The Political Philosophy of Karl Marx

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Workers of the World Unite; You Have Nothing to Lose but Your Chains. -- Karl Marx, Communist Manifesto Karl Marx had very strong viewpoints in regards to capitalism, making him a great candidate for this assignment. People constantly debate over whether his ideologies held any grain of truth to them. I believe that although not everything Marx predicted in his writings has come true (yet), he was definitely right on about a lot of issues. As a matter of fact, his teachings can definitely be applied to today’s society. This paper will give a summary of Marx’s political philosophy. It will also discuss a contemporary issue: the current economic crisis— and how Marx believed racism played a crucial a role in it. Finally, through the lens he has developed, I will explain how Marx would analyze this issue and how one can argue that it spurred the current movement known as Occupy Wall Street. 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... ... middle of paper ... ...lass Exploitation, Economic Development, and Violent Revolt by Terry Boswell and William J. Dixon 7. The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx 8. The Social Philosophy of Karl Marx by Abram L. Harris 9. Capitalism and Globalisation in the Light of the Communist Manifesto by Li Xing 10. Classical sociological theory by Craig J. Calhoun 11. Marx on Racism by Karl Marx 12. Introduction to the Communist Manifesto by Harold J. Laski 13. http://www.census.gov 14. http://www.dictionary.com 15. Karl Marx and Bourgeois Economics by Prabhat Patnaik 16. Findings of economist Edward N. Wolff at New York University (2010) 17. Federal Reserve Board's Survey of Consumer Finances (2010) 18. Capitalism by Geoffrey K. Ingham 19. 2009 U.S. Bureau 20. Prophets Against Profits! What Occupy Wall Street Gets Right by Timothy R. Prisk 21. Das Kapital by Karl Marx

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