Marx was concerned with the differences between an agrarian society moving to an industiralized society and the implications it had for the control of wealth an

Marx was concerned with the differences between an agrarian society moving to an industiralized society and the implications it had for the control of wealth and power. Prior to industrialization, at least in the mind of Marx, individuals were able to effectively reap what they sowed on a farm somewhere (also an oversimplification, but still). In an industrialized era, one man at the time could not compete on his own for lacking capital, an education, and connections (put Marx into the context of his time and geopolitical background). Marx wasn't overly concerned with the issue of compensation of a capitalist being commiserate with the risk s/he takes, but rather the protection of individuals who now live in a world where they are, more likely than not, stuck working for somebody else. While I don't really know about the particulars of his proposed solutions, I think Marx does identify a real problem that free-markets on their own do not guarantee solutions to. It's never a bad idea to be on the look out to make sure our economy is working to serve everybody involved in it, at least in my opinion. That's my biggest takeaway from Marx.