ipl-logo

Marx's Class Theory

3097 Words13 Pages

Introduction

Karl Heinrich Marx (1818 to 1883) was one of the greatest geniuses to have graced human philosophy, economics, political science and other social sciences. So great has been his impact on the social sciences that Marxism as a way of thinking transcends the borders of discipline and thought. Born in an environment mired the ravages of 19th century capitalism and the rise of the industrial proletariat, Marx presented to us his version of class theory which, despite its many drawbacks, continue to mesmerize us, even today.

The class theory as propagated by Marx provides an alternative way of thinking and looking at things in almost every sphere of life. Here the class theory has obtained pivotal position in the sense that the Marxist …show more content…

It was a superb success in the subsequent decades. The European Welfare state was able to provide a combination of both capitalistic free market as well as socialist services such as insurance, state sponsored healthcare etc. This was something which Marx was unable to comprehend. By the mid 60s, many of the Marxist scholars reached the conclusion that classical Marxism would be inadequate to answer the challenges posed by the welfare state. They were matured enough to believe recognize that the situation had greatly changed from Marx’s days. So these scholars known as the neo Marxists like Nicos Poulantzas, Habermas and Althusser took charge. They made a paradigm shift in the sociological basis of their thought from conflict theory to what has been known as neo conflict theory. Neo conflict theory draws on the ideas of Marx and Engels but incorporates elements from other intellectual traditions such as psychoanalysis, Weberian sociology or anarchism. The main idea of the neo Marxists is to amend Marxism in the light of contemporary capitalism. They also try to view other intellectual traditions in an analytical way through a Marxist prism. The idea is basically to promote Marxist thought without the restrictions of the barriers of time, age and situations.

The real contribution of the neo Marxists is that they have shown that despite criticism, Marxism as a school of socio political thought …show more content…

However, many critics have pointed out to lot of lacunae and inadequacies which surround the theory.

Some of the criticisms of the Marxist Class theory are as follows:

1. Marx gives all importance to matter and ignores the role of human beings. Marx said that Men create history but not of their will! According to Marx, man is incapable of taking any decision on his own. This is wrong as human nature, being diverse, creative and unpredictable can taka a lot of decisions. It need not always succumb to the demands of the moment.

2. Economic factors are no doubt very important in the shaping of human history. However, it will be a hyperbole to say that economics is the sole factor which determines the direction of social change. It is quite unrealistic to club all such factors into the not so important “superstructure” community as done by Marx.

3. The Marxist theory recognizes the existence of only two classes. This is not

Show More
Related
841 Words | 4 Pages

According to Marx society was divided into two classes that were in eternal conflict in the battle for resources, or as Marx coined; “the means of production”. The first class were the bourgeoisie, which Marx described as the sole owners of the means of production as well as the media. The bourgeoisie used their power and influence to exploit the second class, which Marx called the proletariat which consisted of all the workers of the world. Marx rejected the idea that the wealthy pulled themselves from their own bootstraps, which he called “false consciousness” and in return coined the term “class consciousness”, which referred to a persons awareness of their own social status, especially in terms of class conflict. Overall, Marx concluded that social order is created maintained by domination and power.

Read More
987 Words | 4 Pages

Marxist theory aimed to examine capitalism's trends, workers' liberation, and the potential for revolution through class

Read More
1476 Words | 6 Pages

Real Estate Investment: Flipping a House for Cash Whether you are geared towards long term goals or short term goals, real estate investment is one of the less risky investment areas. If you want to profit from real estate investment, flipping a house for cash can be a good option. Flipping a house for cash is a way to make profits from real estate investment in a short period of time. If you are just starting out, flipping a house can be a great way to get started.

Read More
754 Words | 4 Pages

When using a Marxist lens the viewer must focus on social classes and how power is distributed throughout these classes, including who holds the power and who is inferior to that power in the society. One question that might come about when viewing the

Read More
1543 Words | 7 Pages

Andre Abi Haidar PSPA 210 INTRODUCTION It is always difficult to write about and discuss Karl Marx, or more importantly the applications of Marx’s theories, due to the fact that he inspired and gave rise to many movements and revolutionaries, not all of which follow his theories to the point. Although Marx tends to be equated with Communism, it might not seem righteous to blame him for whatever shortcomings occurred when his theories were put to the test; Marx passed away well before the revolution in Russia, and he played no role in the emergence of the totalitarian regime at the time. When discussing Marx, however, Vladimir Lenin is one of the biggest highlights when it comes to studying the outcomes of Marx’s theories.

Read More
1609 Words | 7 Pages

For Marx, he considered class in relation to the means to production. He saw a shift from a feudal society on agriculture, where the land owning classes are classified from the peasant class. Scribes, information dealers, intelligencia and civil servants, who did not contribute to the production in the economy, are considered of no use and ar classless. On the other hand, Weber saw class on several layers (Bartle, 2007). Such differences can be understood in a sociological perspective.

Read More
1145 Words | 5 Pages

Holly Kinsella 13528163 Q.2 Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim developed very different sociological theories of how society evolves over time. Marx brought around the conflict theory and became the head of the sociological discipline of Marxism. Durkheim was a French Functionalist, meaning he looked at society in a scientific way. Although Marx and Durkheim had different ways of thinking about society, both have contributed significantly to the way we study sociology today. Karl Marx was a German philosopher who became the head of the sociological discipline of Marxism.

Read More
1091 Words | 5 Pages

Marx believed that the class struggle forced social change. Marx’s theory is based on a class system

Read More
879 Words | 4 Pages

Karl Marx was a German philosopher and economist in the 18th century. He is known for his book the Communist Manifesto that was published in 1848. Marx believed that a revolution of the working classes would over throw the capitalist order and creates a classless society. The Industrial Revolutions led to the proletarianization; his partner Friedrich Engels explained why the changes created by the proletarianization of the worker would develop into a huge problem for industrial societies. I do believe that Karl Marx’s vision of communism in the Communist Manifesto could re-emerge as a popular and workable philosophy of social, economic, and political organization.

Read More
1143 Words | 5 Pages

Holland Arrowsmith explains Marxism as a term which refers to “a hugely diverse set of social, economic, philosophical, historical and cultural theories”. Several theories such as social, economical, political and critical theories have been derived from Marxism philosophy. Marxism advocates equality amongst the class structure of society. Marxism is divided into two fundamental classes. According to Marx there are only two classes which exist: Bourgeoisie, which means powerful or dominant class and Proletariat, which means the peasant or working classes.

Read More
1370 Words | 6 Pages

This theory is based on the principles that the value of man is based on the forced job or potential job; economy as a factor that determines the action of society; the struggle of social classes are the construct of its history; it is also taken into consideration the proletariat and the bourgeois, among others. Marxism is the sign of the struggle for a balance between the oppressed and the upper class to create a better world for

Read More
815 Words | 4 Pages

Socioeconomic status is frequently considered to be a potential confounder or a risk factor for overweight and obesity in health studies. Although there is general agreement that SES is a multidimensional construct, scholars tend to include only one socioeconomic status component in their predictive models and few researches have provided an explicit theoretical and methodological rationale for the choice of indicators (Ball et al., 2002). Socioeconomic status is a measure of an individual’s position within society that is determined by the access to collectively desired resources (Oakes and Rossi, 2003). The SES concept has emerged from the class approach to social structure analysis, primarily developed by Karl Marx and Max Weber, and, consequently, is widely used as a synonym to “social position”, “socioeconomic position” or “social class” (Liberato et al., 1988). From Marx’s perspective, social class is identified as a group of people sharing common relations to the means of production that support their wellbeing (Marx, 1981).

Read More
1140 Words | 5 Pages

Capitalism, according to Karl Marx is divided into two major social classes: the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. The Bourgeoisie, which is the minority of the class system, own the means of production such as land, machinery, factories and raw materials whereas the Proletariat, which is the majority of the class system, having no means of their own production and have to work to earn wage for a living. Karl Marx has his own theory that history is made up by class struggle which he mentioned in his book – Manifesto of the Communist Party: “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” (Marx and Engels, 1848) and had predicted that the Proletariat would lead a revolution to overthrow the Bourgeoisie. Karl Marx believed that there will be intrinsic conflict like exploitation, alienation of labour and commodity fetishism between both of the classes.

Read More
741 Words | 3 Pages

His ambition for universal equality, collective justice, and classless society transfixed me. I never thought that a classless society could be possible; however, my understanding of his work leads me to envisage the possibilities of a classless society. Marx’ work demonstrates a man who genuinely wants societal change. “The goal of sociology would not simply be to scientifically analyze or objectively describe society, but to use a rigorous scientific analysis as a basis to change it” (Little & McGivern, 2013,

Read More
1486 Words | 6 Pages

Karl Marx (1818-1883) considered himself not to be a sociologist but a political activist. However, many would disagree and in the view of Hughes (1986), he was ‘both – and a philosopher, historian, economist, and a political scientist as well.’ Much of the work of Marx was political and economic but his main focus was on class conflict and how this led to the rise of capitalism. While nowadays, when people hear the word “communism”, they think of the dictatorial rule of Stalin and the horrific stories of life in a communist state such as the Soviet Union, it is important not to accuse Marx of the deeds carried out in his name.

Read More

More about Marx's Class Theory

Related Topics

Open Document