Part 2/4:
- Economic Claims: Marxists argued that capitalism contained internal contradictions that would lead to its collapse, with the poor getting poorer and the rich getting richer. They claimed socialist economies would be more prosperous, as people would work together rather than against each other.
Marxism also presented itself as "scientific socialism," claiming to have studied the "iron laws of economics" and made definite predictions about the future course of capitalist societies.
The Failure of Marxist Predictions
However, as the 20th century progressed, the Marxist predictions failed to materialize:
Poverty rates were declining, not increasing, in capitalist countries.
The middle class was growing, not shrinking.