Marxism And Social Darwinism Essay

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Recommended: The effect of class struggle

Katie Burke
February 13, 2014
Essay
Marxism and Social Darwinism are two different distinct theories of dealing with the problems of the Industrialist society. Social Darwinism supports the ideas of capitalism and the application of Darwin’s “ Theory of Evolution” to human beings in an industrialized society. Marxism supports a form of socialism and believes that the emergence of capitalism is the cause of class struggles. The two images bring out different theories about the cause and solution of poverty.
A Marxist would see the images as an example of the conflict of class struggles between the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariats. Poverty is just the result of the governments’ failure to plan to prepare for a capitalist society. Poverty exists in such a drastic form, because of the exploitation of the working class and the unequal distribution of wealth. A Marxist would say that these images show the need for the creation of a classless society, because it would create a society free of class conflict.
From a Marxist perspective, the women in Image A are playing some sort of version of what looks like badminton and do not look like they are suffering the extreme life of poverty of the proletariat class. They are spending the day in leisure and relaxation. The women are also nicely dressed, wearing what was likely the latest fashion of the time and are playing their game in a open courtyard, whose architecture looks expensive, which is surrounded by nature. It is likely that they are wealthy enough to live outside the city. A Marxist would see this picture as an example of the inequality and random distribution of wealth: an unfair chance of luck, which makes one person better than another. The women are enjoying the carefre...

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...capitalist economy thrive.
Therefore the Social Darwinist would see the people in Image B as deserving of their lives of poverty. The suffering of the working class is a result of their own laziness and they are the only ones who can help themselves. If those living a life of poverty suffered and worked a little harder, perhaps they might experience a life of wealth too. This was a very different viewpoint from the Marxist who saw the suffering of the working class as a result of the unfair and random distribution of wealth.
The two images show the contrast between the beliefs and ideas of Marxism and Socialism. Both believe that they have the solution to the problems of the Industrialist society and vehemently believe that the other is wrong. Marxism and Socialism were both responses to Industrialization and played a huge role in shaping the ideas of society.

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