While Marx does give capitalism credit for advancing productivity and providing a rational lens through which to see the world, he argues that its profit motives create a society that oppresses workers and perpetuates nihilism. A nihilistic worldview denies the importance and existence of moral values and purpose. Capitalism's economic oppression of the working class leads to the moral degradation of workers. Since capitalists are motivated solely by profit, they will keep wages as low as possible to sustain the workforce. Marx expands on Smith’s labor theory of value to include workers’ lost wages in the form of unpaid labor as the origin of profit. Workers produce more value than they are compensated for, and they live a meager lifestyle while capitalists live lavishly. Capitalism guarantees that workers are compensated to sustain themselves only in the most limited sense. This creates not only an unhealthy and resentful working class but a nihilistic society as a whole. Workers are forced to enter into an exploitative economic exchange where they lose personal autonomy and begin to view themselves as a resource. The worker is working for the capitalist and is alienated from what they produce. Specialization and division of labor further reduce the worker’s ability to connect to anything in their work, so working becomes a practice devoid of creativity. The lack of personal fulfillment and enlightenment in work creates a nihilistic reality for the worker who is drained of individuality. Marx concurrently reasons that capitalism creates a nihilistic worldview for the capitalist. Everything is reduced to a resource for the capitalist, thus they cannot experience the beauty of nature or the value of things beyond the strictly monetary. The blind pursuit of profit under capitalism results in society’s loss of autonomy over its economic progression. Oppression of the working class results in the nihilism that strips society of values and meaning, making capitalism inherently unstable and susceptible to Marx’s proletarian revolt.

Marx’s conviction in historical materialism, the idea that societal progress is a result of economic activity, manifests itself in the development of a communist society and the absence of a controlling state. When the working class revolts against the capitalists, a sweeping change in the forces of production will take place that shifts the economic power towards the proletariat. This economic change will alter the social relations of production so that producers are no longer superior to workers and the “capitalists, ” as Marx defines them, cease to exist. These transformations in the economic base will inevitably permeate all other non-economic aspects of society. Marx theorizes that a temporary state of socialism run by workers will be the intermediary step where private property is abolished and all means of production are owned by the government. As people slowly lose the memory of capitalism and adapt to socialism, perhaps over multiple generations, the state becomes insignificant and will wither away until a communist society is realized. Marx does not provide much practical explanation of how a communist society would function. Hence, many critics have argued that a communist society would never develop from the initial overthrow of capitalism as the proletariat government would inevitably turn into an elite dictatorship that perpetuates oppression. Additionally, Marx proposes that “peer group pressure” would constrain people's behavior to socially acceptable norms. This notion of a social contract naturally gives rise to a state with an enforcement hierarchy and system of accountability that society needs to function. Human nature is not conducive to anarchy, thus a truly communist society can never exist.

The equal moral worth of people and overcoming nihilism are major Marxist themes that inform his economic principles. The end of class warfare and economic oppression represents the attainment of freedom and equality that cannot be achieved under capitalism. He advocates for the recognition of the beauty of nature and abandonment of the ignorance of "false consciousness" as a cure to capitalist nihilism. However, Marx is not a Luddite, as he supports the continued development of technology. Industrial technology will continue to evolve to take over unpleasant tasks and work will be creative and enjoyable in Marx’s utopia.