Communism : Communism And Communism

Marx begins by writing, “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. (Jones, 219)” The existing society was divided between the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat, as I stated before. The Bourgeoisie consisted of the social class who owns the means of production. The Proletariat consisted of wage-laborers who have no means of production of their own and they are reduced to selling their labor power in order to live (Jones 219). As you can see the bourgeoisie had the upper hand because they were the people who were mainly in charge of the proletariat. Marx believed that the

"We see, therefore, how the modern bourgeoisie is itself the product of a long course of development, of a series of revolutions in the modes of production and of exchange." (Marx, 424). In this sense, the bourgeoisie have the ability to change since they themselves are products of revolutions. In other terms, the bourgeoisie are an always changing class that has found ways to stay in power through political hegemony over the proletariat class. Marx conjures the proper preconditions for a successful rebellion but again contradicts himself through his own ideologies. Although Marx believes that capitalism will be responsible for the proletariat rebellion it is the same system that will estrange man from each other and thus prevent a successful revolt.

Marx viewed society as a conflict between two classes in competition for material goods. He looked at the history of class conflicts and determined that the coming of the industrial age was what strengthened the capitalist revolution. Marx called the dominant class in the capitalist society the bourgeoisie and the laborers the proletariat. The bourgeoisie owned or controlled the means of production, exploited laborers, and controlled the goods produced for its own needs. He believed that the oppressed class of laborers was in a position to organize itself against the dominating class. He felt that it was the course of nature, that is, it is the way that society evolves and that the communist society would be free of class conflict, "the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all." (Marx & Engels 1948, 37)

In this paper, I propose that the Communist Manifesto has only a weak correlation to current world. To prove this, I will explore four key factors. First, I will summarize Communism and the foundation of the Communist Manifesto using the designated class study materials. I believe that it is essential for the reader to have a baseline upon which I will then explain my position. I will also explore how Religion relates to the concept of universal justice in society and how it plays into the communist manifesto. I will then analyze the impacts that technological evolution has had in society and show that it does not always benefit mankind. Finally, I will conclude with a summary of the strengths and weaknesses of the manifesto as it relates it to the present world.

In conjunction with Edward Said’s premise, Marx is an educated man that depicts the Bourgeoisie as a “product of a long course of development” (Marx 15). Without development, the Bourgeoisie does not progress. In the Communist Manifesto the Bourgeoisie is depicted negatively. They are conveyed as a group that with stop at no means to achieve production for the sake of their advancement. They use the Proletarian class as a means to their advancement, and because of their lack of knowledge, the Proletarian suffer from false consciousness because they are unaware that the Bourgeoisie is exploiting them for their own success. The Bourgeoisie, who is the educated, wealthy class of capitalists, holds this power over the Proletarian by imposing their framework upon them as the working class. Capitalism is a key component in Bourgeoisie culture. Marx clearly identifies the Bourgeoisie on multiple occasions as capitalists. Forging their way in industry, the Bourgeoisie culture oppresses the Proletarians, keeping them at the working class level. Being a capitalist is a social status in production, and as stated by Marx, “capital is a collective product, and only by the united action of many members… can it be set in motion” (Marx 23). A community is built around capitalism, a united community with a culture to create products and possess property. The superior Bourgeoisie’s culture, Capitalism, is not only a group identifier but a social power as well (Marx 23). Their knowledge and wealth allow them to create the divide, segregate the population into classes based on who fits within the capitalist culture, and oppress those who are beneath them in order to achieve their end

The idea that all are equal has paced through the veins of American history since the beginning of time, but what is it were a true statement? The idea of communism has been around since the early 20th century spreading from Russia to the United States instantaneously through culture and media of the people. The communist ways were fueled by fears of the Soviet Union, Bolsheviks, and American Labor Laws, these fears embedded in the minds of Americans led to the Red Scare, the Cold War, and McCarthyism. The culture of America changed to dismay after the introduction of communism into society, the people became fearful and anxious at the thought of the idea, and soon it shaped the perception of America about the involvement of government in society.

The past 30 years have been filled with great change and turmoil for many of Europe’s countries. The rise and fall of the USSR as well as widespread communism throughout Europe deeply effected many nations and forever changed the course of their economies. Independence came with a sigh of relief but also a lingering question of how to effectively reenter a market that had been inaccessible for years. Coming up with a plan to transition into the global economy was difficult, and once established implementation was even harder. New policies and reforms were met with resistance and many nations had to work hard to erase the lingering effects of communism from within their economy. Nevertheless, this hard work, in many cases, did pay off and ultimately

His explanation of social class was that it was ‘a group of people who stand in a common relationship to the means of production - the means by which they gain a livelihood.’ (Giddons, 2013). Using Marx’s concept, it can be argued that in every society, past and present, there has been some form of class system; from feudal time when there were the aristocrats and the serfs to more modern society composed of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat – those who own and control the means of production, and those who sell their labour for a wage. Marx claimed that those in the bourgeois exploited the proletariat by using their power to take advantage of the systems they could influence in order to please themselves. The bourgeois capitalist ideology was introduced into society through the superstructure, and was extended and drilled into the brains of proletariat through education, employment, politics and the judiciary system to mention a few. Marx therefore argued that there is a subtlety to how the bourgeoisie exploit the proletariat. Furthermore, he recognised that in modern society wealth is being created on a massive scale, yet somehow, the working class still remain considerably poorer than the bourgeoisie – he used the

     Quite clearly, Marx is concerned with the organization of society. He sees that the majority of society, more specifically, the proletariat, are living in sub-human conditions. Marx also sees that the bourgeoisie have a disproportionate amount of property and power, and because of that, they abuse it. He writes of how the current situation with the bourgeoisie and proletariat developed. "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." There has always been struggles the between two classes, an upper and lower class. However, Marx speaks of the current order saying,

A topic I have explored in this course that I enjoyed learning about and knew a little was the ways the government used communism as a way to alert and control the American people. Communism was a big deal in the late 1940's because the government knew that freedom was very controversial around the world and they were afraid of communism coming over to the U.S.. The measures the government took to protect and alert the people from communism, were quite drastic. The government paid Hollywood to release anti-communist movies, comics, and magazines, and released ads such as "Duck and Cover" to show everyone how to protect themselves against a nuclear bomb. In past classes, I had seen those videos and remembered the tactics they used, like if they

An American journalist named George Packer once stated that “Ideology knows the answer before the question has been asked. Principles are something different: a set of values that have to be adapted to circumstances but not compromised away.” Packer highlighted what he thought was the main difference between ideology and principles; how one was based more upon an answer and the other was more of a value system. However, it remains important to take time to focus directly on the aspect of ideology and how it was utilized in various occurrences. While understanding ideology, it is important to understand that the role it played was critical to the Black radical left, in their development and practice of freedom.

The question, “what does it mean to be human”, when viewed from a communist perspective revolves around the four common components that are associated with the communist subject. The first component focuses on the values of community. The goal of community reflects upon the idea of mutual gain, which allows equality for all associated in the society. By incorporating equality into community, the communist subject works to provide basic needs for all. In order to provide for these needs, the communist subject calls for its second component- labor. The communist subject requires labor in order to provide for one another with means to sacrifice time and use one’s talents. The third component of the communist subject ties in with labor by

Karl Marx believed that social class brings forth extreme disparities among social groups not bringing them together; society is constantly in conflict with one another. He believed that the bourgeoisie (the owners of the means of productions or middle - upper middle ruling class) exploited and dominated the proletariat (the workers or working class), by paying them a poor wage in monotonous jobs. This then translates to education in the way that students’ knowledge base is solely tested on monotonous testing that creates a division, generally between working and poor class students and the middle to upper class students who have the means to study and focus solely on their educational opportunities. He believes that this leaves society in

According to Karl Marx, capitalism is a necessary condition for the occurrence of a communist revolution since it is a system that is highly exploitative and unjust in nature. A capitalist state was seen by Marx as a tool that was used to legitimise the benefits a minority, known as the bourgeois, gained at the expense of the majority. Since under the system of capitalism, the private ownership of the means of production is not only allowed but also protected by the state, resources are thus monopolised by a minority, which forces the majority of population to have to work for this small group of individuals to earn a living. In doing so, the capitalists, by paying the workers less than their labour’s worth, seek not only to exploit them, but also actively condemn them to a life of poverty. Since state institutions are established only to cater to the needs of the capitalists and to ensure the continued oppression of the workers, they were regarded by Marx as both oppressive and dehumanising. Workers were in effect forced to work to survive,

Karl Marx was a German philosopher who had an idea of revolution in the context of society. The purpose of these changes would be the ultimate creation of an ideal society in his mind. However, his ideas were not well received by his home country and he was forced to leave. Marx defined his ideas by examining mankind’s historical power struggle between those who hold wealth and power and those who do not. The capitalist and the proletariat working class. Problems emerge when capitalists pay the working classes extremely low wages while keeping the profits for themselves. This system allowed the rich to become richer and would make the poor to become poorer. This situation would lead to the working class becoming enraged and fed up, finally