Final answer:
Marx's concept of surplus population is tied to the profitability of capitalists and the exploitation of workers, which he believed would lead to a proletarian revolution. It also connects to Malthus's ideas on overpopulation and the limitations of subsistence, but Marx focuses more on the consequences of technological advances and employment in a capitalist system.
Step-by-step explanation:
Karl Marx discusses the concept of surplus population in the context of capitalist production and the resulting economic conditions. According to Marx, surplus population is closely connected with 'surplus value,' which refers to the profit that capitalists earn beyond what they pay their workers in wages. This surplus value is crucial for capitalists, as it enhances their financial power and enables them to exert greater control and exploitation over the workforce. Marx argues that this disparity between the value created by workers and the wages they receive leads to an economic dynamic that would eventually provoke a proletarian revolution.
Surplus population also ties into Thomas Malthus's predictions regarding overpopulation. Malthus theorized that population growth is limited by the availability of subsistence, suggesting that without checks like famine, war, and disease, known as 'Malthusian disasters,' the population would grow beyond the means of the available resources. Marx's perspective varies in that he sees the surplus population as an integral part of the capitalist system, where advances in technology and production methods would make many jobs obsolete and contribute to a growing class of unemployed and underemployed. This would exacerbate the inequality and misery among the workers, fomenting class consciousness and the drive towards revolutionary change.
Marxist theorists today continue to analyze how trends like mechanization and the use of information technology in production are altering the economic landscape, increasing the number of workers struggling to find steady work. These developing conditions are believed to heighten the potential for collective action demanding social and economic reform.