Marxism

Karl Marx and Marxism

Karl Marx set the wheels of modern Communism and
Socialism in motion with his writings in the late nineteenth
century. In collaboration with his friend, Heinrich Engels, he
produced the The Communist Manifesto, written in 1848.
Many failed countries' political and socio-economic structures
have been based on Marx's theories, for example the USSR, East
Germany etc. Many people believe that Marxism is not
applicable to today's society, as Karl Marx put forward his ideas
not anticipating the type of society we have today. The welfare
state system has effectively nullified Marx's arguments, and
made them irrelevant.

Karl Marx, born on May 5, 1818, died on March 14, 1883,
was a German economist, philosopher and revolutionist whose
writings form the basis of the body of ideas known as Marxism.
In his youth he was deeply affected by the philosophy of G.W.F.
Hegel, and joined a rebel group called the Young Hegelians,
which contributed ideas towards the movement against
organized religion and the Prussian Autocracy. Later on in life,
he was influenced by the writings of Ludwig Feuerbach, who
wrote that God was invented by humans as a projection of their
own ideals, and that in creating such a 'perfect' being, in
contrast to themselves, mankind lowered themselves to lowly,
evil creatures who needed guidance from the church and
government. He said that, in creating God in their own image,
humans had 'alienated themselves from themselves.'
Karl Marx applied this alienation theory to private
property, which he said caused humans to work only for
themselves, not for the good of their species. The idea is
further explained in the following sentences. The people who
do the work in a capitalistic society own none of the means of
production, (ie. machines, raw produce etc.) that they use in
their work. These are owned by the capitalists, to whom the
workers must sell their 'labour power', or ability to do work, in
return for a wage. The capitalists, owning the factories,
automatically have ownership rights to everything produced by
it, and can do with it what the will. Because of this, the worker
is alienated from the product of their labours, having no
control over what is made, or what becomes of it.

Karl Marx was very concerned with the class system in
Prussia. He was an avid campaigner against a system where one
group of people flourish at the expense of another class, in this
case the working. He believed that all things should be equal,
and that sharing should abound, with no-one person owning
everything, all belonging to the state. Marx believed that once
most workers recognized their interests and became 'class
conscious', the overthrow of capitalism would proceed as
quickly and democratically as the nature of the capitalist
opposition allowed. The socialist society that would emerge
out of the revolution would develop the full productive
potential inherited from capitalism through democratic
planning on behalf of social needs. The final goal, towards
which socialist society would constantly build, is the human
one of abolishing alienation. Marx called the attainment of this
goal Communism.

Marxism in its various forms has affected the world
greatly throughout time. Both world wars have involved
communist countries to a great extent. Communism has gone
wrong in many countries, with the state turning into an
authoritarian one, with a few people at the top abusing their
power for their own personal gain, at the expense of the other
members of the public.

In conclusion, I believe that Marx's theories would be
beneficial up to a point. I agree that there should be no class
distinctions, and that everyone should have a fair go to succeed
in life. Sharing should be greater, as capitalism has risen to
knew heights of greed and power lust. A communist state,
however, would never work, as it is in the human nature to
compete against one another, which rules out any social
equality one could gain by abolishing personal property.


























Bibliography

Kenny, S., (1994) Developing Communities for the Future :
Community Development in Australia, Thomas Nelson
Australia.

Miliband, R., (1977) Marxism and Politics, Herron Publishing
Inc., New York.

Ollman, B., (1995) Grolier's Encyclopaedia - Karl Marx and
Marxism, Grolier Electronic Publishing Inc.