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Merits and demerits of karl marx theory of social class
Contribution of karl marx of theories sociology
Communism and karl marx
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Born in Treir, Prussia on May 5, 1818, Karl Marx grew up in a middle class family of Jewish beliefs. Growing up Marx received a classical education during which he studied law, much as his father did seeing as he was a very well respected lawyer. By the age of seventeen, Marx had enrolled in the Faculty of Law at the University of Boon. During his time there Marx became engaged to a women by the name of Jenny von Westphalen. Jenny’s father was Baron von Westphalen, who was a very prominent figure in Treir. It would be the Baron who sparked Marx’s interest in Romantic literature also in politics.
Marx’s studies of law were slowly out ranked by his interest in philosophy. His stay at Boon would not last for very long though and he left after only a year’s stay. His time there were brought to an early end after his parents withdrew him. His early withdrawal from school was due to his incarceration for fighting a duel with a fellow student and drunkenness. His father then decided that he would send him to a more serious school and decided to send his son to the University of Berlin.
While there Marx abandoned his interest for Romanticism for an interest in Hegelianism. The main tenants of this philosophy can be stated in a central point which is, "the rational alone is real". This philosophy places the ultimate reality in ideas rather than in things. Marx became very involved in this philosophy and joined into the Young Hegelian movement. This group confronted every major tradition and establishment whether it be religion, ethics, politics, or even philosophy itself.
After graduating, Marx began writing for an influential newspaper called Rheinische Zeitung. Soon after starting into journalism Marx became the paper’s editor in 1842. ...
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...oited because they were being paid less for the value of the product that they were putting out. Marx believed that Communism, where if the workers own the means of production instead of a business, there would be no cause to exploit labor for profit.
His theories had a huge impact on societies all around the world as evidenced by the revolutions following in his wake and by his followers. But Marx’s theories are not without flaws of their own and have now been discredited due to their errancy in actual practice. But his theories do point out certain quirks in Capitalism such as how the larger companies have some advantages over smaller ones such as that the smaller ones can be absorbed into the larger company. The last point that Marx’s thoughts can highlight in Capitalism is that income distribution can somewhat incline to lead to the wealthy and the not wealthy.
Although this manifesto is small, it emanates one of the most recognized and well thought out political arguments in history. The basis of Marx’s reasoning for the use of this type of gov-ernment is seemingly straightforward. He believed all resources in a nation should be distributed equally to all citizens, so that the division of social classes would cease to exist and to make sure there was no exploitation of any citizens. Marx also wanted the abolition of owning private prop-erty, which is the main contributor to the bourgeoisie’s source of wealth. Marx broke this manifes-t...
in context of the period that Marx was writing in; at the end of the
Marx’s ideals of communism were drawn from the realization that the cycle of revolutions caused by the class struggles throughout history lead society nowhere. Society as a whole was more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes that were directly facing each other—bourgeoisie and proletariat. According to Marx, in order for society to further itself a mass proletarian revolution would have to occur. The bourgeois, who were the employers and owners of the means of production, composed the majority of the modern capitalists. It was these individuals that controlled the capitalist society by exploiting the labor provided by the proletariats. For example, the bourgeoisie make property into a right because they are the ones with the property. However, without their power force of labor behind them, the bourgeoisie class would crumple. To accomplish a revolution, the workers (proletariats) would need to rise up against the bourgeoisie and take back the factors of production. Marx believed that after the inevitable revolution of the proletariats against the oppressive force of the bourgeoisie, a communistic form of government would take hold.
Karl Marx was a German/Prussian philosopher, economist, sociologist, author, and revolutionary socialist. His economic ideas were the basis for communism, which can be seen around the world today. Marx was very popular due to his predictions of the fall of capitalism and the rise of the working class via revolution presented in his book, Communist Manifesto, written in 1848. Marx was very committed to his idea that history has always been affected by class struggles, which he touches base on in his book. His ideas are often found very controversial, and in Communist Manifesto, there is a lot to make controversy about.
The society in the time of Marx’s writing dealt with many past events in which their faith and social standing was questioned. The latter part of the Scientific Revolution, around the middle of the seventeenth century, greatly influenced a change in faith with the public as a whole due to the new developments brought about by scientists. Up to that point, the Church, which controlled the thought process of Europe throughout most of the previous centuries, had not ever really been challenged in terms of the theories taught. The Church said that Earth was the center of the universe, whereas philosophers, such as Copernicus and Galileo, proved oth...
His father, Heinrich, was one of the most respected lawyers in Trier and his mother, Henrietta, devoted most of her time to caring for her family. Marx experienced life as a middle class child, then transitioned into lower class as an adult. For the first half of the 1850’s, Marx and his family lived in poverty. Himself, his wife Jenny, and his four children lived in a three room apartment in the Soho area of London. Marx and Jenny eventually had seven children together, only three of which survived to experience adulthood. Providing for his family was a struggle for Marx because he did not have a steady source of income. He worked as a foreign reporter for the New York Daily Tribune and wrote weekly articles, but the revenue from that was not enough. Marx frequently depended on family and friends, including Engels whom had a family business in Manchester, to assist him with expenses. Marx’s wife Jenny von Westphalen was of a higher social status, which aided in his attempt to climb the social ladder. She was the daughter of Baron von Westphalen, a prominent member of the Trier society. Marx’s social status from that point on was hard to determine considering he was repeatedly exiled by different governments and not necessarily
Marx is able to demonstrate the consequences that result from transforming values into productions suited for profit, as he writes, “This boundless greed after riches, this passionate chase after exchange-value is common to the capitalist and the miser; but while the miser is merely a capitalist gone mad, the capitalist is a rational miser” (Marx 63). There is no sense of abhorrence for a particular individual in Marx’s interpretation of capitalism and instead focuses on the capitalistic economic structure. However, it is through this quote that a sense of inequality starts to emerge. As a result, a hierarchy is produced, creating an enduring structure of capitalism, where those who control the circulation of money are granted unlimited power. This has become evident in recent years, as in 2008, a social power analysis by Dr. John S. Atlee and Tom Atlee was published. In “Democracy: A Social Power Analysis” Altlee describes the power of money and status as he states, “People with lots of money, muscle, status, intelligence, etc., can usually successfully influence other people. In most (but, significantly, not all) circumstances, they have more social power” (Atlee). Economic power is proven to be pivotal in attaining another individual’s attention and status of capability. Thus, the capitalist is free to develop their own sense of
British political economy was brought about by the social analysis of early capitalism by writers such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo. (Bilton, Bonnett, Jones, 2002, p.476) Using these concepts as a base to his theories, Marx further argued against the capitalist regime and was a firm believer of the revolution of the workers which would one day bring about the destruction of capitalism. Marx was also influenced by the philosophical ideas of Georg W.F. Hegel. However, unlike Hegel who was an idealist Marx was a materialist as he believed that the processes of reality as real, concrete existences in the social world. Hegel believed that although these processes were dynamic, they were an expression of development rather than being solid.
The political philosopher believed that communism could only thrive in a society distressed by “the political and economic circumstances created by a fully developed capitalism”. With industry and capitalism growing, a working class develops and begins to be exploited. According to Marx, the exploiting class essentially is at fault for their demise, and the exploited class eventually comes to power through the failure of capitalism.... ... middle of paper ...
There were many theories that promotes and explains how the capitalist system works; however, Karl Marx’s Capital is the first one that can explain the imminent relationship between poverty and wealth, inequality and growth under capitalism. ...
The capitalist is motivated by being rewarded wealth. Capital can only multiply by giving itself in return of labor power. This exchange is based on specified percentages. For example, after a long 12 hours of weaving the worker is only compensated two shillings. They attain residual wealth by taking advantage of workers. These workers are being compensated less than the value of their work. The workers endure great deals of exploitation. Workers put their labor power into effect to acquire means of survival which makes existence possible. The amount of commodities is based on the cost of life and the workers’ work ethic. Marx foreseen that class conflict between the bourgeoisie and proletariat would result in the collapsing of capitalism. The motivations of the capitalist and the workers create conflict because the capitalist attempt to uphold capitalism by advocating their principles, beliefs, and fabricated perceptions that prevent proletariats from rebelling. Once the two classes conflict with one another the cla...
Marx explained how employers can exploit and alienate their workers; this is described in more detail and is known as ‘the labour’. theory of value’. Marx also goes on to explain how in a business. falling rate of profit can lead to an inevitable crisis, revolutions. can emerge and then finally lead to the socialist state.
Marx based many of his theories based of his own life experience and views of politics. He was a very radical thinker and believed that the economy and political systems were so wrong and far gone that they could not be internally fixed or rejuvenated. Marx has strong critiques of capitalism and the bases of this opposition was that capitalism would quickly exceed its maximum usefulness and need to be replaced in order to uphold the necessary level of production. The main reason he predicted the downfall of capitalism is alienation and separation and will be a direct result to the uprising of
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 got 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 heroes.... ... middle of paper ... ... 6.
The main reason Marx is so important is because of the political philosophy that he developed, appropriately dubbed Marxism and commonly called Communism. Marx’s goal was to spiritually release mankind by freeing him of his economic chains and allowing him to find harmony with his fellow man and with nature (Fromm 3). Marx’s interests in economics started when he wrote two extensive essays on the position of Eifel peasants and Moselle vinegrowers (Leonhard 4). His interests were also engaged by the labor movement, which the effects of were just becoming apparent (Leonhard 4). As talk about communist ideas first began to rise, Marx was reserved about his opinions (Leonhard 4). In spite of his reservations, Marx heavily researched the contemporary French literature on socialism and Communism, and in 1843 moved to Paris, the heart of the revolutionary movement (Leonhard 4). While in Paris, one of the most important events of his stay occurred, his meeting with Friedrich Engels.