marxism

• Marxism


  A sociological, political, and economic philosophy based on the ideas and theories of Karl Marx (1818-1883)
• The Industrial Revolution transformed European countries' livelihoods from farming to factory work, enabling faster market trade and consumption goods
• Industrial capitalism


  Factory owners profiting from the cycle of factory work and consumption goods
• 2 classes in society according to Marx

  • Proletariat (industrial workers or laborers)
  • Bourgeoisie (factory owners or capitalists)
• Proletariat


  • Does not have access to means of production, exchanges labor for wages
• Bourgeoisie


  • Controls the means of production (factories, machines, and land)
• Social inequality


  Exploitation and oppression exist between the bourgeoisie and proletariat
• Class conflict


  Arises from the oppression of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie, particularly in capitalist societies
• Communism


  A classless society with common ownership of property and resources, replacing private property and profit-based economies with public ownership
• Marx and Engels argued for communism, which would unite workers to overthrow the bourgeoisie and allow the proletariat freedom from subjugation
• V. Gordon Childe


  • Used Marxist economics as a tool in distinguishing periods of prehistory and in tracing the evolution of Western civilization
  • Argued that production, central to Marxist economics, is the means of human living, and that civilizations developed as they controlled their food production processes
• Theodor Adorno


  • Criticized the capitalist ideology by taking off from where Marx began
  • Argued that commodity fetishism has spread beyond material goods to social institutions and academic disciplines, achieved through reification where human minds are conditioned to accept capitalist ideology without second thought
• Slavoj Žižek


  • Expounds on ideology and how it directly affects everyday reality, arguing that reality is constructed by ideology itself
  • Argues that ideology is reflected in everyday language and is used by capitalists to extract profit from the masses
  • Critiques Marxism and suggests exploring the feasibility of regulating internal inconsistencies, such as communal ownership of resources, in contemporary societies
• Criticisms and limitations of Marxism

  • Ideals of communism do not require a revolution to take place
  • Marx's idea of historical materialism is seen as very limiting, as societal development takes place not only through material changes but also through ideas, cultures, and other aspects of society
  • Historical determinism is a label that is often used to criticize the outright thrust of Marxist ideology to historical materialism
  • The actual implementation of communism is criticised, as even if the ruling power would come from the ranks of the proletariat, these rulers would inevitably look down upon the laborers and later turn themselves as oppressors
• Marxist theory is based on the idea that society consists of two main classes, the bourgeoisie (capitalists) and proletariat (workers).
• Capitalism creates inequality by exploiting workers through low wages and long hours.
• The capitalist class owns the means of production, while the working class has no property or wealth.