Karl Marx Research Paper

Karl Marx was born into a middle class family in Prussia during the 1800’s. This was a time when the Industrial Revolution marked a major turning point in history and brought significant social and economic changes. The Industrial Revolution was the period of time when technology advanced to the point where we could rely on machines to manufacture goods instead of tools. It created jobs and many opportunities for people but it also had made life worse for others. “While industrialization brought about an increased volume and variety of manufactured goods and an improved standard of living for some, it also resulted in often grim employment and living conditions for the poor and working classes.” [1] While the poor were subject to bad living

Since these factory jobs didn’t pay a livable wage, child labor was also common during this time. Like adults, children worked very long hours and endured dangerous working conditions, but they only received a fraction of an adult’s wage. These social conditions had a significant impact on Marx’s political theory. Marx’s political views were influenced by several philosophers and political economists, one of whom was Immanuel Kant. Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher and scientist and is regarded as one of the most influential European philosophers in history. Kant believed that everyone had an innate right to freedom and that reason was the source to morality. One of his greatest contributions to political philosophy was his book, Critique of Pure Reason, which went into great detail about the nature of reason, perception and knowledge. Kant’s philosophy also had a significant influence on G.W.F Hegel. Hegel was also a German idealist

Marx’s theory of human nature played a vital role in his critique of capitalism and communism. Marx believed that people were competitive and that their actions are directly influenced by the environment in which they live. “Marx's concept of a general "human nature" encompasses humankind's common material needs, as well as the potential for free development of intellectual, creative, and social needs and capacities. These needs form the limits of the capitalist mode of production, that is, the limits to exploitation.” [5] Marx also believed that the purpose of a capitalistic government was to protect the economic interest of the elite while exploiting the working class. Marx found capitalism unfair and rejected the idea of a capitalistic government while favoring communism. Marx argued that materialism and greed was a major source of conflict and society has been negatively influenced by class struggles. Marx believed that a utopian society should be absent of social classes and state. Marx thought an ideal government should control the means of production and other factors of life so the power wouldn’t reside in the rich and everyone would essentially be equal. In Marx’s book, The Communist Manifesto, he attempts to explain his political ideas, the goals of communism and how they could be achieved. It was intended to inspire people join together and take action against the