Contribution Of Karl Marx

Andre Abi Haidar PSPA 210 INTRODUCTION It is always difficult to write about and discuss Karl Marx, or more importantly the applications of Marx’s theories, due to the fact that he inspired and gave rise to many movements and revolutionaries, not all of which follow his theories to the point. Although Marx tends to be equated with Communism, it might not seem righteous to blame him for whatever shortcomings occurred when his theories were put to the test; Marx passed away well before the revolution in Russia, and he played no role in the emergence of the totalitarian regime at the time. When discussing Marx, however, Vladimir Lenin is one of the biggest highlights when it comes to studying the outcomes of Marx’s theories.

In the Communist manifesto, a well known quote of Marx, “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” This is introductory to the first part of the pamphlet and a conclusion to Marx’s theory about class struggle. Marx’s highly structured on how the class struggle emerges and affects the development of a society. The development of a society from the old and from the new is the result of the conflict of classes in the society.

This book aims to evaluate all aspects of Marx's work and measures the value of it for sociological analysis and explanation. As Jordan believes one must understand the work if it is to mean anything in a contemporary society, he begins by explaining the origins of social class which is vital for anyone to understand before questioning its importance. The book is quite well structured beginning with basic assumptions of Karl Marx following his different theories. The chapter that studied social classes, class differentiation and class struggle was my main interest and although Jordan offered great explanation of Marx's writing I felt he could have offered more on just how meaningful it is for the world today. I will use the book as some of Jordan's explanations of Marx's writing are well thought and do emphasise why class was so important to Marx as he believed capitalism forced social stratification on to society which only benefited a minority.

When the modern capitalist society has emerged, capitalism has massively impacted on many social aspects. The system had led to the dissolution and to an end of the Feudal system during the Middle Ages. There are many political thoughts, which consisted of significant frameworks for reforming and making some new changes to the society. This essay will mainly focus on two main political ideologies and identify the differences between these two houses, which are Marx and Mussolini. First, the German thinker, Marx, and a letter called “ Manifesto of the Communist Party”, bring about the concept of communism that was being used in many areas back in the olden days.

For Marx, production is central to life; "…it is a definite form of activity… a definite form of expressing life." (Tucker:150). Mankind and therefore history progresses, as and when, these material productive forces come into conflict with the prevailing relations of production. In other words, whenever the means of production and the relations of production come into conflict, there is a revolution that alters the economic foundations of society causing the entire superstructure to be transformed. For Marx, “real sensuous activity” was the driving force behind history.

The Industrial Revolution cast its shadow upon European cities and towns. Some enjoyed this shade while others suffered tremendously because of it. Those who enjoyed the luxuries and wealth that the Industrial Revolution provided, the bourgeoisie, depended on the needs of the poor, the proletarians, to increase the size of their monstrous factories and ultimately their wealth and influence. In “The Communist Manifesto” Karl Marx discusses the effects of the Industrial Revolution in further dividing society by creating new social and economic hierarchies. In addition to his observation of the division of labor, Karl Marx believed, that due to the technological shift from craftsmanship to machinery this also caused division of labor and the appreciation of proletarian handmade goods was disregarded.

The three main ideas from the Communist Manifesto The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, had little to no influence when it was first published in 1848 for the Communist League. However, soon after Marx and Engel’s other writings on socialism became published it grew in popularity, and was considered a standard text of the time (Brians, 2006). With Marx’s radical ideas, and Engels’ thorough writing, they were able to convey how they were individual of the other socialists of the time and elaborate on their idea socialism and how it would inevitably be achieved. The three main ideas from The Communist Manifesto are class conflict, ephemeral capitalism, and inevitable revolution.

Social inequalities can be described as the differences in “income, resources, power and status” (Naidoo and Wills 2008, in Warwick-Booth 2013, 2) that advantage a social class, a group or an individual over another, and thereby establish social hierarchies. It also affects inequalities in regards to gender, race, access to health and education, and general living conditions. In sociology, the dichotomy between the conflict theory approach and the functionalist approach has led to a discordant opinion in regards to social inequalities. The conflict theory seems to admit that social inequalities needs to disappear in order to install a common and equal base for all individuals, whereas the functionalist approach believes that social inequalities

Holly Kinsella 13528163 Q.2 Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim developed very different sociological theories of how society evolves over time. Marx brought around the conflict theory and became the head of the sociological discipline of Marxism. Durkheim was a French Functionalist, meaning he looked at society in a scientific way. Although Marx and Durkheim had different ways of thinking about society, both have contributed significantly to the way we study sociology today. Karl Marx was a German philosopher who became the head of the sociological discipline of Marxism.

He had an idea of a state in which people would live freely and would be able to change their occupations and educate themselves in any field they desired without having to fear about their future or income , because all that would be provided and shared equally. There would be no other parties or oppositions, because in order for Communism to work it needs to have absolute power over everything within the country and the people themselves would need to accept that the working class and all the other classes would be dissolved and become equal in terms of living. It has been said that Karl Marx viewed people as naturally good and harmless towards each other. This was the main foundation for his idea of Communist state. But what Karl Marx did not foresee was that it’s in human nature to be egoistical, to be greedy and to desire to exert control over another.

Writings of Karl Marx had formed the theoretical basis for communism and the continual debate against capitalism. Marx understood capitalism to be a system in which the means of production are privately owned and profit is generated by the sale of the proletariat’s labour. He considered it to be an unfair exploitation of hard work with alienated social interactions and purpose. I agree with Marx that capitalism is indeed unfair and alienating, because it concentrates wealth within a small group of people by exploiting the surplus value of workers’ labour, and creates an alienated workforce. Hence, this essay will first discuss the relevance of Marx’s perception of capitalism as an alienating and unfair system for the contemporary world, before examining the potential of governments to influence the extent of alienation and unfairness that occurs.

Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, social scientist, sociologist, historian, journalist and revolutionary socialist. Marx was born on 5 May 1818 in Germany and died on 14 March 1883 in London. Karl Marx is regarded to be one of the founding fathers of Sociology. Capitalism, in layman’s term means “an economic, political, and social system in which property, business, and industry are privately owned, directed towards making the greatest possible profits for successful organizations and people.” (Cambridge Dictionary, 2014).

His ambition for universal equality, collective justice, and classless society transfixed me. I never thought that a classless society could be possible; however, my understanding of his work leads me to envisage the possibilities of a classless society. Marx’ work demonstrates a man who genuinely wants societal change. “The goal of sociology would not simply be to scientifically analyze or objectively describe society, but to use a rigorous scientific analysis as a basis to change it” (Little & McGivern, 2013,

INTRODUCTION This essay will discuss the concept of one of the greatest economists, a philosopher, a journalist, a historian, also known and believed to be one of the founding fathers of sociology. Karl Marx, made a contribution to sociology in the 19th century. He developed a sociological theory that stated that human societies progress through a struggle between two distinct classes, namely; the bourgeoise and proletariat. It claims that society is in conflict between the rich who own and control everything, and the poor who must work for the rich and be rewarded very little for their hard work. The theory is known as the conflict theory or the Marxist theory or Marxism, which is more concerned about the class struggle within the society,

Unlike Weber, Karl Marx thought that capitalism is the creation of bureaucrat class for their interests, in order to dominant the foundation of the society. Nevertheless, for Marx religion is a part of the society and it is basic needs for individuals, so in Marxist perspective about religion there is nothing to do with capitalism, but in Weber’s perspective religion is the source of