Marx And Engels: A Marxist Analysis

In their Manifesto, Marx and Engels predicted that one day the proletariat of the world would rise up in an inevitable revolution. This is based around the theory of how the world is defined by a struggle between and among economic classes, which will eventually lead to the establishment of a provisional vanguard state that would slowly transition a society to a communist society by abolishing class altogether. The procedure and the process of the revolution that is to occur, is built upon Marx 's famous generalization that ‘the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles’[ Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto, ed. by Jeffrey C. Isaac, (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012).]. Marx 's

It is argued that social inequality occurs because of the conflict between the upper-class and the working-class, or as Marx defines it, the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. Based on the Manifesto of the Communist Party (Marx and Engels, 1848), the divergence emerges because the aim of the Bourgeoisie is to obtain a surplus-value that is produced by the work of the Proletariat. On the other side, the Bourgeoisie provides the Proletariat with the minimum required, such as a place to live and a minimum wage, in order to keep the society under control and avoid a rebellion. However, Marx did predict a revolt of the working-class that would eventually lead to a communist regime. When it comes to applying this theoretical approach to reality, it is evident to notice that no global revolt in regards to capitalism has occurred.

Historian George F. Kennan maintains that the ideology and circumstances of the Soviet Union were accountable for the political nature of this communist state. Kennan discusses a distinct pattern of thought and concepts to describe the Soviet Union 's position on capitalism and motivation for their conduct. Kennan understands Russian History to be a significant influence in the nature of the Soviet Union 's conduct and discusses a clear hostility towards capitalism. Capitalism was perceived as a destructive and unjust ideology. It exploited the working class, failed to produce adequate resources and created uneven economic and social distributions.

He believed that the proletariat will become aware of its misery and will unite to overthrow the capitalists and capitalism. Out of this revolution, an egalitarian communist society will develop. For Marx, the egalitarian ideal rest upon the principle “from each according to his ability; to each according to his needs” (Marx & Engels,1972:388, orig. 1848). In an egalitarian communist society, the state is the owner of the means of productions and divide the resources fairly between all citizens.

Marxism and feminism are two sides of a coin. Encarta reference library defines Marxism as “a theory in which class struggle is a central element in the analysis of social change in western societies”. Feminism is defined as a recognition and critique of male supremacy combined with efforts to change it. Marxism is an economic and social system. Holland Arrowsmith explains Marxism as a term which refers to “a hugely diverse set of social, economic, philosophical, historical and cultural theories”.

So by using the Anarcho-Communist plan everybody is a part of something. Everyone contributes to the greater good for everyone without the effects of a higher power. This is good for many reasons. The main reason is since there is no government the person is in charge of himself and there are no boundaries on what you can do. If this is put into use than everyone who contributes to the community won’t die or become poor.

This arise from the French socialist and communist literature. The german “True” socialists, the revolutionary Proletariat and with the help of the over concentration of capital, they threaten and abolish the “industrial and political supremacy” of the Bourgeoisie (The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Chapter III, paragraph 15, page 31). The second category is the bourgeois or conservative socialism. This ideology comes from the awareness of the bourgeoisie such as humanitarians, economists or improvers which fight against the proletariat suffering and inequalities. They try to attempt to mitigate the injustices of the working class within society, by providing then the benefits they deserve, such as; “free trade, prison reform and protective duties” (The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Chapter III, paragraph 7, page 32).

The idea of socialism and communism may be slightly unrealistic and challenging to implement but in a utopian society, Marx’s view of the political structure is ideal. Arendt argues that there is no place for poverty in politics but Marx makes the point that poverty must be eliminated first so that politics can flourish. The only way to eliminate poverty is through the political system and the overthrow of the elite. As long as there is economic oppression, freedom is not attainable for every citizen. The separation of economics and freedom is unrealistic because money controls the actions of the people.

Homelessness is a product of social inequalities. Karl Marx stated that the capitalist society produces two prominent classes which are in conflict with each other, bourgeoisie and proletariats. The bourgeoisie are the oppressors who own the means of production and the proletariats are the oppressed workers who labor for the bourgeoisie. Capitalism is distinguished not by privilege but instead by individuality of property ownership and that those who create the conditions of the oppressed group express this power in the form of laws that function to serve the bourgeoisie’s interests (Marx, 2004, p.129). Therefore, capitalism is responsible for the manifestation of certain social conditions that have led to homelessness.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels express their major critiques and opinions on capitalism in their 1848 publication of The Communist Manifesto. Their critiques are based around the idea that capitalism is simply unfair, meaning that one class benefits significantly more than the rest. The class that benefits least from capitalism is the proletariats. This unintelligent labor class suffers from the capitalists dominance, and is unaware of the damage they are experiencing. George Orwell’s depiction of Boxer in his novel, Animal Farm, fits precisely into Marx and Engels’ negative critique of capitalism by representing a strong symbol for the proletariat class and succumbing to the powerful demands of the capitalists.