Jared Khan. Midterm Post (Part 2 of 3). Section 11

Karl Marx was a fascinating man. He was born on May 5, 1818 in Germany. He was also a revolutionary, a political philosopher, and an economic theorist who believed that private ownership of material goods was the reason for social problems. He believed that conflict over food, money, and land could be easily solved through public ownership. He has made significant contributions to society and is most known for “The Communist Manifesto” and “Capital”. The ideas he produced also helped develop social science and the socialist political movement. Marx grew up in a well-off family. The philosophical ideas of the Young Hegelians strongly attracted Marx. These ideas were presented to him at the University of Bonn and the University of Berlin. After finishing the scholastic scene, he procured a job writing for the “Cologne”. This radical newspaper was only one of many Marx would soon write for. Also at this time, he started working on the theory of dialectical materialism. Next, he heads off to Paris where he encounters Engels and they work on a collection of books. Times became rough for Karl Heinrich Marx. He was exiled to Brussels. After being exiled, Marx becomes a key player in the Communist League. He would eventually move back to Cologne and establish a newspaper. Marx encountered poverty with his wife and kids when he was exiled a second time. During this time, Marx stayed diligent and continued to develop his nature of society theories. He also pondered on how to improve them. He was active in organizations such as the International Workingmen’s Association and helped campaign for socialism.

            Marx’s economic ideas came to be referred as Marxism. He believed that all societies were hindered by a class struggle and that this conflict happens between the class that owns production and the class that owns labor. So, it is quite easy to see why Marx hated capitalism. He believed that this economic system was run by the wealthy and only served their benefit, but in time it would collapse and socialism would rise. Communism would replace socialism after that and there would be a classless society. Also, Marx was extremely radical calling for a revolutionary uprising against the system. Russia would be the first nation to use Marxist ideas and the People’s Republic of China would also use his ideas. Karl Marx was one of the most significant figures in history.