Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844

This short essay contains many surprises, especially compared to the rest of the work. Although its subject is money, it says nothing about political economy or the standoff between labor and capital. Instead of quoting Smith or other economic philosophers, Marx looks to Goethe and Shakespeare, playwrights and poets who offer some of the most illuminating and timeless insights on human nature. The writing and argumentation are clear and straightforward, and every point he raises comes to a definitive conclusion. Perhaps most surprisingly, Marx’s main point is one that the modern reader is likely to find compelling, regardless of their attitudes toward Marxism as a whole: that money cannot buy happiness. There is also ample contemporary evidence for his observation regarding the corrupting effects of money. The term “corruption” has become so commonplace in political discourse that one of its main meanings has become obscured. Corruption is not just a government official taking bribes or twisting the law to help their friends and punish enemies. Corruption refers to something that has lost the substance of its original meaning while preserving its outward form. It may appear the same but increasingly conceal a more sordid reality.

Marx offers a memorable account of the corrupting effect of money. On the surface, money appears to elevate a base thing into a noble thing. One may think of stories such as The Prince and the Pauper or Aladdin where a poor person suddenly turns into a rich person and brings the common sense of the street into the royal court. For Marx, the real effect of money is to turn beautiful and noble things into cheap imitations of themselves, ultimately degrading the concepts of beauty and nobility. This is based largely on the assumption, clearer in the other essays, that the rich person’s worth has no connection with their moral worth, except perhaps an inverse one, as the ranks of the capitalists are filled with the “lazy” and “rapacious.” The person who has accumulated wealth has, in Marx’s view, almost certainly degraded themselves in the pursuit, and is therefore using their money to buy back what they have squandered. If a thief can buy the reputation of an honest person, and force society to treat them as such, the very idea of honesty suffers. If access to a high-powered attorney enables someone to stifle the pursuit of justice, while an innocent poor person takes a plea bargain rather than undertake the risks and expense of a trial, then justice itself is in question, not only in those cases but in a system that permits them to occur.

Marx ends the essay on a moving note, describing the emotional and intellectual investments required for true wealth and happiness. Again, it is unobjectionable to advise the cultivation of real human connection and to be wary of purchased affections. But of course, Marx cannot be satisfied with giving advice to individuals, however sound it may be. The power of money will not be stymied with a rededication to humanism. Although the concept may be absent from this essay, we know he believes that the only real solution is revolution.