Karl Marx

5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883

Main Ideas

• He believed that no economic class—wage

workers, landowners, etc. should have power
over another. Marx believed that everyone should
contribute what they can, and everyone should
get what they need. His most famous book was
the Communist Manifesto.
 Main Ideas

• He believed that no economic class—wage

workers, landowners, etc. should have
power over another. Marx believed that
everyone should contribute what they can,
and everyone should get what they need.
His most famous book was the Communist
Manifesto.
 What did Karl
Marx do for a
living?
• Karl Heinrich Marx (German; 5 May 1818 –
14 March 1883) was a German
philosopher, economist, historian,
sociologist, political theorist, journalist and
socialist revolutionary. Born in Trier,
Germany, Marx studied law and philosophy
at university. He married Jenny von
Westphalen in 1843.
 What is Karl
Marx's theory?

• Like the other classical economists, Karl

Marx believed in the labor theory of value
to explain relative differences in market
prices. This theory stated that the value of
a produced economic good can be
measured objectively by the average
number of labor-hours required to produce
it.
 What did Karl
Marx believe
about education?
• In the Communist Manifesto (1848), Marx
and Engels argue (in a mock address to the
ruling class) that education is: ―determined
by the social conditions under which you
educate, by the intervention, direct or
indirect, of society by means of schools,
etc.
 What was Karl
Marx's view of
history?
• Historical materialism, also known as the
materialist conception of history, is a
methodology used by some communist and
Marxist historiographers that focuses on
human societies and their development
through history, arguing that history is the
result of material conditions rather than
ideals.
 Do Marxists
believe in
religion?
• 19th-century German philosopher Karl
Marx, the founder and primary theorist of
Marxism, viewed religion as "the soul of
soulless conditions" or the "opium of the
people". At the same time, Marx saw
religion as a form of protest by the working
classes against their poor economic
conditions and their alienation.
 What does
Marxism mean in
simple terms?
• 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.
 What was Karl
Marx theory of
socialism?

• The Marxist definition of socialism is that of

an economic transition. In this transition,
the sole criterion for production is use-value
(i.e. direct satisfaction of human needs, or
economic demands), therefore the law of
value no longer directs economic activity.
 What was Karl
Marx view on
capitalism?
• Karl Marx saw capitalism as a progressive
historical stage that would eventually
stagnate due to internal contradictions and
be followed by socialism. Marxists define
capital as ―a social, economic relation‖
between people (rather than between
people and things). In this sense they seek
to abolish capital.
 What is Capital
Marx?

• Capital transforms the simple circulation of

commodities. In commodity exchange, one
exchanges a commodity for money, which
one then exchanges for some other
commodity. One sells in order to buy
something else of use to the consumer;
Marx writes this formula as C-M-C (or
Commodity-Money-Commodity).
 Who are the
bourgeoisie for
Marx?
• In Marxist philosophy, the bourgeoisie is
the social class that came to own the
means of production during modern
industrialization and whose societal
concerns are the value of property and the
preservation of capital to ensure the
perpetuation of their economic supremacy
in society.
 What is the
interpretation of
class in Marxism?
• Class, for Marx, is defined as a (social)
relationship rather than a position or rank in
society. In Marx's analysis, the capitalist
class could not exist without the proletariat,
or vice-versa. ... Unlike much other
sociology, Marx's classes are defined by
class conflict.
 What is Marx's
theory of class
struggle?
• According to Marxism, there are two main
classes of people: The bourgeoisie controls
the capital and means of production, and
the proletariat provide the labour. Karl Marx
and Friedrich Engels say that for most of
history, there has been a struggle between
those two classes. This struggle is known
as class struggle.
 How does a
Marxist economy
work?
• Marxist economics are based on the
economic theories of Philosopher Karl
Marx. Marx's theories explain the "laws of
motion" of production and exchange under
capitalism. ... It follows from this that the
[working class] is responsible for the
production of all of the [value] (wealth)
consumed by all members of society.
 What is Marxist’s
conflict theory?

• Karl Marx based his conflict theory on

the idea that modern society has only two
classes of people: the bourgeoisie and the
proletariat. The bourgeoisie are the owners
of the means of production: the factories,
businesses, and equipment needed to
produce wealth. The proletariat are the
workers.
 How does a
Marxist economy
work?
• Marxist economics are based on
the economic theories of Philosopher
Karl Marx. Marx's theories explain the
"laws of motion" of production and
exchange under capitalism. ... It follows
from this that the [working class] is
responsible for the production of all of the
[value] (wealth) consumed by all members
of society.
 What is surplus
value according
to Marx?
• Karl Marx based his conflict theory on
the idea that modern society has only two
classes of people: the bourgeoisie and the
proletariat. The bourgeoisie are the owners
of the means of production: the factories,
businesses, and equipment needed to
produce wealth. The proletariat are the
workers.