Marxist Analysis of "Glengarry Glen Ross"

Marxist Analysis #4

This scene from the 1992 film Glengarry Glen Ross exemplifies the Marxist ideologies of the exploitation of the labor class by the bourgeoisie class. According to Karl Marx, he believes that labour power has essentially been commoditized and that “articles of utility become commodities … because they are products of the labour of private individuals or groups of individuals who carry on their work independently of each other” (Leitch 665). In other words, the value of the labor workers has become nothing more than an interchangeable product, one in which the capitalist can exploit to their own benefits.
In the example of this scene, the character of Alec Baldwin represents the capitalist, or the bourgeoisie. Baldwin asserts himself as an upper class by his way of treatment towards his workers or subordinates. He continually speaks down upon them, even stating that his “watch cost more than the workers”. This furthers the notion of the master-slave relationship, in which Marx states that “the slave-owner buys his labourer as he buys his horse” (Leitch 672). As such, Baldwin’s character in this scene treats his workers as nothing more than animals, only giving them the bare means necessary to survive. For example, Baldwin’s character only allows the workers to have coffee is they produce capital (have a sale). This supports Marx’s idea that “food is given to the labourer as to a mere means of production” (Leitch 672). The salespeople mean nothing more to Baldwin’s character than just a means of production, a means of production in which he owns. The only thing the salespeople have to offer is their labor, and it is by only being able to offer this that makes them vulnerable to the exploitation that was seen in the clip. In fact, their labor has become to rooted in their identities that it has usurped any pleasure they get outside of work, such as enjoying their family time. Additionally, the labor worker has become alienated from his work. As Marx suggests, “the worker is related to the product of his labour as to an alient object” (Leitch 653). This alienation is rooted in the disconnect the worker begins to feel for his work. Marx compares this to religion, making the comparison that “the more man puts into God, the less he retains in himself” (Leitch 653). This is evidenced in the film clip wherein Baldwin’s character is speaking and asks his workers if they have “made their decision for Christ!” This statement makes the workers feel further disconnected from their work, believing that they are not working for themselves, but for an “external existence” (Leitch 671).
The labor worker is according to Marx just that: a worker. The worker offers nothing else and any spare time he has is to be devoted to the growth of capital (Leitch 671). This essentially reduces the workers autonomy and prevents the worker from breaking free from the exploitations in the capitalist system This exploitation is what Marx coined as the surplus-labour, that is, the “unpaid labor” that the worker does not receive and is then given to the capitalist (Leitch 672). This very notion of labor exploitation is at the root of Marxian thought and the foundation of what creates a society with different classes.

Works Cited
Leitch, Vincent B, ed. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. 2nd ed. New York:
W.W. Norton and Company, 2010.