MARXISM

Karl Heinrich Marx

born on May 5, 1818
• Jewish
•Philosopher,
Political Economist,
Historian, Sociologist,
• converted as a
Christian
• founder of
communism
•
 Marx was a German philosopher,
economist, sociologist, historian, journalist,
and revolutionary socialist. Marx's work in
economics laid the basis for the current
understanding of labour and its relation
to capital, and has influenced much of
subsequent economic thought.
Marx born into a wealthy
middle-class family in
Trier, Marx studied at
the University of Bonn
and the University of
Berlin where he became
interested in the
philosophical ideas of the
Young Hegelians.
He moved to Paris in 1843,
where he began writing for
radical newspapers and met
Friedrich Engels, who would
become his lifelong friend and
collaborator. In 1849 he was
exiled and moved to London
together with his wife and
children, where he continued
writing and formulating his
theories about social and
economic activity
Friedrich Engels
was a German social
scientist, author,
political theorist,
philosopher, and father
of Marxist theory,
together with Karl Marx.
In 1848 he co-authored The Communist Manifesto with
Karl Marx, and later he supported Marx financially to
do research and write Das Kapital. After Marx's death,
Engels edited the second and third volumes.
Additionally, Engels organized Marx's notes on the
"Theories of Surplus Value,"
which he later published as
the "fourth volume" of
Capital.
The Communist Manifesto:
one of the most influential
political manuscripts
published in 1848. It
presents an analytical
approach to the class
struggle, the problems of
capitalism and the capitalist
mode of production
The book contains Marx
and Engels' theories
about the nature of
society and politics, that
in their own words, "The
history of all hitherto
existing society is the
history of class
struggles".
Capital: Critique of
Political Economy is
a critical analysis of
political economy
published in 1867
intended to reveal the
economic laws of the
capitalist mode of
production.
Karl Marx proposes that the
motivating force of
capitalism is in the
exploitation of labor,
whose unpaid work is the
ultimate source of surplus
value and then profit both
of which concepts have a
specific meaning for Marx.
 MARXISM
Marxism is a philosophy of history.
It is also an economic doctrine.
Marxism is a theory of revolution and
the basic explanation societies go
through the process of change.
Marxist believes that they and they
alone have the analytical tools to
understand the process of historical
change, as well as the key to
predicting the future.
Marxists believe
that they and they
alone have an
empirical, scientific
approach to human
history and society
Marxists is a way of
understanding and
analysing the organization
and structure of society.
It is also a way of
understanding how societies
develop and change.
 All societies are divided into two groups:

WORKERS OWNER
PROLETARIAT BOURGEOISIE
All of human history
can be explained and
predicted by the
competition between
antagonistic economic
classes. Or Marx said,
“The history of all
hitherto existing
society is the history
of class struggles.”
 Owners exploit workers and live off the Owners exploit
workers and live off the money which the workers earn.
money which the workers earn.
Workers put up with this inequality because: Workers
put up with this inequality because:
1.They are oppressed wage slaves and They are
oppressed wage slaves and cannot fight the system.
cannot fight the system.
2.They are indoctrinated by ideology and They are
indoctrinated by ideology and religion into believing
what they are told by religion into believing what they
are told by the powerful.
 Social classes are competing in essence for
control of the state.
As Marxists would put it: the class that controls
the Mode of Production also controls the State.
Marx did not spend much time examining the
state or political institutions. Political life is an
illusion or distortion of reality, so why study that
distortion? It is better to concentrate on the reality
behind the veil of politics: the economic
structure of society.
 KEY IDEAS

Power was held by a minority (the elite or bourgeoisie) who

had access to capital and could use their money and power to
generate more wealth.
The majority of the population (the mass or proletariat) had
only their labor (strength and time) to help them make a
living.
Industrialization had meant that the elite were the only
ones who had access to the means of production.
 Without the ability to produce for
themselves, the mass were dependent
on the elite for survival.
To maximize profits, the elite
needed to get as much labor from the
mass for as little cost as possible.
The elite needed the mass to accept
their position as powerless workers.
APPLICATIO
N
1. If you are a Marxist what is
your view regarding society and
government?