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The Communist Manifesto By Karl Marx

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How Karl Marx has helped my understanding of the widening gap between the rich and the poor
Karl Marx was a sociologist, economist and journalist (1818-1883). Marx published books such as ‘Das Kapital’ (1867-1894)’ and ‘The Communist Manifesto (1848)’. Marx focused on the work in society and the differences between the upper and lower class, which is also still relevant in today’s society between the rich and the poor. He was also one of the first social scientists to work on social class. The history of all existing society is the history of class conflict. Our epoch, the epoch of the bourgeoisie has simplified class antagonisms society as a whole is more splitting into two great hostile camps, two classes directly opposing each other. Marx …show more content…

When Marx became friends with Engels he began to understand the misery of the working class people. Karl Marx himself was part of a middle class family. His family were the type of people who did not own any land or factories, and they didn’t have the ability to purchase the labour of others. The middle class worked hard for the upper class to make their living and earn money. They worked had so that they would be able to live a comfortable life, but they didn’t get to enjoy the luxuries of life. Marx focused mainly on social class; basically he meant that one’s social class dictated their social life. Marx also meant that people who were in the upper class had a life that was full of leisure and abundance, whereas those in the lower class lived lives of hardship and poverty. The people of the upper class would be who owned land and factories, and they would control all elements of society including the working class. These people had access to all the luxuries in life. This class was also often referred to as the capitalists or the ones who owned means of production. This helps me to understand the differences between classes today, for example the benefits available to people such as social welfare to the people who are suffering. The people of the lower class would be working for upper class people in their factories or on their land. Marx wanted to get a better understanding how there could be so many people of the lower class and poverty in a world where there was so much wealth. Marxian theories such as his social class, class consciousness and dialect helped me to understand the divides in social society today.

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