Assess Marx's Claim That 'the Slave-owner Buys His Workers In The Same Way As He Buys His Horse.

The emergence of the concept of 'race' and how and for what reasons it came into existence is a modern concern (Blackburn, 1997). However, at the same time there has been an ongoing debate on whether the concept of 'race' is a natural and biological phenomenon, or a social and ideological construction (Miles, 1989). On the one hand it can be argued that 'negro' slavery was a necessity for the continuation of capitalism; rather than being set for racial reasons (Marx, 1976). On the other hand, Slavery created racial ideas and ideologies and it is these racial ideas and ideologies that have led to racial differences (Miles, 1989) which are still prevalent today.

Drawing upon the historical arguments of 'race and slavery', Hegel (1975) in his 'Lectures on the Philosophy of World History' puts forward the 'biological' argument to justify the enslavement of Africans. According to him, African slavery was not based on 'racial' inequalities but rather 'negroes' were suited to enslavement. In his view slaves had no desire for 'freedom' and therefore an 'absence of spirit'. There need for a 'master' for 'guidance' is what justifies their enslavement. According to Hegel Africans had not developed a consciousness that made them aware that they had an objective existence (Hegel, 1975:183). Hegel Agreed with Marx (1976) on the basis that Africans were well suited to fulfil the labour demands of capitalism during slavery.

Drawing upon the Marxist explanation for the emergence of 'race' and racism, it can be argued that Atlantic slavery was advantageous to the whites for a number of reasons. The enslavement of black Africans meant that they were a valuable commodity who bought financial gain to the Europeans, in order to serve the needs of Capitalism. The primary reasons due to the increased growth in capitalism were the bourgeoisies; the owners of the means of production becoming wealthier through 'surplus value' and the proletariats which through 'free labour' contributed to their profits. Karl Marx uses the term 'primitive accumulation' to demonstrate that this capital process is a 'never-ending circle' (Marx, 1976: 873). The greed of the owners, as a result of capitalist production has led to the slave-labour, in this case the 'negro labours' interests and their rights being exploited and manipulated for the purpose of increasing profit.

Marx is his book 'Capital vol.1' (1976) famously quotes 'the slave-owner buys his labourer as he buys his horse' (Marx, 1976: 253). What he is referring to here is the idea that slaves were '...solely and simply a capital resource' (St Louis, 2007:35). They were brought, sold and used according to the requirements of 'capital'. David Graeber (2006) argues that for Marx, money is a 'symbol' in the form of 'wages' that is later used as a tool for exploitation. According to Marx 'the worker's capacity to produce '...is what his employer buys when he hires him' and what the '...capitalist ends up paying for is simply the cost of abstract labor (the cost of reproducing the worker's capacity to work)', (Graeber, 2006:72) therefore increasing the profits for capitalism. Marx asserts that Atlantic slavery did not occur on racial foundations, it occurred due to the increased demands of capitalism. He argued that slavery was a 'political' issue (Marx, 1976). Marx acknowledges that there is an ideology of race that has not only brought about racial stratification but is also associated with particular ideas that protect the interests of the whites and the Europeans. Slavery was a form of 'exploitation' and 'oppression' carried out by the Europeans in order to exercise power and authority over the Africans (Marx, 1976). Slaves were not selected according to their skin colour. On the contrary, they were considered much stronger and fitter for the physically demanding jobs that whites and Indians were not able to manage themselves (Williams, 1964). As opposed to Hegel, Marx argued that the free worker 'learns to control himself, in contrast to the slave, who needs a master' (quoted in St Louis, 2007:35). Hence, it is evident that slaves from the 'African race' (Marx, 1976: 254) have been fundamental to capitalism as they have brought about the most wealth.

It can be argued that slaves were brought and sold purely for economic reasons, however, the situation is not quite so lucid as that. Paolucci (2006) argues that there is no one single factor that caused 'American slavery'. Although 'pre-capitalist European ideological' classified Africans as the '"other", this status was not at first based solely on skin color but rather a whole set of additional factors..' (Paolucci, 2006:626) became the foundation for slavery. Paolucci points out that there was an 'assumption' that all who were of a 'brown skin color in the colonies' had arrived from Africa. As the concentration started to move from religion on to physical characteristics; '..physical appearance...[became]..the lone criteria that marked Africans as the slave class' (Paolucci, 2006:626). Although, Marx fails to take into account the part 'race' plays in the emergence of Atlantic slavery, his work can be useful to understand how race has shifted through history and how 'racism' has contributed to the expansion of the economic system and slavery (Paolucci, 2006:618).