The Ideas of Karl Marx and The Communist Manifesto
It has been shown by many historians, scientists, and psychologists that people are affected by the world around them. This is exactly what caused Karl Marx to write his Communist Manifesto. The living conditions of the working class-his proletariat, as well as that of the bourgeoisie (the upper class) must have had a profound effect on his views and ideals. In France the living conditions spawned from the actions of the current economy and ruling body. Some of these conditions included poor waste management and the spreading of diseases.[1] Enlightenment ideas developing in France brought him to the theory of socialism, a radical change to self-rule. While maybe not as influential as his Communist Manifesto, Enlightenment ideas also begged Marx to answer questions about what it means to be human. He came up with an answer to go with these questions and he put those answers in his revolutionary Communist Manifesto. Marx’s conceptions of what it means to be human were in direct correlation to the world in which he was living in. The proletariat, bourgeoisie, economy, ruling body, and Enlightenment all affected the views he had on what it meant to be human.
A small historical background on Marx is beneficial to understanding the views he holds. Marx was born in 1818 during the destabilizing effects of Industrial Revolution and by the ideological and political forces unleashed by the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. His commitment to radical social change and atheism were still unpopular to the authorities of his home, Trier, Prussia. Marx then moved to France, where he married his childhood friend, Jenny von Westphalen, daughter to ...
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...Charles H. Kerr Publishing Company, 1989.
[1] Friedrich Engels, The Condition of the Working-Class in England in 1844. (London:
Swan Sonnenschein & Co., 1892), 45.
[2] Lawrence J. Flockerzie and others. Sources from the Humanities: History & Religious
Studies. 1st ed. Dayton: University of Dayton, 1999.
[3] Dennis Sherman, Joyce Salisbury. The West in the World. (Boston: McGraw Hill), 2:
616.
[4] Karl Marx, The Manifesto of the Communist Party. Translated by Samuel Moore.
(Chicago: Charles H. Kerr Publishing Company, 1989), 16.
[5] Karl Marx, The Manifesto of the Communist Party. Translated by Samuel Moore.
(Chicago: Charles H. Kerr Publishing Company, 1989), 13.
[6] Karl Marx, The Manifesto of the Communist Party. Translated by Samuel Moore.
(Chicago: Charles H. Kerr Publishing Company, 1989), 35.
... his ideals and theories were influenced by the popular philosophical circles present throughout Europe. Saint Simon was a noble Frenchman whose spin on socialism featured a government ran by scientists. Proudon was another radical thinker that influenced Marx. Proudon’s book, “What is Property” centers around privatization of property and comes to the conclusion that the factors of production is theft. When Marx moved to France, he was introduced to many different socialist viewpoints which inspired his argument known as historical materialism. This argument stated that the world is changed not by ideas but by actual, physical, material activity and practice and can be connected to his theme of injustice of exploitation. This is why in the Manifesto he speaks out against child labor and the violations of the proletariat family by the bourgeoisie.
Karl Marx’s was a German philosopher, economist and evolutionary socialist born in Germany on May 5th 1818. His theories mostly consisted of the capitalist economic system. Marx’s attended the University of Bonn and University of Berlin. He is widely recognized for his theory of on the class system which included the concepts of base and super-structure. Marx’s theory of the class system is well exhibited by the documentary film, Class Dismissed: How TV Frames the Working Class.
To understand Marx point of view, lets learn some background on him. Marx and Engels
Karl Marx 's writing of ‘The Communist Manifesto’ in 1848 has been documented by a vast number of academics as one of the most influential pieces of political texts written in the modern era. Its ideologically driven ideas formed the solid foundation of the Communist movement throughout the 20th century, offering a greater alternative for those who were rapidly becoming disillusioned and frustrated with the growing wealth and social divisions created by capitalism. A feeling not just felt in by a couple of individuals in one society, but a feeling that was spreading throughout various societies worldwide. As Toma highlights in his work, Marx felt that ‘capitalism would produce a crisis-ridden, polarized society destined to be taken over by
There is always at least one odd duck, which stands out from the crowd. The same is true when it comes to politics. One of the most controversial political ideas to ever come to power, is communism. Branching from the socialist party, in 1848, extremist Karl Marx expressed his theories in The Communist Manifesto. This is a text that is still debated today. In an article in the Journal of Social Society, William Niemi wrote about Marx’s ideas still present today. “The rethinking about Karl Marx and Marxism continues some 20 years after the fall of the Soviet dictatorship and its satellites.” (Niemi). Within this volume of ideas, Marx expressed many highly debated topics, the most controversial of course, being communism itself. Though many of
Karl Marx was a German/Prussian philosopher, economist, sociologist, author, and revolutionary socialist. His economic ideas were the basis for communism, which can be seen around the world today. Marx was very popular due to his predictions of the fall of capitalism and the rise of the working class via revolution presented in his book, Communist Manifesto, written in 1848. Marx was very committed to his idea that history has always been affected by class struggles, which he touches base on in his book. His ideas are often found very controversial, and in Communist Manifesto, there is a lot to make controversy about.
Karl Marx is living in a world he is not happy with, and seems to think that he has the perfect solution. I am a strong believer in his ideas. We are living in a time period with a huge class struggle. The Bourgroise exploits and the proletariat are being exploited. Marx did not like the way this society was and searched for a solution. Marx looked for “universal laws of human behavior that would explain and predict the future course of events" (36). He saw an unavoidable growth and change in society, coming not from the difference in opinions, but in the huge difference of opposing classes. He speaks of his ideal society and how he is going to bring about this utopia in his book The Communist Manifesto. I am going to share with you more on his ideas of this “world-wide revolution” (36) that would put an end to social classes and allow people to live with equal sharing which would result in a harmonious and much peaceful world.
The Communist Manifesto, written in 1848, provided the views of Karl Marx on humans and nature. For the time in which the document was written, the ideas of Marx were very radical to society. The ongoing struggle between the Proletarians( the working class) and the Bourgeois( the owners) prompted Marx to develop a solution to this social problem. His solution to this historical problem was to create a capitalist nation, which in the end would result in a Communist nation. He wanted to help the social status of the working class, because he felt that they were being taken advantage of by the owners. The document also discusses the role of humans and their interaction with nature.
In The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, a set of rules, much like we consider the Ten Commandments to be, is established for what a “advanced country” would abide by. A few of these ideas to follow include abolition of all right to inheritance, a heavy progressive or graduated income tax, equal obligation of all to work, and combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries.
Inspired by the works of Karl Marx, V.I. Lenin nonetheless drew his ideology from many other great 19th century philosophers. However, Marx’s “Communist Manifesto” was immensely important to the success of Russia under Leninist rule as it started a new era in history. Viewed as taboo in a capitalist society, Karl Marx started a movement that would permanently change the history of the entire world. Also, around this time, the Populist promoted a doctrine of social and economic equality, although weak in its ideology and method, overall. Lenin was also inspired by the anarchists who sought revolution as an ultimate means to the end of old regimes, in the hope of a new, better society. To his core, a revolutionary, V.I. Lenin was driven to evoke the class struggle that would ultimately transform Russia into a Socialist powerhouse. Through following primarily in the footsteps of Karl Marx, Lenin was to a lesser extent inspired by the Populists, the Anarchists, and the Social Democrats.
Karl Marx noted that society was highly stratified in that most of the individuals in society, those who worked the hardest, were also the ones who received the least from the benefits of their labor. In reaction to this observation, Karl Marx wrote The Communist Manifesto where he described a new society, a more perfect society, a communist society. Marx envisioned a society, in which all property is held in common, that is a society in which one individual did not receive more than another, but in which all individuals shared in the benefits of collective labor (Marx #11, p. 262). In order to accomplish such a task Marx needed to find a relationship between the individual and society that accounted for social change. For Marx such relationship was from the historical mode of production, through the exploits of wage labor, and thus the individual’s relationship to the mode of production (Marx #11, p. 256).
The second section of The Communist Manifesto is the section in which Karl Marx attempts to offer rebuttals to popular criticisms of his theory of governance. These explanations are based upon the supposition that capitalists cannot make informed observations upon communism as they are unable to look past their capitalist upbringing and that capitalists only seek to exploit others. Though the logic behind these suppositions are flawed, Marx does make some valid points concerning the uprising of the proletariat.
Karl Marx was a German philosopher and political theorist. He developed the socio-political theory of Marxism. One of his most famous works is The Communist Manifesto that he co-wrote with Friedrich Engels. In The Communist Manifesto, Marx discusses his theories on society, economics and politics. He believed that “all societies progress through the dialectic of class struggle”. He criticized capitalism, and referred to it as the "dictatorship of the bourgeoisie". Marx believed that capitalism was unfair because the rich middle and upper class people manipulated the system and used it for their own benefit while we get the short end of the stick. We, being average Americans— like myself— who go to college full-time, juggle a job, and yet are constantly struggling just to make ends meet: the unappreciated, exploited and underpaid every day h...
Karl Marx was born in 1818 in Trier Germany, studying history, philosophy, and law at the universities of Berlin, Jena, and Bonn. Karl Marx did not like the production portion of Capitalism; he found it to be a signal of great trouble. Marx believed that the production stage of capitalism worked in a way that the rich owners of these companies benefited whereas the poor workers did not. So the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. (Marx 1994, p119-142) Marx believed that the need to meet society’s individuals’ desires leads to production, that practical activity in a practical world leads to the desire to meet the needs of the people in society. This economic philosophy ties into Marxism; the concept that any given political development was a result of class conflict, where the exploiter class comprised of the wealthy and powerful who would eventually come into conflict with the exploited, creating a revolutionary change. From this revolutionary change would appear a new set of exploiters and exploited, where the cycle would continue over and over until there were no classes but all were equal, creating a utopian communism where everyone enjoys the results of their hard work equally. (Taylor 2011, pg 104) Karl Marx believed that the driving factor that would enable Marxism to work is the fact that every individual played a vital role in the sustainment of the society. If one piece was missing then all pro...
He is known worldwide for his numerous theories and ideas in regards to society, economics and politics. His outlook on these subjects is known as Marxism. Marxism focuses on the imbalance and struggle between classes and society. Marx’s theories stem from the concept of materialism based society and the implications thereof. These concepts leads to the Marxist theory of the failure of capitalism. Marx had a number of specific reasons for the downfall of capitalism yet capitalism remains very real and successful. Marxism covers a wide range of topics and theories, but an in depth analysis of his criticism to capitalism and how it is not relevant to modern day will be explored.