Karl Marx (1818-1883) Karl Marx was a journalist who was exiled from Germany for his political and religious views.
Marx moved to Paris where he met Friedrich Engels, whose father owned a textile mill in England. That meeting became a long working relationship.
During the economic depression of 1845-1847, the Communist League (a small group of exiled German radicals), commissioned Marx to write a pamphlet advising German workers on how to respond to the economic crisis.
Important Writing #1 In 1848, and just 6 short weeks, K. Marx with his assistant Engels, produced the pamphlet Manifesto of the Communist Party
Important Writing #2 Another important document produced was Das Kapital (1867-1881)
The Communist Manifesto was Marx s response to the social evils of the industrial world urged workers to revolt against the capitalist system the term communism was used to describe an ideal society in which property would be commonly owned and the necessities of life shared by all members of the community.
The Communist Manifesto Marx believed that two groups - the bourgeoisie (those who controlled wealth, political power, and factors of production) and the proletariat (those who did all the work) have always been in conflict throughout history.
He believed that the real value of goods and services was the amount of labor used to produce them. People who performed the labour should be paid its full value.
The Communist Manifesto Let the ruling class tremble at a communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.
This form of socialism differed than the utopian socialist negative views on private ownership. Utopian socialists were mostly middle class intellectuals who did not want to overthrow governments, who were dependent on the kindness of the rich to the poor. Communism preached that neither reason or votes, but revolution would create a new socialist nation.
He believed history followed scientific laws just as nature did. (requirements of life/subsistence; division of labor; owning the means of production; productive forces; revolution)
He believed that history was determined by economics (the ways goods are produced shapes the social and political structure of a society)
The proletariat would take control of the means of production and destroy the capitalist ruling class. A classless society would emerge in which everyone shared the wealth.
Weaknesses of Marxism Marx believed that capitalism would drag people into poverty until they rebelled. (the standard of living rose in the industrialized countries; Governments introduced reforms that improved public education; Labour unions brought about higher wages and shorter work hours; add accident insurance, unemployment insurance and paid vacations)
Weakenesses of Marxism He thought that workers, regardless of nationality would unite against the common enemy, the capitalists. Marx also misunderstood the power of nationalism and most workers had a strong sense of nationalism. They did not see themselves as part of an international community of workers, striving to build a socialist state.
Conclusion: Scientific Socialism led to socialist parties, the formation of the First International and Second International (1864, 1889) to unite workers and overthrow capitalism. Ultimately, Marxism was not embraced by the industrialized West Some communist revolutions were successful in Russia in 1917, the People s Republic of China in 1949, Cuba in 1959, etc.