Modern Political Ideas and Doctrines

Modern Political Ideas and Doctrines

a) How did Marx conceive the transition from capitalism to communism?

Karl Marx is considered to be a historian, a philosopher, a political

thinker, and an economist amongst other things. There is a standard

misconception that Marx had no idea of economics, by contrast he was

quite the economist, and was able to layout the transition of

capitalism to communism in a very logical and understanding way. The

transition of capitalism arises through three core factors: the

philosophy behind the capitalist system, the economic and the

political part of it

Marx presented the fact that capitalism was doomed, by bringing in

history and showing how other systems (such as feudalism) fell. Marx

theorized the transition of capitalism to communism, in the same way

history showed stage which tribal systems shifted to a feudalist

system, and thereafter a feudalist system to a capitalist system. The

basics therefore behind his theory of capitalism falling was that

everything which starts must end due to changing factor affecting it,

and the un flexibility of each system to cope.

“Capitalism had to be replaced, according to Marx, because the

evolution of society's institutions is a natural and inevitable

process of history”[1]

Firstly Marx outlined the philosophical aspects which outline the

transition; Marx believed that every aspect of society could be

characterizes as a thesis, whilst its contradictory other

characterized as an antithesis. Marx believed that by refining the

thesis and antithesis of something, a synthesis could be found.

Similarily Marx proposed that capitalism be the thesis, whilst...

... middle of paper ...

...ical Ideologies, Third Edition by Andrew Heywood – Palgrave

Macmillan

http://home.att.net/russianleaders

http://www.projectgcse.com

Socialist Party of Great Britain

Pinecrest School – Library Archives online

http://search.biography.com/print_record.pl?id=6048

http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/1350/index.html

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[1] Article in Pine Crest Library – www.pinecrest.com *

[2] Quote of Engels found in the website of The Socialist Party of

Great Britain

* I concentrated on Lenin and Stalin for the reasons that they are the

most known, and affiliate more directly to the question. Furthermore I

think that under exam conditions I would be most able to concentrate

on Lenin and Stalin rather than other Soviet leaders.