, who is the representative of the new institutional economics, does very important study on the development of Institution. North thinks that Marx's explanation of institutional change is the most influential analysis to the long institutional change. But he also believes that his social institutional change theory which has a more credible explanation to the change of the social institution transcends Marx's social development theory. We need to compare their thoughts in order to find the relation about them.Marx's thought of institutional change is expanded under his idea about how to change the realistic social institution advance the individual development, and the human liberty. Standing above the dialectic materialism and the Historical Materialism, he used the productivity- relation of production analysis to post the capitalism's paradox and the development trend, revealing the thoughts of institutional change. Institution derives from the human practical activity, and generates among the human social association. Productivity development is the fundamental reason about the institution generation, development and evanishing; the class struggle is the direct motility; revolution is the specific road to achieve the institutional change.North's theory dates from the research of economic history. Using the new institutional economics' cost -proceeds analysis as the logic beginning and the core tool, and he constructs a institutional change theory whose framework is property right, nation and ideology .he thinks that the change of the relative price and interest is the institutional change's reason, the entrepreneur's pursuit to the most interest is its motility, achievement is gradual change and path dependence. According to the theory, Marx's and North's have some difference, but from anther angle, their thoughts are mutual complementarity. Marx mainly studies the social fundamental institutional change, which in essence is a macroscopical dynamic thought of economic development, decides the institutional change. The thought is academic but lacks operation in reality. North explains the prosperity and decline of human economy history though the institution and the institutional change. He realizes that institution is a crucial factor during long economic increasing and the change of institution must cause a great influence to the economic development and efficiency. On the base of the new institutional economics 'analysis tool, He uses property right, nation and ideology to its deficiency. During the connection between the new classic and Marx's analytic way, North reveals the advance gradually and path dependence of the institutional change and founds the institutional analytic framework on the specific microcosmic basement. So under the guidance of the Marxism, we should take the reasonable factors, and advance the institutional change to make the society development better.