Marxism And Karl Marx's Influential Social Theorists

Karl Marx was one of history’s most influential social theorists. His ideas fueled everything from debates to revolutions that are taught in school today. Marx is well known for his piece Communist Manifesto that he wrote in 1848. He was disgusted by the inequality that dominated the 19th century and so he devoted his time to understanding and destroying capitalism. Marx says, “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles” (434). In Marx’s opinion, class struggle between the bourgeoisies and the proletarians control history. The bourgeoisies are considered the wealthier class that controls the market, jobs, and politics. On the other hand, the proletarians are the working class that depends on the jobs of the

The bourgeoisies working to keep the proletarians, even those that own small businesses, under them in the class system; although, his view of proletarians in communism is that they can come together to overcome the bourgeoisies to create an equal labor system. “[A] class of labourers, who live only so long as they find work, and who find work only so long as their labour increases capital. These labourers, who must sell themselves, piecemeal, are a commodity…” Marx explains (440). The proletarians are forced to ‘sell themselves’ for jobs provided by the bourgeoisies to keep them oppressed. The proletarians will work in any position at any pay because they need to survive, although this furthers the bourgeoisies’ greed. Marx says, “All [small business owners] these sink gradually into the proletariat, partly because their diminutive capital does not suffice for the scale on which Modern Industry is carried on. . .” (441). Even small business owners are considered proletarians because they are pushed under the thumb of bourgeoisies by monopoly and low competitive prices. For example, a small, family owned market is likely to go out of business by large markets, like Walmart, since they offer lower prices than the family owned super markets. This shows the selfishness of the bourgeoisies because they use people that are trying to survive while also pushing

In the creation of Modern Industry, the bourgeoisies made advancements in industry but also in politics. “Each step in the development of the bourgeoisie was accompanied by a corresponding political advance,” Marx states (435). In business, whoever rules the market gets to control the politics of the place. Since the bourgeoisies have a hold on political power, they can pass laws allowing them to do business in their favor and control the market. Marx explains, “[T]he bourgeoisie has at last, since the establishment of the Modern Industry and of the world-market, conquered for itself, in the modern representative State, exclusive political sway. The executive of the modern State is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie” (436). In other words, the bourgeoisies force the government to fulfill their agenda and manage their affairs with each other. Instead of politics being used for their purposes to create an equal opportunity country and market for everyone. Again, this displays selfishness in the bourgeoisies to only better themselves. On the other hand, in communism the proletarians would overcome the bourgeoisies to create more equal political processes to create an equal opportunity environment as opposed to the lower class only feeling the consequences of the political