Socialism and Communism Midterm

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Socialism and Communism Midterm

Question #1

Marxism was created by Karl Marx and Federick Engels; they both sought out a better future for the working class. Marx, who was born in Germany in 1818 and died in London in 1883, lived in a world where he disagreed with capitalism whole heartedly. Frederick Engels was also born in Germany in 1820 and died in London in 1895. With this, they created their own philosophical and economic thought which was called Marxism. The problem with Marx was that he was always ready to change his mind about certain theories or ideas which he created. This is why it is very difficult to understand how Marxism works. Also Marxism is usually stereotyped with mainstream communism, which is why people seem to brush it off and just see it as some radical oppression machine. In Lenin’s words “the three main sources of Marxism are: British political economy, French Socialism, and German Idealist Philosophy”.

The origins of Marxism arose in the mid nineteenth century when Carl Marx wanted to make a completely equal society (Eaton). Also he was not the only one to have these kinds of views. There were several socialist who tried to reach out and explain what was going on. He basically tried to explain what was wrong with society at the time and how we can change for the better, in his view. Marxism was an opposition to the three main affecting the workers movement, Anarchism, Utopian, and the heavy tendencies of the bourgeoisie (Eaton). Marxism undermines all forms of authority, seeking destruction of the Capitalist state. At the very beginning of Marxism the individuals who promoted it were the calm folk who just wanted there to be a socialist future. The only problem was that there wasn’t any scie...

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...and Germany seemed to have much more control over its people at the time then Russia did. That could have been a deciding factor in how its people reacted during that time.

Works Cited

1. Selsam, Howard, and Harry Martel. Reader in Marxist Philosophy: From the Writings of Marx, Engels, and Lenin. New York: International, 1963. Print.

2. Hobsbawm, E. J. The Age of Empire, 1875-1914. New York: Pantheon, 1987. Print.

3. Eaton, John. Political Economy: A Marxist Textbook. New York: International, 1966. Print.

4. "MARXISM AND CLASS CONFLICT." MARXISM AND CLASS CONFLICT. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.

5. "SOCY 151 - Lecture 12 - Marx's Theory of History." Open Yale Courses. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.

6. "Academia.edu & Share Your Research with the World." Karl Marx Theory of the Mode of Production as a Cyclical Process. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.

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