Perceiving and interpreting Karl Marxs works, Capital in particular, the majority of scientists and analysts faced the problem weather to choose philosophical or economic approaches in understanding Marx. Practically both chosen approaches define applications of Marxs philosophy, theory of capital, class struggle, distribution of wealth, etc. Careful analysis shows that Marxs postulates should be comprehended only in terms of contemporary and past century context simultaneously. Moreover, Marx obsolete philosophy finds its practical fulfillment especially in the context of new millennium and modern economic and political trends. Writing in the era of imperialism, Marxs primary concern was with distribution and the class relations implicit in and derived from the ownership and use of the means of production. In this regard, he never asked questions about the reasons and determinants of technology and the mode of production – and this for the very simple reason that he did not think there was anything to explain.
However, as Wheen justly points out Marx did predict that under capitalism would be relative – not absolute – decline in wages (Wheen, 300).
Marx had a great impact on the events of the twentieth century, and will continue to have a lasting impact on world thought. The work of Marx, like that of other philosophers and thinkers in the 19th century, owed a great deal to the social context into which he was born and thus the issues he tackled were often similar to those of concern to his contemporaries. It was Marx who decided to go beyond the academia and theoretical study and produce an active theory or a practical philosophy which could provide a basis for political action (Craib, 25-26).
The Essay on 19th Century Philosophy
19th Century Philosophy (1) The names of Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels are strongly ... socio-political developments in every society, within a context of economy, as it suggests that the ... concept, upon which dialectical materialism is based. Marxs and Engels viewed quantitative factor as such ... in order to achieve greater national goals.Therefore, Marxs class struggle theory is nothing but an ...
Karl Marx was born, May 5, 1818, of Jewish parents. Marx later began to study history and philosophy.
He was fascinated by the ways history and philosophy all came together. Marx was strongly influenced by the works of George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. In 1841, he received a doctors degree from the University of Jena. This all caused Marx to slowly and gradually change. He began to consider journalism. He liked that he could express his voice to many people. In 1842, he became an editor.
He married Jenny Von Westphalen in 1843; She was a daughter of a high official. Marxs newspaper was suppressed. Marx was saddened by this and wanted to find other ways to express his opinion. He then moved to Paris. There he met with French socialist writers. There he met Friedrich Engels.
They became lifelong friends. Both of these events caused Marx to become a socialist. Marx began to write his own book. He wrote his book, The Communist Manifesto. (Ritzer, 140) This was his most famous book. It was considered the guide on how to become a communist. The writing of his book caused his newspaper to start up again. His newspaper was started also because of the atmosphere in Germany.
In1849 he was expelled. Whilst at University in Berlin, Marx adopted and later modified the philosophy and principles of Hegel, centrally his dialectal mode of logic. Marx, rather than focusing on dialectic of ideas as did Hegel, was looking to apply this method to the material world. This was a step to import the dialectic from the realm of philosophy into the realm of social science and thus an important step in the history of sociology. (McLellan, 34) Marxs theories were also influenced by other sources such as French socialist thought, particularly the work of Saint-Simon, concerned with social progress as a result of workers leading the country. The political economy of Britain was another as was his friendship with Engels, both of which had an effect on Marxs transformation from a radical democrat to a communist revolutionary. Marxs theory of society originates from the simple observation that humans must produce food and material goods in order to survive.
The Essay on Communism An Overview Marx Communist Society
Communism began in the early 19 th century in response to the problematic beginnings of modern capitalism. At that time communism was the basis for many utopian settlements, most, however, eventually failed. These small-scale experiments into communism were done with voluntary cooperation, with everyone participating in the governing process. Later Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels greatly helped ...
As a result of this they must enter into social relationships with others, and production becomes a social enterprise. Alongside this exists the ‘forces of production’, a technical component to manufacturing including the technology, scientific knowledge and raw materials used in the process of production. According to Marx, each stage of development in these forces will necessarily correspond with a certain form of social relationships of production, and the two of these components combine to form the infrastructure or economic base of a society. This infrastructure largely shapes the other elements of society known as the superstructure and for this reason political, educational, legal institutions and belief and value systems are largely determined by economic factors. Marx claimed that all historical societies contained some contradictions which means that they cannot survive indefinitely in their existing mode. These contradictions involve the exploitation of one social group by another.
(Marsh, 45) This creates an underlying conflict of interest since one group gains at the expense of another. As mentioned previously, Marx drew upon Hegels dialectic, which can be loosely defined as trying to understand change that occurs through conflict. However, while Hegel saw this conflict as taking place with ideas, Marx saw these ruptures as occurring in material conditions in the form of social revolution. Therefore, according to Marx, the conflicts of interest within society provoke the rising class to overthrow the present system and create a new one. This corresponds accurately to the feudal relations of production, which acted to repress the capitalism, which was developing within feudal society. Capitalism therefore overthrew lord-serf relationships and replaced them with a new set of relations known as the bourgeoisie or dominant class and the proletariat or subordinate class.
Marx believed that this pattern would recur and lead to the collapse and replacement of capitalism with communism and despite the fact that this process has not yet taken place; Marxist thought still holds great relevance and plausibility in contemporary society.
The Essay on Brave New World Society And Socio economic Class
ter> Discuss how the society in Brave New World works to ensure that people do not change their socio-economic class. Through Brave New World, Huxley depicts a new, industrialized world, which is financially stable and has prevented poverty and self-destruction. Dictatorial governments are there to ensure stability and maintain perfection of the world. Therefore, just like under any other ...
Bibliography:
Craib, I. (1997).
Classic Social Theory. Oxford University Press. Marsh, I. (1996).
Making Sense of Society. Longman. McLellan, D. (1979).
The Thought of Karl Marx. Macmillan. Ritzer, G. (1996).
Sociological Theory. McGraw-Hill. Wheen F. (1997).
Karl Marx: A Life. Boston Books..
