The play R.U.R. was written, by Karel Capěk, as a cynical and critical view of the Communist Manifesto drafted by Freidrich Engels and Karl Marx. Capěk is known for his strong disdain for communism and Marxism, specifically detailing this in his essay “Why I Am Not A Communist”. In his play, Capěk depicts a proletariat class of robots fabricated for the sole purpose of being workers. These workers would later gain intelligent thought and emotional capacities that made them essentially human. With these newly gained abilities they overthrow their superiors or rulers, the humans, who can be compared to the bourgeoisie due to their higher social status. The whole goal of this revolution and their conquest over the human race is to create a utopic society in which the robots rule. As such, while not directly stated by the author, based on it’s similarities to the text of Engels and Marx I infer that they would attempt to follow the guidelines of communism, as …show more content…
He writes, “The final word of Communism is to rule, not to save” (Para.2 Why I am not…) showing it to be more about chaos than order and equality. This applies directly to R.U.R., as when the robot revolution occurs, their orders were “to kill all mankind. Spare no men. Spare no women.”(II. P.61) The goal of the robots during act II is not to achieve this idea of utopia but to eliminate the humans, who are perceived to be the equivalent of the bourgeoisie. When putting it into perspective, this revolution by the robots demonstrates the overall brutality and issues, which were never raised or considered by Marx and Engels. Overall, we can see how the “gigantic slogan [of Communism] is power (moc), not help (pomoc).”(Para.2 Why I am not…) Is incorporated into the robot’s conquest of the humans, as that was their sole objective and power was the motivating factor for
...veryone including the bourgeoisie, that the communist government would fall just the same as capitalism does, he logically shows how any government will fail without the support of everyone. The goal of the communist movement was made very clear by Marx, stating, "...formation of the proletariat into a class, the overthrow of the bourgeois supremacy, and the conquest of political power by the proletariat." (467) Here he shows that he wants the proletariat to come out on top and invokes a strong sentiment in the working class appealing to both ethos and pathos. He appeals to both of these by showing the proletarians that they can trust the communist movement, it may take some time, but it certainly the working class' best interests at heart. The last statement also invokes a sense of hope and happiness about what the future possibly has in store for the proletariat.
Communism is the study of how everyone is at peace and works together. There is no need for competition or armies because no wars are going on. The gap between the rich and the poor is eliminated and everyone has the same wealth to make everything perfect and fair. All human activity goes towards benefiting each other. Private property and all private businesses are eliminated. Instead of working for yourself to make a living for yourself, you are making a living for the country or society that you live in. In document 3: Friedrich Engels says that “ above all, (the government)... will have to take control of industry and all branches of production out of the hands of… competing individuals, and instead institute a system as whole, that is for the common account, according to a common plant, and with the participation of all members of the society. It will… abolish competition...Private property must therefore be abolished.” This creates an equality in the economic system. There are economic equalities now, because equality in the amount of work will get you an equality in pay. This eliminates the amount of money between the rich and poor closing the gap between the two. All of this equality meets the needs of the proletariats. The Proletariats were the working people in the lowest class. The workers worked and then the bourgeoisie took the money from the products and the proletariats got nothing from their
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
From the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century major historical events such as the Industrial revolution had occurred. During this period of time Europe was switching into an economy that is focused mostly in the industrial field. From this emerged two social-economic classes, the rich bourgeoisie and the poor proletariats. Furthermore tension brewed from the two groups since the bourgeoisie source of wealth was from the exploitation of the proletariats. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’ book The Communist Manifesto responded to the situation and created a vision of an equal communist society. The Communist Manifesto was defined by the abolishment of the bourgeois sovereign rule that followed to a revolution against capitalism
The intrinsic values of communism rely on the basic tenet that all citizens will sacrifice individualistic ideals for the greater good of Society. Each member of society must sacrifice himself for the sake of others, resulting in a country where each citizen is effectively the same as others in terms of wealth, property, and class. Effectively, each member of society is but one part used to build an impressive machine: taken independently, each cog seems worthless, but in the context of the ...
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.
...roposal for the world and Communism was too far-fetched and would not work. Every time there has been a push towards Communism, it has always failed. There have been several unsuccessful attempts, all ending in a problematic dictatorship. While he did realize freedom was a major issue, he lacked in knowledge that family life was also significant.
The word “communism” is generally linked with “Marxism”. Since Marx along with Friedrich Engels published the cutting-edge thesis, The Communist Manifesto in the middle of the 19th century, it conceived the new dimension for both politics and economics. Before turning to the principles of the Manifesto, it is useful to present the brief historical background of the era, and understand why it affected the ideology. Predominantly the Industrial Revolution (IR) and the Great Revolution in France (FR) transformed the society as follows; creation of conditions for capitalism by destroying feudalism. Period between 1820 -1840 marks the beginning of the IR, which altered the whole meantime s...
Whether one thinks that the ideas of communism are good or bad, by taking a look a today’s society, we can certainly see the affect The Communist Manifesto and other books of its kind have had. Karl Marx’s ideas have shaped many programs and organizations to attempt following along the lines of equality.
Though the rewards are pleasing to the ear, the path to obtaining the benefits of communism is a violent one. This strict governing idea was derived from Communist Manifesto, a book written by two German economists, Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels, who declare that many problems in society are caused by the unequal distribution of wealth. These two believe that “Communism deprives no man of the ability to appropriate the fruits of his labour. The only thing it deprives him of is the ability to enslave others by means of such appropriations.” To achieve the goal of happiness and prosperity for all, the lines that distinguish the differences between the rich and poor must be erased. Obviously, the rich will never voluntarily give up their goods or status; therefore the figureheads must force equality among the citizens. Communism places their citizens, whether they be the wealthy or the laborers, into working classes that specify their contribution to the government. With such balanced placement of the people, individuality is impossible for any single person to achieve.
Marx and Engels had a specific vision for what they wanted their communist government to be. If communism had remained unchanged in its original form, the corruption of the party may not have occurred, and the rest of the world could have learned valuable lessons from the communists. If communism had continued to be what Marx and Engels intended it to be, then communist governments may have been successful. Unfortunately, what they neglected to take into consideration was the greediness that would overcome society. When people become hungry for power, they can easily take advantage of a communist government and corrupt it, transforming it into a totalitarian government. In theory, communism works out well. But as shown in East Germany’s history, communism’s promise of full equality is unlikely, unless government corruption can be prevented.
This statement is extremely accurate in relation to Leon Trotsky. Trotsky, as recognized by Lenin in his last will and testament, was the most talented man in the committee to take the highest office, and yet in hindsight historians ‘cannot conceive how he would be in a position to do so’ (Pipes) . Despite Trotsky possessing talent and ability to lead as demonstrated in his career as Commissar of War where he won the Order of the Red Flag , his political position limited his influence in the power struggle between himself and Stalin. Moreover, Trotsky lacked the public image Stalin had, ‘he lost to the man with a superior understanding of Soviet public life”(Service) . Thus, it is these factors of an individual’s political role and public image that take priority over deciding party leadership rather then ability of talent as a politician.
Communism as Karl Marx states has existed since the beginning of time. However it wasn’t until the 19th century when the Russian workers widely accepted the ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles. The workers enjoyed the system of communism due to their many negative experiences with tsarist rule. Tsar Nicholas II’s inadequacy as both a leader politically and militarily as shown when he appointed himself as Commander-in-Chief in order to increase morale. The short-term ...
He answers criticisms with only one possible route of action and one possible outcome. In his mind, a communist society would easily become a utopia. However, a look at the countries in the world today who attempted communism will shows failures across the board. Those among the proletariat who rose up to lead the rest against the bourgeoisie became the leaders of the countries and enjoy the same decadence and superiority that they sought to abolish. Soviet Russia under Joseph Stalin was a bloodbath. Mao’s Red China was a hotbed of human rights violations. Cuba under Castro was a system of corruption. All were absolute dictatorships in which the proletariat had no say, the same as
He saw communism as a way for all people to be truly free and equal. There would be no more class discrimination and everyone would have resourced based on what is needed. He exclaimed that communism would give individuals the freedoms that the bourgeoisie denied them. While this is what Karl Marx predicted and believed would be successful, the reality over time has taken a much different path proving that Marx’s ideas cannot be accurately applied