by Rachel McHenry
Written for National
History Day contest. Subject: Encountering Communism: the theories
of Karl Marx
Originally an "Academic Article" on Nerdland.Net, posted
5 May 2005.
Since the beginning of civilization many leaders and ordinary men have theorized different options for the people of their society to follow in order to achieve the ideal organization. The dictionary defines government as the act or process of governing, especially the control and administration of public policy in a political unit. Throughout recent years one of the largest political movements and theories of governing a society is Marxism, designed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Their philosophy brought on the governing system that has come to be recognized as Communism. Though it is slightly different from communism it is very closely related and commonly referred to as such. Along with communism, Marxism is tightly affiliated with socialism.
The most prevalent theory of Marxism is that all of history is simply a class struggle between the upper and lower classes. "A class is defined by the relations of its members to the means of production" (citation). The bourgeois and the proletariat are the two classes of people in society, the proletariat are the peasants, the hard working low class with very little to show for their efforts and the bourgeois is the upper class, who according to Marx and Engels reap the benefits of the proletariats labor. According to Marx and his theories, the bourgeoisie will take any means necessary to oppress the proletariat and remain in control, (citation). Since the beginning of civilization many leaders and ordinary men have theorized different options for the people of their society to follow in order to achieve the ideal organization. The dictionary defines government as the act or process of governing, especially the control and administration of public policy in a political unit. Throughout recent years one of the largest political movements and theories of governing a society is Marxism, designed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Their philosophy brought on the governing system that has come to be recognized as Communism. Though it is slightly different from communism it is very closely related and commonly referred to as such. Along with communism, Marxism is tightly affiliated with socialism.
The most prevalent theory of Marxism is that all of history is simply a class struggle between the upper and lower classes. "A class is defined by the relations of its members to the means of production" (citation). The bourgeois and the proletariat are the two classes of people in society, the proletariat are the peasants, the hard working low class with very little to show for their efforts and the bourgeois is the upper class, who according to Marx and Engels reap the benefits of the proletariats labor. According to Marx and his theories, the bourgeoisie will take any means necessary to oppress the proletariat and remain in control, (citation). "New progressive classes arise that are related to new forms of production and struggle with the old. New forms of society arise appropriate to the new forms of production when the new classes win power. This doctrine is called historical materialism," (citation). The bourgeois and the proletariat are the two classes of people in society, the proletariat are the peasants, the hard working low class with very little to show for their efforts and the bourgeois is the upper class, who according to Marx and Engels reap the benefits of the proletariats labor. According to Marx and his theories, the bourgeoisie will take any means necessary to oppress the proletariat and remain in control, (citation). "New progressive classes arise that are related to new forms of production and struggle with the old. New forms of society arise appropriate to the new forms of production when the new classes win power. This doctrine is called historical materialism," (citation). This is extremely true, there are very definite class boundaries and in civilization since the dawn of time the harder working class has had less to show for their efforts. The struggle to gain what one deserves, but is taken from them by a higher power, has been prevalent for an extremely long period of time. One group or race of people has always gained dominance over another and thus created a class struggle.
Marx and Engels believed the only way to end the class struggle was for an uprising to take place, the proletariats overthrowing the bourgeoisie and the capitalist form of government and installing a socialist rule. This socialist rule will eventually evolve into a communist rule and create a society wherein everyone is completely equal on all levels. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need," (citation) was the slogan often used by Marx to promote his theories. This slogan explained means, each person in a society will work hard at what he or she is good at, being equal to his neighbor despite the different jobs they accomplish and each person in said society would contribute and receive back from their contribution and other's contribution exactly what they needed to survive, no man being "above" another. This form of order would eliminate classes and thus eliminate class struggles. This society, if everyone were to follow the rules, would eliminate the need for classes and as Marx wished, eliminate class struggles all together.
"Private ownership is the cause of all the economic, social and class problems," (citation). Marx believed no privately own anything but rather what is earned should benefit everyone and not just yourself because if everyone is working to his or her own ability then there is no need for private ownership because everyone is equal. Private ownership only generates problems and jealousy, if one person owns more then another, it creates another class, and Marxism was developed to eradicate all forms of class. The envy of someone else's private possession causes social tensions and thus would lead to many problems in the society. Private ownership also divides people into groups that could be considered classes, those with, and those without, and as stated in Marx's theories this would eventually lead to a class struggle and repeat history.
Marx believed that for the uprising and rebellion of the proletariats to be successful, it must be swift and violent and many of the current ruling class will perish because the former presiding class will not give up without a fight and their death will be the only way to win the revolution. It was also Marx's belief that before complete equality could take place there must be a dominance of the proletariats. The dictatorship of the former lower class will last for a short while, this being necessary for order's sake. However eventually after there is economic equality for all people of the society, the rule of the proletariat would slowly crumble and become no more, "as only one equal class would exist, thereby eliminating the need for a state to regulate things," (citation). However first and foremost the proletarians must have a sense of class-consciousness. A realization of the classes, their status and the detriment they cause to the general well being of society. The socialist revolution was theorized and expected to take place first in the more developed capitalist countries such as Great Britain, Germany and the United states. However the socialist revolution first took place in Russia during World War I.
The communist slogan, " From each according to his ability, to each according to his need," is based on the Marxist theory that everyone has their own skills and abilities and should be assigned to tasks that are based upon those strengths. "All people don't work the same way, or that how one works is entirely personal and individual," (citation). This means that not everyone has the same aptitude in the same areas and to judge two men and regard one "higher" then the other based on what field his competence is in would be immoral and unjust in the eyes of Karl Marx. If two men work equally as diligently in different fields they are equals. Also, when it comes time to reap the fruits of their labor, the men are rewarded with the essential amount of necessities required to feed, clothe and raise their families as well as continue to reproduce.
Historical materialism is the doctrine, which explains in detail the theory that all history is a class struggle. In each section of history there has been a ruling class that uses the state to maintain its power and authority. Whether it is capitalists in capitalism or nobility in feudalism there has always been a class using the government to secure its dominance. Communism, however, is devoid of classes and thus barren of historical materialism.
The constant mishandling of the labor class causes extreme amounts of economic issues. Due to the fact that the upper class, in an attempt to remain in power and to depress the working class, inflate the prices for the fruits of the proletariats work, the workers cannot afford the products they have worked so hard to create. This only becomes increasingly more drastic and devastating over time, continuing in an eternal loop which one will never be able to escape without the rebellion and revolution of the proletariats, the short dictatorship of the rebels and then the onslaught of communism after the destruction of capitalism. Once again, as many things tend to, this observation of Karl Marx relates to historical materialism.
Many continue to agree with some of the Marxist Doctrine but shun the system as a whole citing that it is good in theory but not plausible in practice. One of the main detriments brought about by Karl Marx's beliefs is that it is human nature to do as little work as possible and receive as much as you can for the minute effort that you contributed. Therefore, man, upon realizing that he will receive enough to sustain him even if he does no work, will begin to attempt to cheat the system and slack off receiving the benefits of other deserving hardworking people. Once many realize this the production of goods will greatly decrease due to the lack of labor being accomplished. Due to the lack of products there will not be enough products to sustain the society sufficiently. This utter chaos and rebellion would lead to the destruction of the society and the downfall of that civilization. The people would be starving and no longer able to function to allow the people of that country to lead healthy lives.
Regardless of whether Karl Marx's theories will ever be widely accepted or practiced, they have changed history and many ways of thinking immensely. While his theories may never be accepted as a whole, but rather poked and prodded at for ideal ones, his beliefs have been implanted in our brains and have allowed us a new perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels contributed immensely to the various forms of government that we are familiar with today. Some countries, even today, continue to function under a communist government. China being one such example. While Marx and Engels are long dead, their theories live on and continue to gain recognition to this day. Many scholars have professed that we study history in an attempt to learn from it, however if Karl Marx is right, then we are not learning from history, rather encouraging it too loop continuously. "New progressive classes arise that are related to new forms of production and struggle with the old. New forms of society arise appropriate to the new forms of production when the new classes win power. This doctrine is called historical materialism," (citation).
This is extremely true, there are very definite class boundaries and in civilization since the dawn of time the harder working class has had less to show for their efforts. The struggle to gain what one deserves, but is taken from them by a higher power, has been prevalent for an extremely long period of time. One group or race of people has always gained dominance over another and thus created a class struggle.
Marx and Engels believed the only way to end the class struggle was for an uprising to take place, the proletariats overthrowing the bourgeoisie and the capitalist form of government and installing a socialist rule. This socialist rule will eventually evolve into a communist rule and create a society wherein everyone is completely equal on all levels. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need," (citation) was the slogan often used by Marx to promote his theories. This slogan explained means, each person in a society will work hard at what he or she is good at, being equal to his neighbor despite the different jobs they accomplish and each person in said society would contribute and receive back from their contribution and other's contribution exactly what they needed to survive, no man being "above" another. This form of order would eliminate classes and thus eliminate class struggles. This society, if everyone were to follow the rules, would eliminate the need for classes and as Marx wished, eliminate class struggles all together.
"Private ownership is the cause of all the economic, social and class problems," (citation). Marx believed no privately own anything but rather what is earned should benefit everyone and not just yourself because if everyone is working to his or her own ability then there is no need for private ownership because everyone is equal. Private ownership only generates problems and jealousy, if one person owns more then another, it creates another class, and Marxism was developed to eradicate all forms of class. The envy of someone else's private possession causes social tensions and thus would lead to many problems in the society. Private ownership also divides people into groups that could be considered classes, those with, and those without, and as stated in Marx's theories this would eventually lead to a class struggle and repeat history.
Marx believed that for the uprising and rebellion of the proletariats to be successful, it must be swift and violent and many of the current ruling class will perish because the former presiding class will not give up without a fight and their death will be the only way to win the revolution. It was also Marx's belief that before complete equality could take place there must be a dominance of the proletariats. The dictatorship of the former lower class will last for a short while, this being necessary for order's sake. However eventually after there is economic equality for all people of the society, the rule of the proletariat would slowly crumble and become no more, "as only one equal class would exist, thereby eliminating the need for a state to regulate things," (citation). However first and foremost the proletarians must have a sense of class-consciousness. A realization of the classes, their status and the detriment they cause to the general well being of society. The socialist revolution was theorized and expected to take place first in the more developed capitalist countries such as Great Britain, Germany and the United states. However the socialist revolution first took place in Russia during World War I.
The communist slogan, " From each according to his ability, to each according to his need," is based on the Marxist theory that everyone has their own skills and abilities and should be assigned to tasks that are based upon those strengths. "All people don't work the same way, or that how one works is entirely personal and individual," (citation). This means that not everyone has the same aptitude in the same areas and to judge two men and regard one "higher" then the other based on what field his competence is in would be immoral and unjust in the eyes of Karl Marx. If two men work equally as diligently in different fields they are equals. Also, when it comes time to reap the fruits of their labor, the men are rewarded with the essential amount of necessities required to feed, clothe and raise their families as well as continue to reproduce.
Historical materialism is the doctrine, which explains in detail the theory that all history is a class struggle. In each section of history there has been a ruling class that uses the state to maintain its power and authority. Whether it is capitalists in capitalism or nobility in feudalism there has always been a class using the government to secure its dominance. Communism, however, is devoid of classes and thus barren of historical materialism.
The constant mishandling of the labor class causes extreme amounts of economic issues. Due to the fact that the upper class, in an attempt to remain in power and to depress the working class, inflate the prices for the fruits of the proletariats work, the workers cannot afford the products they have worked so hard to create. This only becomes increasingly more drastic and devastating over time, continuing in an eternal loop which one will never be able to escape without the rebellion and revolution of the proletariats, the short dictatorship of the rebels and then the onslaught of communism after the destruction of capitalism. Once again, as many things tend to, this observation of Karl Marx relates to historical materialism.
Many continue to agree with some of the Marxist Doctrine but shun the system as a whole citing that it is good in theory but not plausible in practice. One of the main detriments brought about by Karl Marx's beliefs is that it is human nature to do as little work as possible and receive as much as you can for the minute effort that you contributed. Therefore, man, upon realizing that he will receive enough to sustain him even if he does no work, will begin to attempt to cheat the system and slack off receiving the benefits of other deserving hardworking people. Once many realize this the production of goods will greatly decrease due to the lack of labor being accomplished. Due to the lack of products there will not be enough products to sustain the society sufficiently. This utter chaos and rebellion would lead to the destruction of the society and the downfall of that civilization. The people would be starving and no longer able to function to allow the people of that country to lead healthy lives.
Regardless of whether Karl Marx's theories will ever be widely accepted or practiced, they have changed history and many ways of thinking immensely. While his theories may never be accepted as a whole, but rather poked and prodded at for ideal ones, his beliefs have been implanted in our brains and have allowed us a new perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels contributed immensely to the various forms of government that we are familiar with today. Some countries, even today, continue to function under a communist government. China being one such example. While Marx and Engels are long dead, their theories live on and continue to gain recognition to this day. Many scholars have professed that we study history in an attempt to learn from it, however if Karl Marx is right, then we are not learning from history, rather encouraging it too loop continuously.