Karl Marx's Family Ethics

Karl Marx's Family Ethics

Ethics is defined as the study of moral standards and how they affect conduct. Ethics is a major affair in every profession and is a key topic of philosophical discussion. Karl Marx was a man of ethics. One of his main applications was freedom, which to Karl Marx meant determination.1 Marx's opinion was that man is controlled by the prerequisites of nature. The nature of man is comprised of powers, man being uncontrolled, allows him to comprehend the fullness of his powers.

The question of becoming free came about and the answer was communism. Karl Marx had the notion that when the monarchy and capitalism were oblivious, then the communist government could take action, and the riches of society would prosper. Contrasting the beliefs that had started becoming prevalent, Marx thought that the economy should have nothing to do with labor, profits, and land tenure. Instead, Marx thought that the foremost point was man and his activities, as declared in the Communist Manifesto. Marx had a resolution to the problems of the working class man; bring the economy to man's direction in order to allow freedom. But, the next issue was, what else is relevant to freedom? Marx talks about this matter in the Communist Manifesto as well. Do the ethics of freedom concern everyone? And how would these ideals be set into today's society?

Marx's first point is that achievements of man must primarily be attained through societal experiences.2 The society would need to encounter other individuals in order to develop into a nation. The bonds that this nation would require would need to result from capacities undividable from his organic being.3 Marx believes that interaction is natural ...

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...mily should not be a unit. Every attempt of this has resulted in failure and will most likely always have the identical end product. Marx was correct in saying that freedom is a necessary quality of society, however, he was not right in making the assumption that the family unit ought to be devalued.

Kamenka, Eugene. Marxism and Ethics. New York: W.D. Hudson, 1969 – Pg 12

Kamenka, Eugene. Pg 13

Heyer, Paul. Nature, Human Nature, and Society. Greenwood Press, 1982 – pg 126

Heyer, Paul. Pg 126

Kamenka, Eugene. Pg 8

Kamenka, Eugene. Pg 26

Kamenka, Eugene. Pg 49

Kamenka, Eugene. Pg 51

Koren, Henry. Marx and the Authentic Man. Pittsburgh, PA, 1967 – pg 33

Koren, Henry. Pg 37

Koren, Henry. Pg 67

Koren, Henry. Pg 68

Trigilio, Angie. "Marx's Ethics of the Family." http://www.udayton.edu/~hst102-14-3/

(2 Nov. 2001).