Karl Marx is one of the most influential figures in history. Since his death and the widespread distribution of his works, his legacy has affected almost everybody alive on the planet today. He has had a huge influence on the arts: Literature, art, theatre, film and even music. Peter Singer, in his book about Marx likened his impact on the world to that of Jesus or Mohammed. His biggest influence, however, has been on the world of politics. One very small example of this could be the Welfare State which exists in the UK; we owe the idea such institutions as pensions, free education, health care and social security benefits to Marx. If he didn't suggest these institutions directly, his writings have affected their emergence in some way. The first question is why do we need to know if Marx's theory is scientific or not? In today's context, science is important. It seems like every human progression made, is now has a basis in science and technology. We tend to find facts more believable if we hear at the beginning "recent studies have shown that..." Although Marx strove for scientific standards he wrote in a time when science wasn't as strictly definable as it is today. Therefore, I would argue firstly that to see Marx's theory of history in terms of science is wrong. The title asks: can it be scientific, my personal opinion is that we should not try to bring the theory into the modern day by asking if it is scientific. Marx used his theory to argue certain points about capitalism, (I will mention more about this later) science doesn't set out to do this. Granted, its results can be interpreted to argue a point, but normally science is used to discover more about the world surrounding us. Despite my own opinions, I shall look ... ... middle of paper ... ...ntific it is possible that it may be proven wrong when the theory is actually correct, just that the experiment chosen to test the theory is wrong. As I have already mentioned, I feel that too look at the theory in terms of science is damaging to a theory which doesn't need scientific backing to justify it. I feel that it is just as important to discover truths by observation and deduction as it is to do so in a strictly scientific manner. Bibliography Carlson, N R et al (2000). Psychology: the science of behavior. Pierson education ltd. Singer, P (1980) Marx, A very short introduction. Oxford University Press Eduardo del Rio eds. Appignanesi, R (1999) Introducing Marx. Icon books Marx, K and Engels, F (1992) The Communist Manifesto. Oxford University Press. Eagleton, Terry (1997) Marx. Phoenix Popper, K (1934) The Logic of scientific discovery.
Marx has had relevance in a world of Utopia. He wants to leave without revolutions, disasters, and everything that must be with violence in general. He has many theories and ideas in mind of how a perfect world would look like and he wants to apply them to change the future. However, there are many people who do not believe in his theories and many who support them and want to work with him to change the world for the good. Marx wants to work to determine historical tools that could help him know why has the world change a lot threw out the years. He explains social problems and how people have been affected society as well. In the book titled “Why Marx Was Right” by Terry Eagleton, he gives examples of the theories, problems, and many other
"History is nothing but the succession of separate generations, each of which exploits the materials, capital, and productive forces handed down to it by all preceding generations." Marx resists any abstraction from this idea, believing that his materialistic ideas alone stand supported by empirical evidence which seems impossible to the Hegelian. His history then begin...
Karl Marx is living in a world he is not happy with, and seems to think that he has the perfect solution. I am a strong believer in his ideas. We are living in a time period with a huge class struggle. The Bourgroise exploits and the proletariat are being exploited. Marx did not like the way this society was and searched for a solution. Marx looked for “universal laws of human behavior that would explain and predict the future course of events" (36). He saw an unavoidable growth and change in society, coming not from the difference in opinions, but in the huge difference of opposing classes. He speaks of his ideal society and how he is going to bring about this utopia in his book The Communist Manifesto. I am going to share with you more on his ideas of this “world-wide revolution” (36) that would put an end to social classes and allow people to live with equal sharing which would result in a harmonious and much peaceful world.
I do with agree with some of Marx’s claims about capitalism due to I could see some substantial prove right now that it indeed happening. That is although, some of his prediction might have seem unrealistic we could also say some of his predictions have come to pass. For instance, in an article published by Rolling Stones in 2014 stating some of Marx’s critique and predications of capitalism and how his analysis is happening right now. First, the Great recession which Marx described as Capitalism chaotic nature? Marx argued that the relentless pursuit of profit will drive companies over labor their workers, producing more and more goods and depriving the workers from their wages until they can no longer purchase what they have manufactured/created. The great depression and much other economic turbulence can be linked to Marx’s term “fictitious capitalism”. We produce and produce till there is no one left to purchase the product. Just like what happened to the housing market in 2008 and we are still going in circles. Decades of inequalities made people go in debt and crashing hardly. Another Marx prediction is Imaginary appetites for instance the iPhone. Marx was concerned of how capitalism will lead consumers to concentrate high value on products and would over time lead to what he called imaginary appetite. This is what we see in the society today where we enjoy incredible luxury and yet are driven by constant need or more items to buy. Just like an iPhone, consumers tend to buy every year a different one comes out but the question here should be what is the different between the iPhone 6s you may own now and is it really different from the iPhone 6 we had last year or
Karl Marx was a German philosopher who studies at the university of berlin. He was a Hegelian. He was very active in the political scene, thus springing his desire to combined philosophy, political science and economics. Marx believes that we are the product of our environments but we also have the power to change our environment. He believed that human beings can shape the environment that we live in through our abilities. He also believes that philosophers should not only interoperate the world, but they should be able to change it (Citation). Marx believed that history is all based class conflicts. He uses the example of the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. The bourgeoisie is the oppressive class, they consist of the rich, upper class,
Marxism, or Scientific Socialism, is the name given to the body of ideas first worked out by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. In their totality, these ideas provide a fully worked-out theoretical basis for the struggle of the working class to attain a higher form of human society--socialism.
The 19th century started out in a state of need due to Europe falling deeper into an economic crisis. The large gap in social classes influenced the quality of life for everyone. The unfair system resulted in a life of leisure and comfort or deprivation and struggle. Karl Marx made the oppressed people aware of their status and influenced the working class to come together through the Communist Manifesto. The social revolution was not as successful as Marx had hoped, although, his words and actions showed the proletariats that they have the power and capabilities to fight the bourgeoisies. Karl Marx has a lasting impact due to economists, sociologists, historians, and the sociology field using his ideas and thoughts about social class and the
The scientific importance of both Darwinism and Marxism have their basis in a theory of evolution. One upon the domain of the organic world; the other, upon the domain of society. Darwin's theory essentially set out to answer the question: How did all these species come to be, where did they come from, and where are they headed? Turning to Marxism, we immediately see a great conformity with Darwinism. Like Darwin, Marx also sets out to answer a similar question: What were these classes, how did they differ from each other, and what was the end goal for these classes?
When we speak of theory in everyday use, we use it in the sense of being a hunch or a guess because it lacks the supporting evidence to prove validity. A scientific theory is different as it is "an explanation or model that fits many observations and makes accurate predictions" (Kalat, 2017, pg. 28). A good theory will be construed with the smallest amount of assumptions as possible that will lead to numerous correct outcomes. A theory that is formulated accordingly should be falsifiable, written in an exact and clear way even showing any evidence of the theory failing if that is is even possibly. "For example, the theory of gravity makes precise predictions about falling objects" (Kalat, 2017, pg. 29). The criteria for evaluating scientific
Marx helps us to understand capitalism and the system in which we live in today. He argued that capitalism is prone to regular crisis and uprisings, and we see that when we observe meltdowns around the globe currently. We will, of course continue to live in a capitalist society, as opposed to a communist one, but with the knowledge that it is a system that requires intervention from time to time of political institutions. That is evident just recently when bailouts were needed to keep such institutions going during the economic recession of 2008, and which Marx predicted would be an outcome of this type of society. Marx is considered one of the most important social theorists of all time.
...s time, and his works were used in the building of Communist countries, his visions of needing a balance of Socialism and Capitalism with the removal of religion from government were brilliant. The capitalistic government that we are practicing in the world today has led us to a massive disparity in wealth and power and like Karl Marx I argue for a fairer distribution of wealth and poverty.
Karl Marx was a 19th century philosopher and economist, whose writings on communism and capitalism continue to influence people to this day. His arguments focus mainly on the detrimental effects of a capitalist society on the human condition. He believed capitalism to be an unnatural and unsustainable social and economic system, which not only negatively impacted the poorer facets of society (e.g. the workers), but the rich (e.g. factory owners) as well. Capitalism, according to Marx, fetishizes production, therefore alienating those involved in said production, as it places profit above human existence.
Karl Marx (‘The Father Of Communism’) born in May 5 1818 was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. Born into a wealthy family in Trier in the Prussian Rhineland, Marx received his education in the university of Bonn and Berlin, where he got curious about the philosophical ideas of Young Hegelians. After completing his education, Marx worked and wrote for Rheinische Zeitung, a newspaper in Cologne, and began to work out the theory of the ‘materialistic conception of history’. In 1843 he moved to Paris where he began writing for other newspapers; this is where he met Friedrich Engels who is known as Marx’s long-life friends and collaborator.
Karl Marx was an influential character of history, a man of tremendous intelligence as well as a great inspiration to many philosphers and people past and present. Karl Marx was a man of action for the less fortunate class, in that sense his theories are not wrong, to a certain extent they are positve inquisitions. It is those whom have practiced Marx theories that have misinterpreted his works giving Karl Marx a negative demeanor. Specifically Lenin and Stalin are two leaders who have brought shame to the works of Karl Marx and make this philospher seem like a barbarian.
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