NAME: SOMAYA JAN

ROLL NUMBER: 13501

PROGRAM: B.S ENGLISH 5TH SEMESTER
TEACHER: SIR FAHAD
SUBJECT: INTRODUCTION TO I.R
DATE: 8-1-2021

QUESTION 1:
Write a short paragraph about the life of Karl Mar?
ANSWER:
KARL MARX:
Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a philosopher, author, social theorist, and an economist. He is
famous for his theories about capitalism and communism. Marx, in conjunction with Friedrich
Engels, published The Communist Manifesto in 1848; later in life, he wrote Das Kapital (the first
volume was published in Berlin in 1867; the second and third volumes were published
posthumously in 1885 and 1894, respectively), which discussed the labor theory of value

HIS EARLY LIFE:

Born in Trier, Prussia (now Germany), on May 5, 1818, Marx was the son of a successful Jewish
lawyer who converted to Lutheranism before Marx’s birth. Marx studied law in Bonn and Berlin,
and at Berlin, was introduced to the philosophy of G.W.F. Hegel. He became involved in
radicalism at a young age through the Young Hegelians, a group of students who criticized the
political and religious establishments of the day. Marx received his doctorate from the University
of Jena in 1841. His radical beliefs prevented him from securing a teaching position, so instead,
he took a job as a journalist and later became the editor of Rheinische Zeitung, a liberal
newspaper in Cologne
After living in Prussia, Marx lived in France for some time, and that is where he met his lifelong
friend Friedrich Engels. He was expelled from France and then lived for a brief period in
Belgium before moving to London where he spent the rest of his life with his wife. Marx died of
bronchitis and pleurisy in London on March 14, 1883. He was buried at Highgate Cemetery in
London.
QUESTION 2:
Briefly explain the theory of Marxism in your own words?
ANSWER:
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT:
Begin in the 19th century as a pragmatic view of history that offered the working classes of
society an opportunity to change their world .It offered humanity a social, political, economic,
and cultural understanding of the nature of reality, society and the individual

WHAT IS MARXISM?
Marxism is a social, political, and economic philosophy named after Karl Marx, which examines
the effect of capitalism on labor, productivity, and economic development and argues for a
worker revolution to overturn capitalism in favor of communism. Marxism says that the struggle
between social classes, specifically between the bourgeoisie, or capitalists, and the proletariat, or
workers, defines economic relations in a capitalist economy and will inevitably lead to
revolutionary communism. In the 1800s, you had Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Together,
these two realized that many of people’s current struggles occurred due to the unfair treatment
they received from those that held the power (owners and CEOs).

THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO:

In an attempt to make the world a fairer and more perfect place, they drafted a manifesto called
‘The Communist Manifesto’. It was an attempt to explore the problems with capitalism and find
a social and political theory to move beyond a capitalist society to one that benefits every
member. The main points of Marxism include:
 Capitalism is broken into two classes: workers and capitalists (proletariats and
bourgeoisies).
 Those that control the corporations exploit workers and control society.
 Eventually, workers will rise up to make everyone even and get rid of classes.

TYPES OF MARXISM:
COMMUNISM:
A social organization in which all property is owned by the community and each person
contributes and receives according to their ability and needs.

SOCIALISM:
A social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange
should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.
SOME IMPORTANT KEY IDEOLOGIES:
 Capitalist society is divided into two classes: The Bourgeoisie (wealthier ones) and the
Proletariat (poor ones).
 The bourgeoisie increase their wealth by exploiting the proletariat: The richer ones
exploit and make the poor weaker to gain wealth and power.
 Ideological Control - Marx argued that the ruling classes used their control of social
institutions to gain ideological dominance. Thus, the proletariats accepted this and didn’t
fight back.
 The result of the above is false class consciousness: The end result of ideological control
is false consciousness – where the masses, or proletariat are deluded into thinking that
everything is fine and that the appalling in which they live and work are inevitable.

CRITICISM OF MARXISM:
Criticisms of Marxism have come from various political ideologies which include ethical and
economical criticisms. Democratic socialists and social democrats reject the idea that socialism
can be accomplished through class conflict and a proletarian revolution. Some thinkers have
rejected the fundamentals of Marxist theory, such as historical materialism and the labor theory
of value, and gone on to criticize capitalism - and support socialism - using other arguments.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF MARXISM IN THE MODERN WORLD

SYSTEM:
 Elaboration of the conflict model of society, specifically his theory of social change
based on antagonisms between classes
 The idea that power originates primarily in economic production.
 Concern with the social origins of alienation.
 Understanding of modern capitalism.
 Welfare State.

QUESTION 3:
Enlist the names of countries which were inspired by the socialist revolutions?
ANSWER:
The names of countries:
 China

 Denmark
  Finland

 Netherlands

 Canada

 Sweden

 Norway

 Ireland

 New Zealand

 Belgium

China:
In China the government manages and controls the economy. Many of the domestic companies
are owned and run by the government. Recently, the Chinese economy has become more geared
towards capitalism, but is still officially socialist. Life in China remains relatively less stressful
and more relaxed than life in capitalist countries like America.

Denmark:
Denmark has a wide range of welfare benefits that they offer their citizens. As a result, they also
have the highest taxes in the world. Equality is considered the most important value in Denmark.
Small businesses thrive, with over 70 percent of companies having 50 employees or less.

Finland:
Finland has one of the world’s best education systems, with no tuition fees and also giving free
meals to their students. The literacy rate in Finland is 100 percent. Finland has one of the highest
standards of living in the world. Like Denmark and other European countries, equality is
considered one of the most important values in society. Whereas in the Netherlands, government
control over the economy remains at a minimum, but a socialist welfare system remains. The
lifestyle in the Netherlands is very egalitarian and organized, where even bosses do not discipline
or treat their subordinates rudely.

Canada:
Like the Netherlands, Canada also has mostly a free market economy, but has a very extensive
welfare system that includes free health and medical care. Canadians remain more open-minded
and liberal than Americans, and Canada is ranked as one of the best top five countries to live in
by the United Nations and the Human Development Index (HDI) rankings.

Sweden:
Sweden has a large welfare system, but due to a high national debt, required much government
intervention in the economy. In Norway, the government controls certain key aspects of the
national economy, and they also have one of the best welfare systems in the world, with Norway
having one of the highest standards of living in all of Europe. Norway is not a member of the
European Union.

Ireland:
Ireland has arguably one of the best welfare systems in the world, with unemployment checks
higher on average than Denmark or Switzerland’s average. Around 25 percent of Ireland’s GDP
goes towards paying for the welfare system, as compared to 15 percent of America’ GDP
towards America’s social support programs.

New Zealand:
New Zealand may not be a socialist country, but the welfare system in the country is very wide
ranging, offering support for housing, unemployment, health, child care, and education as well.
Therefore, New Zealand has many of the characteristics of a socialist country, even while
remaining officially free market.

Belgium:
Lastly, Belgium has most of the same social security benefits that New Zealand offers, including
invalid and old age pensions. The welfare system causes much of the country’s budget deficit
though, and so is considered by some to be a burden on society.