Karl Marx

Karl Marx was a German philosopher-turned-economist who revolutionized the current state of economic affairs in Europe during his period of existence. He was trained in philosophy, but in his mid-twenties decided to turn towards economics and politics. Marx is a voice for the underdogs in society (during his time this would be the proletarians). He argues for their sake in his case against the bourgeoisie. In The Communist Manifesto crafted by Marx and Friedrich Engels, the bourgeoisie is said to,” … put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations…It has drowned the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervor, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of philistine sentimentalism, in the icy water of egotistical calculation,”. The wealthy class created by capitalism is vilified by the expression of the idea that they deter individualism. Marx also argues that the capitalistic mindset takes away human dependence leading to a want for things instead of people. In capitalism, according to Marx, the proletarians are just cogs in a machine whose tormenting work is subjugated in order to produce a product that is immediately taken away from the one who crafted it and whose work is not in accordance with their truly human powers. These aspects of capitalism are argued by Marx as types of alienated labor. He believes that capitalism runs based on the exploitation of the workers. Marx also believes that people are slaves to the product, whether they are the ones making it or the ones buying it. In The Communist Manifesto, he states that, “In bourgeois society capital is independent and has individuality, while the living person is dependent and has no individuality,”. Karl Marx believes that the problems of capitalism will fix themselves. He states that there will be a revolution and the proletarians will rise up from down under and rule over the bourgeoisie and thus there would arise the concept of Communism. This economic system is based on the abolition of private property and the elimination of imperialism and class structure. Communism is the solution to the terrible conditions and exploitation of the working class. Marx states that, “Communism deprives no man of the power to appropriate the products of society; all that it does is to deprive him of the power to subjugate the labour of others by means of such appropriations,”. Along with the denunciation of capitalism, Karl Marx was also known for his statement of religion being that as “the opium of the people,”. He believes that it is a passive escape for the oppressed. That the people condemning themselves to these beliefs are too busy consuming their thoughts with a higher power instead of revolutionizing their current living conditions. Marx is very adamant about the individualism of a human life instead of being tied to concepts of economic and religious value. He argues for the sake of the oppressed because these human lives are not being used to their full potential which is his ultimate goal. He was an inspiration for the Russian Revolution which produced the current communistic society that the country is now. He would be proud to know that his work created a nation based off of his ideology; however, I do not believe that he would be proud with the execution of his theory.

Quiz Questions:

1. Who does Marx argue for and who does he argue against in the case of societal conditions?
2. What does the wealthy class deter?
3. What kind of labor denounces the work of the proletarian to just being a cog in a machine?
4. What does Marx believe to be the opium of the people?
5. What revolution was inspired by Marx's ideology?