Pasicaran, Kervin Benabese

GRSS 200 Philosophy and History of Social Sciences

Jose Alejandro S. Tenorio PhD.

Autodidactic on Marxian Theory of Society

Q1. How is Marxism different from other forms of socialism?

Marxism says that people in the world are organized into different groups, or classes,
based on what they do for work. Most people are called "workers" because they work in
factories, offices, or farms for money. They belong to the "working class" (or
"proletariat").

Under socialism, the means of production are owned or controlled by the state for the benefit of
all, an arrangement that is compatible with democracy and a peaceful transition from capitalism.
Marxism justifies and predicts the emergence of a stateless and classless society without
private property. That vaguely socialist society, however, would be preceded by the violent
seizure of the state and the means of production by the proletariat, who would rule in an
interim dictatorship.

Q2. How is Marxism used in literature?

Marxist approach relates literary text to the society, to the history and cultural and

political systems in which it is created. It does not consider a literary text, devoid of its
writer and the influences on the writer. A writer is a product of his own age which is itself
a product of many ages.

In literary theory, a Marxist interpretation reads the text as an expression of

contemporary class struggle. Literature is not simply a matter of personal expression or
taste. It somehow relates to the social and political conditions of the time.

Marxist criticism is not merely a 'sociology of literature', concerned with how novels get
published and whether they mention the working class. Its aim is to explain
the literary work more fully; and this means a sensitive attention to its forms, styles and,
meanings.