Final answer:
This question relates to Marx’s economic theories about the relationship between social wealth, functioning capital, and the productiveness of labor, explicating the condition of the proletariat in a capitalist society which could lead to a revolutionary transformation towards communism.
Step-by-step explanation:
The quotation under discussion pertains to the economic theories of Karl Marx, particularly the concept of the industrial reserve army, which relates to the dynamics between social wealth, functioning capital, and the productiveness of labor within a capitalist society. Marx's contention is that as social wealth and functioning capital increase within a capitalist system, so does the proletariat—those who can only sell their labor to survive. Alongside this growth in the labor force, there's an increase in their potential productivity. However, despite the increase in productive capacity, the proletariat remain a reserve army of labor that is subjected to the fluctuations of the capitalist economy, including periods of unemployment and job insecurity.
Marx’s critique focuses heavily on how this accumulation of capital leads to increased power for the bourgeoisie while the proletariat remains undercompensated, leading to a potential revolutionary situation. The very basis of the proletariat's exploitation—the fact they do not receive the full value of their labor—creates a class struggle that Marx believed would lead to a revolution. He envisioned a society where after a proletarian revolution, the division of labor and the antagonism between mental and physical labor would vanish, leading to a communist society where social wealth is shared and the full productiveness of labor is realized for the common good.