Karl Marx never saw his ideals and beliefs, as the founding father of communist thought, implemented in the world and society because he died in 1883.1 The communist ideology did not rise to power until the beginning of the 20th century. Then it would be implemented and put into practice in the largest country in the world producing a concept that would control half of the world’s population in less than 50 years. The Manifesto of the Communist Party, written by Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels, searched for a perfect society living in equality and united in freedom. According to Marx this could only be accomplished in an anti-capitalist society.2 When their ideals where implemented in the 20th century, their message became warped and disfigured by the leadership of the worlds’ communist powers. Communism became in some ways more and in others less than Marx had first envisioned so many years before in 1848. Marx’s sought a social “Utopia,” while modern communist thought became a view of world domination.3 Many of the centralized governments of modern communism have fallen apart toward the end of the 20th century, confronted with concepts of self-government and revolution. Therefore, it is vital to document the rise and fall of modern communism throughout the world, and review the modern communist thought as it contrasted with that of Marx and Engels over 150 years ago. In essence, modern communism was founded in 1917 at the height of the First World War, in Russia.4 When Vladimir Ilich Lenin, a strong left wing Marxist intellectual from Russia, was provided passage back into his exiled homeland by train through war torn Europe. The German government agreed to allow Lenin to travel from Switzerland to Russia if he agreed to wi... ... middle of paper ... ...ate, (Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1971). 24-28. 16 Ralph Raico, *. LINKS - Other Sights to Check Out The History Channel - http://www.historychannel.com Marxist Thought Archives - http://www.marxists.org Dr. Santamarina's Homepage - http://homepages.udayton.edu/~santamar/ Progressive Labor Party Homepage - http://www.plp.org/ Mao Tse-tung Writings - http://www.maoism.org/msw/mao_sw.htm CNN review of Communist China - http://asia.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/ccp80/ US State Dept. on Cuba - http://www.state.gov/www/regions/wha/cuba/ Cigar Aficionado Magazine - http://www.cigaraficionado.com US Army War College - http://carlisle-www.army.mil/ Defense Intelligence Agency - http://www.dia.mil/ Dave Jessop (The Dude's) Email - mailto:jessopdw@notes.udayton.edu
Within J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Tolkien uses the character of Bilbo Baggins to reveal to the reader the constant struggle between heroic and anti-heroic qualities within Bilbo and ourselves.
...or Bilbo, Gandalf is his lifeline, as Bilbo always get into some trouble thanks to Gandalf however always seem to survive. The people that Bilbo travels along with are dwarves. They also prove to be noble companions by carrying Bilbo through the tunnels when fleeing the goblins. Being a hobbit has its disadvantage of not being able to keep up with the speed of Gandalf and the dwarves. As for showing great respect the dwarves carry Bilbo through the tunnels assisting him in escaping the goblins
The question of whether or not Stalinism was a logical continuation of Leninism is a difficult one. Stalinism did take significantly more drastic measures than Leninism did. There were differences in policy. But in spite of these, Stalinism still found its basis in Leninism. Even Trotsky, a friend of Lenin and a staunch opponent of Stalin, grudgingly admits that "Stalinism did issue from Bolshevism" (Trotsky). Stalin's policy of socialism in one country, his use of terror to eliminate opposition, and his suppression of democracy and the soviets were all characteristics of Lenin well before they were characteristic of Stalin. Although some of Stalin's policies were different from those of Lenin, what difference Stalinism did show from Leninism were either policies which Lenin had called for but never put into action, or logical continuations of Lenin's original principles, but modified to suit the demands of the time.
Heroes are present in many of the films produced today and these heroes generally follow both Campbell’s “Hero’s journey” and “Heroic Archetypes”. Some of Campbell’s tenets for a hero are that he must be called to a quest, he will face trials and tribulations, face temptation, complete a task, and eventually return home. The hero must also fit an archetype and its quest, fear, dragon, task, and virtue. Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is in fact one of the aforementioned heroes. Bilbo Baggins has always wanted an adventure and one day he is called on a quest to win back the Dwarfish kingdom of Erebor from the dragon, Smaug. Bilbo had not realized at the time of his departure that he was a hero and at first he even refused to go on the quest. Bilbo fits many of the tenets of the departure, initiation, and return of Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” along with one of his archetypes. Joseph Campbell defines a hero as “someone who has given his life to something bigger than himself” and this is what Bilbo Baggins has done by accepting his quest to aid the Dwarves on their journey to the Lonely Mountain.
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
“I wish I could be a hero!” Many adults in today’s society hear small children wishing they could become heroes. Children wish to be more like heroes for the reason that heroes are the type of people who risk their lives to help others. Throughout history, children have had a positive connotation with the word “hero.” The heroes many small children talk about are the fictional ones who protect cities from villains: Superman, Batman, Spiderman, and others. However, these are not the only types of heroes in today’s world. Firefighters and policemen are also considered heroes because they save the lives of those in danger. Many adults consider their inspirations to be heroes, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Michelle Obama. Heroes do not always have to be real; for instance, they can also be literary characters such as Atticus Finch, Jonas, and Odysseus. Heroes, fictional or not, only have one purpose, to help people in need. These motivating people are in the rare category of people who willingly spend their whole lives helping people achieve their dreams. Heroes are the people who unselfishly help people live their lives in a peaceful manner. Many children wish they could become heroes, such as Bilbo Baggins. In The Hobbit, J.R.R Tolkien explores how Bilbo Baggins matures and ultimately becomes a hero.
On the journey the mythical hero will be put to the test, but once again Harry shows why he is more of a mythical hero than Bilbo. One of the significant and a very crucial part in The Hobbit is the Battle of the Five Armies. However, played no role
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...
Communism was the ideology followed by the Soviet Union. Originally founded by Karl Marx, it said that everything should be owned by the government and then divided up equally among the people who would then all work for it. For the communist party in Russia, their political system was always in danger. From the start of the Russian Revolution there have been dangers to communism. Before World War II most of the western nations ignored Russia simply because it was a communist state and the western nations actually supported Hitler because they believed that Germany would provided a buffer against Communism. The permanent threat against Russia gave the incentive to expand and spread communist influence as much as possible to keep their way of life intact, it was very much Russia against the world. However not only was the Soviet Union communist, they were totalitarian, meaning all the power was with the rulers. While this was effective for keeping the standard average of living the same for everyone and preventing poverty, it also led to a poor work ethic among the working population...
Campbell and Winkler believe that the final stages of the heroic quest are the result, magic flight, the crossing of the return threshold, master of the two worlds, freedom to live, and status quo upgraded. During the stages of return are when the hero finally conquers returns to their world with their guide, when they return the “transition is not easy” next, the hero is able to pass in between worlds efficiently and they live in their new found freedom with maturity and knowledge. Following the pattern, Bilbo returns back to Bag-End with Gandalf at his side, when Bilbo arrives at Bag-End he is speculated as dead and the other hobbits are auctioning off Bilbo’s possessions. Bilbo is not as respected as he was before, but that is a simple price for him being able to control his Baggins side and Tookish side. Afterwards, Bilbo is able to live his life to the fullest, since he knows what he has been missing, “he remained very happy to the end of his days, and those were extraordinarily long.” (Tolkien 123). Finally, after Bilbo’s adventure, his two sides, Baggins and Tookish are at peace and his Baggins side no longer controls Bilbo. Back at Bag-end, Bilbo has opened up, but is no longer respected, “but he was no longer quite respectable…held by all the hobbits of the neighbourhood to be 'queer'”(Tolkien 123) which shows that Bilbo is unlike any other. In the
In the beginning, Bilbo is very abject to go on this adventure. “Don’t be a fool, Bilbo Baggins!” He said to himself, “Thinking of dragons and all that outlandish nonsense...”
Communism as it is known today was first proposed by Karl Marx in 1848 when he published The Manifesto of the Communist Party (Leone 13). Marx envisioned a Utopian society where everyone was equal. Such a society would combine growth with fairness by allowing the bureaucrats to make most of the decisions concerning the economy (Samuelson). As in The Smurfs, there would be no money, and everyone would contribute what they could and receive what they needed (Schmidt). There would be one manor source of income, and the entire collective would contribute to that source.
The Hobbit begins with introducing our hero, Bilbo Baggins, who is a respectable hobbit that lives in the Shire. His ordinary life is a middle-aged hobbit that does not go on adventures, even though he longs to do something exciting like his deceased mother. His call to adventure starts with Gandalf the Gray, a wizard, who was also a friend of his mother. Gandalf shows up to try and convince Bilbo that he is needed for an adventure, though he does not go into detail about what the adventure would entail. Gandalf leaves after Bilbo refuses the call to adventure and wishes him a good day. He is later surprised by a company of dwarves that show up during dinner time, this moment is in which I believe to be a second call to adventure for Bilbo. They explain to Bilbo about their journey and how it is meant to help take back their mountain from Smaug the dragon. This conversation really begins to ignite Bilbo’s desire to leave the Shire and travel with them, though he again refuses the call to adventure that night. The morning after dinner he suddenly decides to accept the call and races out his door to meet up with the dwarves. He then spends the rest of the movie working through the rest of the hero’s
Every hero changes and grows in a story. Bilbo is no exception. In the very beginning of “The Hobbit”, Bilbo is just like any other hobbit, quiet and comfortable in his little hobbit hole. He prefers to stay out of trouble and never leave the comfort of his home. This is the beginning of his ‘Hero’s Journey’. The Hero’s Journey is an idea that every hero in every story follows. This shows the change and growth in a hero. The steps of the Hero’s Journey includes the call to adventure, the journey through the treacherous lands, the trials and problems the hero has to solve, and defeating the main enemy and receiving his reward. Throughout Bilbo’s journey, he grows and changes. From going on the adventure itself, riddling with Gollum,
According to most historians, “history is told by the victors”, which would explain why most people equate communism with Vladimir Lenin. He was the backbone of Russia’s communist revolution, and the first leader of history’s largest communist government. It is not known, or discussed by most, that Lenin made many reforms to the original ideals possessed by many communists during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He revised Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles’ theories to fit the so-called ‘backwardness’ of the Russian Empire. Lenin’s reforms were necessary to carry out a socialist revolution in Russia, and the contributions he made drastically changed the course of history. It can be assumed that, the Soviet Union would not have been as powerful if it was not for Lenin’s initial advocacy of violence and tight organization.