The China National Petroleum Corporation signed a deal with the Iraqi government, allowing the large oil company to drill for oil in a poor, rural area of Iraq. While the relationship between the oil company and the Iraqi government has gone well, the deal has sparked a great deal of controversy among the Iraqi citizens.
According to Karl Marx, the capitalist mode of production "conditions the social, political and intellectual life process in general." As a result, the rise of capitalism, by the bourgeoisie, has "stripped of its halo every occupation hitherto honored and looked up to with reverent awe," turning the majority into wage-workers, and all into slaves of capitalism.
[...] Norton & Company, 1978) Marx, Karl, “Manifesto of the Communist Party” in the Marx-Engels Reader, ed. Robert C. Tucker (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1978), pg Marx, Karl, The Critique of Political Economy, from The Preface pg.182 Williams, Timothy. “China Oil Deal Is New Source of Strife Among Iraquis.” The New York Times. Sept Marx, Karl, The Critique of Political Economy, from The Preface pg.182 Marx, Karl, “Manifesto of the Communist Party” in the Marx-Engels Reader, ed. Robert C. [...]
[...] According to a statistical review from BP, a British oil company, China's oil consumption reached 8 million barrels a day last year, up from 4.9 million in 2001.[11] The commodification and consumption of oil in China has greatly stimulated the profits of the oil companies throughout China. Because the land in Iraq has the resource required of this industry, China will pay and do whatever it takes to acquire this commodity, even at the expense of the wage-workers living in Iraq. [...]
[...] The motives and intentions of the Iraqi government would also be helpful, for it being a newly established government all assumptions regarding governments and they way they run cannot be applied when analyzing this event. Conclusion: The theoretical concepts established by Marx aid in the analysis of this event in terms of cause and effect. Globalization of the capitalist enterprise has indeed cause great strife among the citizens of Wasit Province, Iraq. However, there are many aspects of this event that Marx's theories merely touch upon but don't explain thoroughly, such as the idea of a capitalist corportation that rarely exploits wage-workers, but profits from the sale of a natural resource. [...]
[...] Analysis of Evidence: In the articles detailing the deal between the China National Petroleum Corporation and the Iraqi government, the former is representative of the theoretical venture capitalist, as outlined by Marx, and the latter represents the State, or the “political superstructure” that is indirectly influenced by the capitalist mode of production. The Iraqi government, being heavily dependent on oil revenue, has no qualms about opening up their oil fields to the China National Petroleum Corporation. It has been reported that Iraqi government and the Chinese oil company have played down the tensions in Wasit Province, saying that aside from a few hiccups, things are going according to plan.”[8] Marx would declare that this exemplifies the idea of the capitalist interests trumping the interests of the general public. [...]
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