Which of these statements best explains the Great Depression according to Karl Marx? The increasing use of machines to do work was replacing human labor; at some point, the working class would be able to live on wages earned in just a very short work day, ending the Depression. An imbalance between the very wealthy and the working class was to blame and could be fixed through taxation of the earnings of the very wealthy, thus ending the Depression. The use of machines to do work was replacing human labor; decreasing consumption by unemployed workers would lead to still more unemployment, ending capitalism and ending the Depression as workers took over the means of production. A temporary imbalance between the very wealthy and the working class was to blame, but would correct itself in time, leading to greater consumption and the end of the Depression