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The Communist Manifesto By Karl Marx

1943 Words8 Pages

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 …show more content…

Marx’s theory of history is based on the idea that social inequality and economics are the driving forces of the changes that have occurred in history. These changes are motivated by the human actors that become conscious as a class who then revolt against the owners of the means of production and establish a new set of norms for society (The Communist Manifesto 166). The human actors spurred by their agency that dictate what the new economic system will be based on their needs and in Capitalism’s case, profit and greed. As stated earlier in the paper, I explained how the feudal stage transformed into the Capitalist stage. The merchants in the feudal society disrupted the social norms and economics of their society by transplanting themselves as the new owners over the means of production (164). They shaped the new economic system and molded it into a system that would increase their profits as entrepreneurs. The system that they created lead to the development of only two social classes and the conflict that arises because of it. One might disagree with my argument and claim that historical materialism is still just economic determinism whether or not humans had a hand in shaping the new economic system. I disagree with that claim because the role that humans play in shaping the economic system is hugely important to historical materialism. Human agency and the needs of human, especially those who are in ownership of production, are the ones who create the structures that the working class are exploited

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