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Nietzsche and marx
Compare and contrast karl marx and friedrich nietzsche
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First Long Essay
Both of the German philosophers, Friedrich Nietzsche and Karl Marx, have spoken levels on the nature and purpose of human beings, however, the defining difference in their criticisms and teachings is the idea of where ‘power’ comes from and what man is supposed to do with it. Despite the fact that the philosophers had separate objectives in mind when inditing their literature, their comparative delivery presents similarities due to the subjects that seem to have fallen prey to criticism in their writings. However, their difference in ideology is particularly significant due to the manner in which they address their main quodlibet of the power of human beings with either a targeted attack or invocation of herd-mentality to support their provocative theories. The
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2) Marx expresses his theory of how all humans naturally desire to perform labor and have a distaste for faineance, yet Nietzsche speaks of the absurdity and danger in which humans works themselves tirelessly and ignore their innate necessities:
What destroys a man more quickly than to work, think and feel without inner necessity, without any deep personal desire, without pleasure – as a mere automaton of duty? That is the recipe for decadence, and no less for idiocy… (The Antichrist, sec. 11)
This separation in views demonstrates how Marx’s philosophy is preaching for solidarity amongst his audience, whereas Nietzsche’s philosophy is attempting to persuade his audience into solitude. Their difference in principles and views on human power is most likely due to the circumstances in time period or era of which they were writing their philosophies and the respective audiences that came with the social and political conflicts of that particular
Marx’s idea of the estrangement of man from the product of his labor described the suffering of countless hours or work by the laborer, contributing to the production of a product that he could not afford with the wages he made. He helped to produce a product that only those wealthier than he could afford. As the society around him became more object-oriented, he became increasingly more alienated. In the lager, one factor that distanced the laborer from his product was that he no longer worked for a wage, but for survival. In a description of his fellow worker, Levi wrote, “He seems to think that his present situation is like outside, where it is honest and logical to work, as well as being of advantage, because according to what everyone says, the more one works the more one earns and eats.” Levi pitied his fellow worker for his naivety, as the Lager was not a place of labor for prosperity, but strictly a place of labor by force. One worked in order to live, focusing more on the uncertainty of their next meal, day, or even breath than the product of their l...
Two great writers, whose ideas have been read by many, are Karl Marx and Abraham Kuyper. Marx was a philosopher and because of his writing about Communist many places responded with revolutions. Kuyper was a Christian leader inspired many with his writings about society and culture. Marx and Kuyper both addressed how social issues in the world. Marx and Kuyper’s views of human nature are very different. While Kuyper believes that God shapes our lives and humans have no control; Marx, on the other hand, believes that human beings can shape and control the direction of their own lives. Both men show their beliefs of human nature through history, government, economy, and society. Though they both believe in equal society they don’t agree on the
of this essay is to identify the influence Marx and Nietzsche had on Freud’s critique of
The political philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Karl Marx examined the role that the state played and its relationship to its citizen’s participation and access to the political economy during different struggles and tumultuous times. Rousseau was a believer of the concept of social contract with limits established by the good will and community participation of citizens while government receives its powers given to it. Karl Marx believed that power was to be taken by the people through the elimination of the upper class bourgeois’ personal property and capital. While both philosophers created a different approach to establishing the governing principles of their beliefs they do share a similar concept of eliminating ownership of capital and distributions from the government. Studying the different approaches will let us show the similarities of principles that eliminate abuse of power and concentration of wealth by few, and allow access for all. To further evaluate these similarities, we must first understand the primary principles of each of the philosophers’ concepts.
The vice that I have decided to examine further is that of spiritual apathy. According to DeYoung, spiritual apathy can be described as “comfortable indifference to duty and neglect of other human beings’ needs. If you won’t work hard, you don’t care enough.” (81). DeYoung goes on to say that it “becomes a sin not merely because it makes us lazy, but because of the lack of love that leis behind that laziness” (81). Essentially, spiritual apathy is not giving enough attention or effort to tasks that are pressing and important. This vice can be recognized in our daily lives with close examination. During my week examining this vice in relation to my own life, I became aware of how much time I actually spend doing things, that while important,
Society is flawed. There are critical imbalances in it that cause much of humanity to suffer. In, the most interesting work from this past half-semester, The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx is reacting to this fact by describing his vision of a perfectly balanced society, a communist society. Simply put, a communist society is one where all property is held in common. No one person has more than the other, but rather everyone shares in the fruits of their labors. Marx is writing of this society because, he believes it to be the best form of society possible. He states that communism creates the correct balance between the needs of the individual and the needs of society. And furthermore thinks that sometimes violence is necessary to reach the state of communism. This paper will reflect upon these two topics: the relationship of the individual and society, and the issue of violence, as each is portrayed in the manifesto.
Marx had rather extreme views on the extent to which nature in his time had become humanized as a result of human labor. He commented, “Even the objects of the simplest, “sensuous certainty” are only given to him through social development, industry and commercial intercourse. ”[2] "Throughout their labor, humans shape their own material environment, thereby transforming the very nature of human existence in the process. ”[3] One always seemed to know their role in society.
As a result, labour is objectified, that is, labour becomes the object of mans existence. As labour is objectified, man becomes disillusioned and enslaved. Marx argues that man becomes to be viewed as a commodity worth only the labour he creates. and man is further reduced to a subsisting animal void of any capacity of freedom except the will to labour. For Marx, this all leads to the emergence of private property, the enemy.
This opposing perspective follows the philosophical viewpoint of leaders such as Hitler, Mussolini, Lenin, and Stalin. Fascism, which is the extreme shift on the right wing of the spectrum and an anti-liberal belief with a reactionary-authoritarian system of government, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini had both the government and freedom of Germany and Italy eliminated to obtain total control. Fascism rather incorporates the idea of control, power and eradication of both interdependence and independence which disputes the principles of having collectivism and individualism side by side, thus caused dystopia -- World War Two, as caused by the fascist belief of Hitler. On the extreme left side of the spectrum, is communism or Marxism. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels co-wrote the book, “The Communist Manifesto” which described communism as something to eliminate class warfare, with the dispute between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, as an instance -- greatly valued equality as its ultimate goal. Nonetheless, leaders such as Lenin and Stalin greatly stretched the radical idea of communism and took it to its extremes, making the Russian government in their control through revolutionary means. In this perspective both fascism and communism are similar in terms of rejecting the ideas of having individualism and collectivism co-exist. Relatively, radical and reactionary leaders would rather have everything in their control in lieu of having the government or the citizens have the power, therefore, either individual or collective freedom is
...mind and domination by external stimuli, where the values of society are contaminated in both of the author’s viewpoints by the status of the individual. The final breaking point of both authors copes with the subject of self sufficiency and the role of professional occupations in weakening the minds of individuals within civilization. Although separate problems arise in both works, Gandhi and Nietzsche have a similar conclusion. They see the cure for society as lying in revolution; a complete shift in the direction of government and thought. For both authors, their revolutionary finales include an upheaval of values, spiritual strength, and an actual transition in the standing governmental position.
Friedrich Nietzsche was on the cutting edge of sociological and philosophical theory when he lived in the latter part of the Nineteenth century. His ideas and theories about the world around him inspired some of the most recognized schools of thought in the modern world(or post-modern as it is seen). His post-humous work The Will to Power is the culmination of his life's work and allows for all who read it to understand the genius behind one of the greatest thinkers of all time. In The Will to Power, Nietzsche explains how the will is the controlling device each of us, and that the true will should only be used on oneself and not to take advantage of or injure another. Nietzsche seeks all who read it to understand how this is the true exercise of will and how the world has been run down by people using their will in the wrong way.
Inspired by the works of Karl Marx, V.I. Lenin nonetheless drew his ideology from many other great 19th century philosophers. However, Marx’s “Communist Manifesto” was immensely important to the success of Russia under Leninist rule as it started a new era in history. Viewed as taboo in a capitalist society, Karl Marx started a movement that would permanently change the history of the entire world. Also, around this time, the Populist promoted a doctrine of social and economic equality, although weak in its ideology and method, overall. Lenin was also inspired by the anarchists who sought revolution as an ultimate means to the end of old regimes, in the hope of a new, better society. To his core, a revolutionary, V.I. Lenin was driven to evoke the class struggle that would ultimately transform Russia into a Socialist powerhouse. Through following primarily in the footsteps of Karl Marx, Lenin was to a lesser extent inspired by the Populists, the Anarchists, and the Social Democrats.
Living in a social world, it can only be expected that there will be multiple views on how a society should be run, how we as a society should behave, and how our societies should be represented. In learning about Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim, there are many different views and beliefs that can be used to view our social world. Although the three of these men believed in different things and had many different theories in regards to our social world, there are few similarities that can be expressed. Marx was said to be a materialist due to his views that the social life was fundamentally about material goods (food, money and land etc.) as well as having a set of shared values. Weber, on the other hand, was a rationalist because
During the nineteenth century, Karl Marx and Max Weber were two of the most influential sociologists. Both of them tried to explain social change taking place in a society at that time. On the one hand, their views are very different, but on the other hand, they had many similarities.
Karl Marx was known in sociology history as the master builder of social science. Marx believed that history was made up of steps and controlled by a class conflict. In today’s social problems we face a wide range of conflict Marx 's might analyze very differently then how today 's humans beings would.