Marx on management and power

A close read of an oft-neglected passage in Capital Volume 3.

Another day, another debate about the role of management in modern capitalism. This time it was with Bhaskar Sunkara, who invoked Erik Olin Wright’s conception of managers as occupying “contradictory locations within class relations.” Ordinarily I like to challenge these ideas about the power of the so-called managerial class with more recent illustrations; but today, I think it might be useful to look back at what Marx had to say on the topic. Marx’s writing is not scripture, of course, but I think his commentary on this topic is unusually insightful, even today.

Let’s not, however, revisit the text that usually comes up in these conversations — The Communist Manifesto, which I have argued is often grossly misread in its discussion of the petit bourgeoisie. Instead, let’s look at some of his more rigorous analysis, which we find in Capital v.3, part 5, chapter 23.