Karl Marx and Marxism

Karl Marx set the wheels of modern Communism and

Socialism in motion with his writings in the late nineteenth

century.  In collaboration with his friend, Heinrich Engels, he

produced the The Communist Manifesto, written in 1848.

Many failed countries' political and socio-economic structures

have been based on Marx's theories, for example the USSR, East

Germany etc.  Many people believe that Marxism is not

applicable to today's society, as Karl Marx put forward his ideas

not anticipating the type of society we have today.  The welfare

state system has effectively nullified Marx's arguments, and

made them irrelevant.

Karl Marx, born on May 5, 1818, died on March 14, 1883,

was a German economist, philosopher and revolutionist whose

writings form the basis of the body of ideas known as Marxism.

In his youth he was deeply affected by the philosophy of G.W.F.

Hegel, and joined a rebel group called the Young Hegelians,

which contributed ideas towards the movement against

organized religion and the Prussian Autocracy.  Later on in life,

he was influenced by the writings of Ludwig Feuerbach, who

wrote that God was invented by humans as a projection of their

own ideals, and that in creating such a 'perfect' being, in

contrast to themselves, mankind lowered themselves to lowly,

evil creatures who needed guidance from the church and

government.  He said that, in creating God in their own image,

humans had 'alienated themselves from themselves.' 

Karl Marx applied this alienation theory to private

property, which he said caused humans to work only for

themselves, not for the good of their species.  The idea is

further explained in the following sentences.  The people who

do the work in a capitalistic society own none of the means of

production, (ie.  machines, raw produce etc.)  that they use in

their work.  These are owned by the capitalists, to whom the

workers must sell their 'labour power', or ability to do work, in

return for a wage.  The capitalists, owning the factories,

automatically have ownership rights to everything produced by

it, and can do with it what the will.  Because of this, the worker

is alienated from the product of their labours, having no

control over what is made, or what becomes of it.

Karl Marx was very concerned with the class system in

Prussia.  He was an avid campaigner against a system where one

group of people flourish at the expense of another class, in this

case the working. He believed that all things should be equal,

and that sharing should abound, with no-one person owning

everything, all belonging to the state.  Marx believed that once

most workers recognized their interests and became 'class

conscious', the overthrow of capitalism would proceed as

quickly and democratically as the nature of the capitalist

opposition allowed.  The socialist society that would emerge

out of the revolution would develop the full productive

potential inherited from capitalism through democratic

planning on behalf of social needs.  The final goal, towards

which socialist society would constantly build, is the human

one of abolishing alienation.  Marx called the attainment of this

goal Communism.

Marxism in its various forms has affected the world

greatly throughout time.  Both world wars have involved

communist countries to a great extent.  Communism has gone

wrong in many countries, with the state turning into an

authoritarian one, with a few people at the top abusing their

power for their own personal gain, at the expense of the  other

members of the public. 

In conclusion, I believe that Marx's theories would be

beneficial up to a point.  I agree that there should be no class

distinctions, and  that everyone should have a fair go to succeed

in life.  Sharing should be greater, as capitalism has risen to

knew heights of greed and power lust.  A communist state,

however, would never work, as it is in the human nature to

compete against one another, which rules out any social

equality one could gain by abolishing personal property.    

Bibliography

Kenny, S., (1994)  Developing Communities for the Future :

Community Development in Australia, Thomas Nelson

Australia.

Miliband, R., (1977)  Marxism and Politics, Herron Publishing

Inc.,  New York.

Ollman, B., (1995)  Grolier's Encyclopaedia - Karl Marx and

Marxism, Grolier Electronic Publishing Inc.