Marx understanding of society shift into modernism lead to develop a form of communism that would come to be known as Marxism, communism is the economic thought of Marxism. Marx understands that Modernism calls for society to embrace equality for the betterment of society. Part of the problem with Capitalism comes from its exploitation of the working class; Marx understands this problem to be a vein of Pre-modernism and not a pillar of Modernism. Marx calls for the working class to rise up over their bourgeoisie oppressors and seize the equality that rightfully belongs to them. “Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other – bourgeoisie and proletariat. (Communist pg. 9)” If society wants to embrace modernism, then society needs to shift its focus from fighting each other and one exploiting another to a classless society. Marx highly criticizes the bourgeoisie in The Communist Manifesto, and this stems from the problems they created for themselves and for the rest of society. In their attempt to gain more power, land, and resources, their material conditions, upon the prominence which their families had been formed, were dissipating due to the lack of foresight and selfish greed. If the Bourgeoisie continues to exploit the proletariat then society will head to conflict, as is expected of Pre-modernism, but if the Bourgeoisie cease its exploitation and relinquish its power for the group,
Even though his views of a communistic utopia are strongly opposed in America, we can use the problems he pointed out to improve capitalism. Marx thought people wanted to feel important through their work, and he feared capitalism would ruin this desire. In large firms and factories, the contribution of individuals would seem minute, leading to alienation (Wolff). Marx also concluded that capitalism made humans expendable. He believed people would be seen as another form of production that could easily be replaced when costs rise or new technology takes their place. This could be solved by a communist world where everyone feels valued. This "equal ness" would also prevent capitalists from gaining enormous profits, which came at the expense of the talent and hard work of the labor force. He also believed capitalism was unstable and was bound to have many crises throughout its reign due to an accumulation of an abundance of resources. One rather remarkable belief of Marx was how unemployment was good because it meant the labor force was so productive that people did not need to work. He thought unemployment should be looked at as freedom. For example, Marx opposed the female work opportunity movement by asking why women want to join in the agony that is work. Overall, Marx thought capitalism would teach us to be anxious, competitive, conformist, and politically complacent
Marx advocated social reform for the proletariat (workers).The focus of Marx’s conflict theory is that by eliminating privilege, the overall welfare of the society can be increased. This would then create a true equality
Marx has the idea that human nature is based on communism. Through history we see the oppressors and the oppressed in some type of battle. There are examples in history such as, “Freeman and slave, patrician and plebian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman…” (Marx, 14) who Marx brings up. The usual way the conflict is resolved is by revolution or in the classes’ common ruin. Looking back at the examples that Marx has given, all of the conflicts were ended in revolution or in the classes’ common ruin. Marx’s believes that humans have the capability of making and shaping their nature. Marx sees human nature being more pushed towards social relations rather than as a species. Throughout history, society has been arranged into different class structures. In the Middle Ages, the classes were set up
Over the years, people have interpreted Karl Marx’s work incorrectly and sometimes only partially. Since his explanation of communism, people have changed what they think communism really is. In present day if someone tells someone they are communist, they picture a society oppressed by its government. They picture removal of all their private belongings and burglary of their finances to be distributed amongst society as a whole. Societies and governments have over simplified Karl Marx’s description of communism and altered some of it to fit their situations. In Marx’s piece, he first states his initial views of how society is, then he analyzes the issues and contradictions within capitalism, and then
Marx’s view on social change is due to the struggle between different classes within society who are constantly competing with each other to improve their way of life and the condition that they are in. Marxists analysis leads to the conclusion that capitalism; the currently dominant form of economic management, leads to the oppression of the proletariat; who not only make up the majority of the world 's population, but who also spend their lives working for the benefit of the bourgeoisie or the wealthy ruling class in society. Since the death of Karl Marx in 1883 his viewpoints have not been viewed not to be relevant. Many times since his death his viewpoints have come up as every new generation challenges the unequal, unjust and the people who support every capitalism system and each new generation looks for ideas and a method to change the world we live in. People who are classed as
First, even a quick glimpse at Marx’s writings is revelatory as to his conception of a fully realized human. At the core of Marx’s ideology, as the initial quote correctly discerns, is the idea that class struggle is at the core of all harm done to “the community” and the “welfare of all.” Indeed, he writes quite plainly in his and Frederick Engels’ most famous work, 1848’s The Communist Manifesto, that “every form of society has been based, as we have already seen, on the antagonism of oppressing and oppressed classes” (76) and that this oppressing class, the bourgeoisie, is “no longer compatible with society” (76). This idea lends itself to believing that the most important form of liberty is freedom from class; that once the existing class system is to fall, that all will have a more fully realized and more “human” life. To Marx, life without the weight of pressing class struggle is the highest life to which an individual can aspire.
Karl Marx is often called the father of communism, but his life entailed so much more. He was a political economist, philosopher, and idea revolutionist. He was a scholar that believed that capitalism was going to undercut itself as he stated in the Communist Manifesto. While he was relatively ambiguous in his lifetime, his works had tremendous influence after his death. Some of the world’s most powerful and most populace countries follow his ideas to this day. Many of history’s most eventful times were persuaded by his thoughts. Karl Marx was one of the most influential persons in the history of the world, and a brief history of his life will show how he was able to attain many of his attitudes.
The Marxist's perspective is dominantly based on economic factors and over emphasizes them; money is assumed to be everything within society and social life. In my view, something is clearly missing here such as values and other social factors. Assuming that money is everything within society leads to assumptions that those owning the productive and therefore economic resources are given the power and use it to control those without to maintain their hegemony. Further factors that can form and shape society like gender, ethnicity, age, culture etc. are not taken into consideration and neglected. Hence the Marxist perspective focuses on having versus not having, earning versus not earning and powerful versus powerless.
Marx’s proposition about the role of philosophers in ‘changing the world’ is one of his most oft quoted lines yet it was written early in his personal intellectual and philosophical development. It is the 11th note in his Thesis on Feuerbach (1888) and seemingly expresses Marx at his most revolutionary if by ‘revolutionary’ we mean allotting a degree of importance to the role of conscious in human action in radically transforming socio-political structures. These early notes give us an in-sight into Marx’s initial ideas that would then come to be more roundly expressed in The German Ideology (1932) and, critically, The Communist Manifesto (1848). Marx was perhaps at his most ‘revolutionary’ in his youth because, at other times, he seemingly rejects the idea that intellectual interpretations and human actions are the principle factors in transforming society. For example, in the Communist Manifesto he writes, “[…] the theoretical conclusions of the Communists are in no way based on ideas or principles that have been invented, or discovered, by this or that would-be universal reformer. They merely express, in general terms, actual relations springing from an existing class struggle, from a historical movement going on under our very eyes” (1848, p. 50).
Karl Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto in order to give a voice to the struggling classes in Europe. In the document he expressed the frustrations of the lower class. As Marx began his document with "the history of all hitherto societies has been the history of class struggles" he gave power to the lower classes and sparked a destruction of their opressors.1 He argued that during the nineteenth century Europe was divided into two main classes: the wealthy upper class, the bourgeoisie, and the lower working class, the proletariat. After years of suffering oppression the proletariats decided to use their autonomy and make a choice to gain power. During the
But not only has the bourgeoisie forged the weapons that bring death to itself; it has called into existence the men who are to wield those weapons—the modern working-class—the proletarians.”2 Marx has introduced the solution to creating his equal society. He believes that the proletarians are capable of overthrowing the bourgeois because of their large population.
A problem with Marxism is that this whole concept reflects on creating an imaginary future which is filled with all the answers to the problems of the workers in modern society. The only way people will be able to reach this future is by forfeiting all their personal hopes and dreams for the sake of the proletariat class. Marx undermines the fact that all people do not share the same desires, and that his idea of upheaval of the bourgeoisie might not entice the public as a whole. Especially since Marxism revolutions will meet a violent event in time, where the bourgeoisie and proletariat will clash. This conflict is not the most convincing means for change (for individuals who seek a peaceful way of living). As well Marx never gives a good description for how the proletariat should govern the state once they take power.
Marx came to his conclusion through tracing the proletariat and bourgeoisie roots to the fall of the feudal system. In his book The Communist Manifesto he says that it was here that he saw the bourgeoisie coming to power while the proletariat fell on the economic ladder. While he admits that there has always been a class division in society, it has become increasingly obvious to detect. Due to the inventions of the steam engine and the assembly line, the bourgeoisie became more selective while the proletariat grew in size and started forming unions. He began to notice that the bourgeoisie were beginning to come to power while the proletariat started to grow in numbers. Marx believed that there were multiple reasons that led the bourgeoisie to create their own destruction. First, the bourgeoisie could not help but oppress the proletariats and stand by as they began to sink lower and lower into society, thus increasing the chance of a proletariat uprising. Second, Marx writes, “The advance of industry…replaces the isolation of the laborers, due to competition…due to association” (Marx p. 21). Marx believed that human reasoning would ultimately prevail and that the proletariats would eventually rise up and cast out the bourgeoisie. Human intuition,
I do understand that in some cases the system has a stain upon it and Marx was out to find the solution. Unfortunately he thought that by making a radical socialistic movement, and changing the a capitalist system to a