preview

The Communist Manifesto By Sigmund Freud

Decent Essays

Sigmund Freud, was a neurologist that mainly focused on psychoanalytical theories for psychology. His most famous research was done during the late 19th and early 20th century, in which during this time he wrote one of his most famous works Civilization and Its Discontents. In this book of his, Freud manages to draw on many Enlightenment ideals and challenges some of these notions through his theoretical analysis on the subconscious mind. In this book of his, Freud proposes that individual’s minds are divided into three distinct parts comprised of the ego, super-ego, and the id. In his analysis on these three parts of the mind, Freud encourageous individuals to regard their mind in emotional qualities that are characterized by the id, ego, …show more content…

Freud first introduces the idea of the id in chapter one, in which he regards the id’s main role as an “unconscious mental entity […that] serves as a kind of façade”.3 However, what is this façade? Freud goes on to describe that the id is a pivotal proponent in the quest of the mind to seek desire and pleasure and ignore …show more content…

In this paper of his, Marx tackles many Enlightenment ideals but also challenges many with his analysis on class struggle (bourgeoisie vs. working class), capitalism, and the development of society as a result of these struggles. Marx’s main proposal in The Communist Manifesto is that of ‘historical materialism’, which is basically self divided into two parts: historically and materialistic. Historically, Marx defines history as a change from the past to present in which the present relies on analysis of the past to ensure progress. Furthermore, Marx regards that “relations in the past have continually been subject to historical change consequent upon the change in historical conditions”.7 The analysis of the past is consequent with the present as it is dependent with progress. Without analyzing the past, Marx is stating that society in general will not learn from the class struggles that so aptly occupied society during that time. The materialistic aspect of this, is prominent through Marx’s explanation that the economy of a society does not necessarily lead to distress and chaos in society, furthermore the economy of a society is not to blame. In many ways Marx says that following every historical period, “the prevailing mode of economic production and exchange, and the social organization necessarily following from it, form the basis upon which it is built up […]”.8

Get Access