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Pros And Cons Of Karl Marxism

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Karl Marx viewed history as the process of human struggle, which he called dialectical materialism. Dialectical refers to a resolution, or synthesis, that ultimately arises from two opposing views, the thesis and antithesis. The synthesis is the best viewpoint, because it combines the pros of both arguments. In other words, it’s a compromise. Furthermore, this struggle centers specifically on the means of production, or the base. The base is the way in which people produce goods and includes facets, such as, labor, raw materials, and machinery. As Marx puts it, the base determines the characteristics of society, including its art, religion, institutions, etc, which then in turn influences production. This theory, however, only refers to purely tangible objects, which is what the materialism in dialectical material means. According to Marx’s theory, there is no God, souls, …show more content…

It also accounts for the great divide between the the bourgeoisie who control the means of production and society in general and the working class who struggle to survive by the bourgeoisie. They are the “slaves of the bourgeoisie class, of the bourgeois State; they are in daily and hourly thralldom to the machine, to the foreman, and above all, to the individual bourgeois manufacturer” (Marx & Engels, 11). The laws, justified systems, and government established and run by bourgeoisie members protect the interests of only the its people and exclude those of the working class, hence the class struggle and the creation of class. The people in power control the people below them and subject them to fulfilling their interests with the illusion of ascending the socioeconomic hierarchy. This process strips the working class out of their individuality and humanity, making them mere commodities and part of the capitalist system in Coketown and Western nations at large during the Industrialization

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The Marx approach focuses on economic factors as the sole reason for conflict in society. He saw society divided into the Bourgeoisie, or the owners of the means of production, and the proletariat, or the workers. Tensions and conflicts occur when the resources, power, and status are unevenly distributed between these two groups, and the conflict can lead to social change. He believed the exploited people would bane together and attempt to bring about changes. The workers would develop a class consciousness and revolt demanding more changes in society, while those with the wealth, power and prestige will continue to try and promote their own interest usually at the expense of the weaker

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The production of goods and services during this time period transitioned from manual, artisanal methods to the use of sophisticated machinery propelled by steam, and eventually electricity. Many Britons enjoyed a major rise in their standard of life during this time period of significant economic and social development, but there was also an increase in poverty, child labor, and inequality. During this time, many people found resonance in Karl Marx's theories of historical materialism and dialectical materialism, which made a significant contribution to our understanding of the social and economic upheavals that were taking place. Marxism is a school of political-economic philosophy that has been and continues to be regarded as being strongly critical of capitalism and the capitalist mode of production and accumulation.

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Karl Marx Karl Marx was a German sociologist who contribution to sociology is known as Marxism (Rubel, 1968). Marx’s influence paved the way to a new theoretical perspective known as conflict theory. Unlike Durkheim, this paradigm suggests that society has conflict due to specific groups struggling to obtain scarce resources (Lindsey et al, 2009). Marx looked at two classes, the bourgeoisie, also known as the capitalist, and the proletariat, also known as the working class. He stated that the economic structure is the reason for the inequality and that those who have wealth have the power to control society (Coser, 1968).

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Karl Marx's writings display his views on society and its shortcomings, as well as, how he perceives society is progressing. Marx views progress as inevitable and uses his knowledge of history to advance his theory (The Communist Manifesto 158). Marx's theory of history revolves around the concept of historical materialism which includes the idea that history drives forward by conflict between two opposing forces (158). Some scholars argue that his concept of historical materialism is merely economic determinism which is the idea that humans have no real role in in what happens to them, but that everything is determined by economics. However, I contend that Marx's theory is not wholly determined by economic determinism, but that human agency

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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.

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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.

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