Marxism

1. Marxism

2. “Let the ruling classes tremble at a communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. WORKERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE!”

3. Marxism and Humankind • Marxists hold a highly optimistic view of humankind. The socialist believes that given the right condition, humans are socially oriented beings who have the potential to be cooperative, rational and community-interested. • Marxists believe in human agency and that progress is possible. It is this agency, socialist believe that can make the world a better place.

4. Where does Our Good nature Reside then? • Marxists seek to uncover our true selves, the compassionate and cooperative beings who are presently buried beneath and with dysfunctional institutions. The key is the economic system because how we meet our primary needs (food, shelter and clothing) has a greater impact on the form society takes than any other factor. • It follows therefore that to promotes the socially oriented side of humanity, the economic system must be based on egalitarian principles designed to satisfy the needs of all in a fair and equitable manner.

5. What kind of society engenders our good nature? • The goal of Marxists is to create economic and social systems that can be designed to encourage cooperation and community, that people are in control, not only their individual destinies, but also of their social destinies.

6. Important Terms • The Proletarians = The working class • The Bourgeoisie = The middle class/property owners/capitalists. • Petite Bourgeoisie = lower middle class/small shop owners etc. • Materialism = a way of thinking that gives too much importance to material possessions rather than to spiritual or intellectual things. • Worker alienation = workers are cut off from their creative potential, the products of their labour, and from their fellow citizens as a result of the material condition of their working life.

7. From each according to his ability, to each according to his need • Marxism was born out of the tradition of socialist thought that was created as a powerful new ideology that presented fresh new answers to the economic problems of the industrial revolution and the failure of liberalism to improve the lives of the working class.

8. The Problems of the industrial Revolution. • Workers in the late 18th and early 19th centuries worked in unsafe factories, were forced to work extremely long hours, and earned very low wages. • The wages were so low in fact that the children of the working class had to work in dirty, dangerous factories so that their families could survive. • Liberalism by its very nature was unable to improve working conditions because it insisted that the government must not intervene in the economy and could therefore not pass regulations that would protect the workers in industrialized societies.

9. What will this lead to? • Marx argued that the proletarian is oppressed and exploited by the bourgeoisie caused them to become alienated and would eventually drive them to overthrow the government to take control over industry which would then be owned by everyone.

10. From Conflict to Revolution • Marx believed that there are two types of conflict 1. Man against nature. 2. Man against man in the class struggle. • Because of these conflicts societies pass through a series of predictable stages eventually culminating in a communist utopia. • In a communist utopia the proletarian would do away with private property all together – which is the basis of class. Without classes there would no longer be any need for the state since it is the instrument of the dominant class. At this point the state would wither away.

11. History, Conflict, and Revolution • History progresses according to a pattern; the domination of one group eventually leads to a revolution against that group, followed by domination by the successful new group, which leads to another revolution, until a perfect states is reached. • As proof Marx pointed to the primitive societies where everyone live communally until some individuals acquired control of the means to produce things people needed. These individuals then created an underclass of slaves to perform the labour they required.

12. Evolution to Classless Society

13. 4 Basic elements of Marxism • Capitalism is unjust and doomed; 2. Capitalism has internal contradictions which create economic depressions; 3. Capitalism should be abolished and replaced with collective ownership of the means of production; and 4. The Communist Party, the instrument of the working class, will provide the means to carry out the overthrow of capitalism, which will lead to the new society and the withering away of the state.

14. Questions about Marxism • Even though there have been revolutions in U.S.S.R., Cuba, and elsewhere, why has Marx’s prediction of the exploited class overthrowing the capitalist not been actualized in any industrialized country? • With thing like minimum wage, unemployment insurance, and workplace safety standards is the proletariat still being exploited today? • Is Marxism/Communism still relevant? If so, then what role should Marxism play in society today? • What aspects of Marxism/Communism do you disagree with? Agree with?

15. Is Marxism Still Relevant? • Consider this: