KARL MARX 1818-1883

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY Prussia, comfortable, middle class, Jewish Co- Author Das Kapital, The Communist Manifesto Moved to Paris (1843) – exiled (1844) Brussels, London Journalist, philosopher, social scientist, historian, revolutionary, poet, father, husband University of Berlin, lawyer Influenced by George Hegel

GEORGE HEGEL German Philosopher Historical Evolution Dialectical Process Nothing in history is accidental or arbitrary Each era = set of ideas + opposing ideas = synthesis Stages Asiatic – absolute monarchy Greco-Roman – individual freedom Germanic European – synthesis of freedom with a strong state 1770-1831

DIALECTIC PROCESS THESIS SYNTHESIS VOLKGIEST ANTITHESIS

DIALECTIC PROCESS THESIS – Set of Ideas - established order ANTITHESIS – Conflict of ideas that challenge to the established order SYNTHESIS – solution emerged that was a step ahead of the old system

INFLUENCE ON MARX Hegel – conflict of ideas???? NOT IDEAS / $$$ Hegel too idealistic too mystical Marx conflict of economic class struggle “turned Hegel on his head” Applied Hegelianism to society and economics “Scientific Socialism” – philosophy grounded in empirical historical, sociological, and economic data Happiness come through the erasure of false class consciousness

MARXISM “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, the point is to change it” – MARX Communism – each should contribute according to their ability and receive according to their need "the nature of individuals depends on the material conditions determining their production."

PARIS October 1843 Home of many revolutionaries Relationship with Friedrich Engels – Son of a wealthy factory owner, Communist & Atheist Marxist ideology a reaction to the conditions of the day – one of many Industrial Revolution

COMMUNIST MANIFESTO 1848 Co-authored Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) History is the record of humankind’s coming to grips with the physical nature to produce goods necessary for survival Historical process determined the structures, values, and ideas of society – rooted in class struggle

FIVE STAGES OF HISTORY Primitive Slave Owning Feudal Capitalist Communist “Capitalism will destroy itself, because it contains the seed of its own destruction” - Marx

FIVE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF MARXISM Dialectical Materialism Class Struggle The Theory of Surplus Value The Inevitability of Communism The Dictatorship of the Proletariat

DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM Human history based on wealth of ownership and means of production Modes of production determine the rest of the social structure Marx – conflict of material conditions (economics) Owners of Production – bourgeoisie Workers – Proletariat Industrial Revolution – inequity between the “haves” and “have nots” Changes in material condition will change the whole nature of society

SUPER STRUCTURE BASE What are the means of production? IDEALS OF SOCIETY Laws, morals, ethics, religion Justification, rationale, ideology, for who controls means of production BASE What are the means of production? How wealth, or capital, is produced and divided? Who owns the means of production? = CLASS STRUGGLE

SURPLUS VALUE $ Labor is the source of all value $ Capitalist got more labor than he paid for $ According to Marx, the capitalist stole from the worker $ Amount charge over the amount to produce = “PROFIT”

DICTATORSHIP OF THE PROLETARIAT History - involved conflict b/w classes that owned the means of production and the classes that worked for them VIOLENT REVOLUTION OF THE PROLETARIAT Property-less and classless Communist society “State withers away” Transitional period b/w Capitalism and Communism Socialism inevitable – wealth distributed equally

FLAWS Divided society into two giant hostile groups Did not take into account the power of Nationalism, Religion Predicted Revolution would occur in Capitalist nations first ? Russia, agricultural, China More and More people did not suffer from Industrial society – benefited Workers lose their incentive to work and progress Gov’t – difficulty managing complex economic system, will become a dictatorship, place needs of the state ahead of the needs of the people

REVISIONISM Late nineteenth century Re-evaluate Marxism Eduard Bernstein (1850-1932) Evolutionary Socialism (1889) Capitalism showed no signs of collapse, conditions of workers improved through LEGISLATION REFORM within existing order rather than revolution Achievements through the Democratic political process (Social Democrats)

RESULTS Marxism was just another ideology that existed and criticize the emerging industrial capitalist society Marx theory was largely ignored by scholars during his lifetime After his death – his social, political, and economic philosophy gained acceptance and was altered Until recently (1989) – almost half of the world’s population claimed to be Communist

APPLICATION OF MARXISM First applied 1917 Bolshevik Revolution Marxism-Leninism Lenin altered Marx ideology - 70 years later Marx in its pure philosophy was never applied Marx waited for history Lenin made it Lenin 1st to alter Marx

MARXISM - LENINISM Revolution possible in an agricultural country (Marx – industrial nation first) “Revolution from above” – elite intellectual revolutionaries not below (workers) Revolution determined by human leadership not historical laws

MAOISM Mao Zedong version of Marxism Leader the Chinese Communist Revolution 1949 – 1976 “Great Leap Forward” “Cultural Revolution”

COMMUNIST SYSTEMS TODAY NORTH KOREA VIETNAM CUBA LAOS CHINA

“WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE. YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT YOUR CHAINS”