MARXISM

Marxism- refers to the political and

economic theories of Karl Marx and
Friedrich Engels in which the concept of
class struggle plays an important role in
abolishing oppression
- central to Marxism is the idea of historical
materialism, for Marx believed that
consciousness is shaped by the material or
economic environment; hence history is a
product of material circumstances
 -is one of the theoretical approaches in
social science that is associated with conflict
theory, or the view that society is divided
into social classes which are in conflict with
one another
-it analyze how society functions to serve
the powerful class and disadvantage the
others, thereby causing conflict
Historical Context
-political ideology only came into existence
after Marx's ideas into a comprehensive
worldview
Marxism has two types Classical
Marxism,orthodox communism and neo-
Marxism or modern Marxism
Classical Marxism- refers to a philosophy of
history that explains why socialism is meant
to take the place of capitalism.
in his scientific analysis of society, Marx was
able to explain how society evolved from
primitive communalism to capitalism, and
how it has pass through socialism before
reaching the final stage of communism

Orthodox Communism was another form of

Marxism- a kind of communism that was
characterized by the Russian Revolution
staged by the Bolshevik party led Vladimir
Lenin in 1917
Soviet Communism was adopted by the
communist regimes established in eastern
Europe,China and Cuba

Key terms in MARXISM-

alienation- means separation from one's true
or necessary nature, and the idea was used
by the marxist to describe the process by
which labor is reduced to being a mere
commodity under capitalism
Surplus value- the value extracted from the
labor of the proletariat by the mechanism of
capitalist exploitation
False consciousness- belief that members of
the working class are deceived from their
true class position when they fail to realize
their class oppression
Praxis- the process by which theory is
enacted or realised by criticially assessing
the world and change the society based on
the workers own class interests
Thinkers and their contributions
Karl Marx- was a German philosopher,
economist, and political thinker who is the
father of twentieth century communism
Friedrich Engels- a German socialist
philosopher who served as the closest
collaborator of Marx
Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov