Karl Marx Essays (Examples)

Notwithstanding his militant stances against capitalism -- and given the "Occupy" movement in the estern societies, some of what he railed against is evident in the market today -- and his archaic promotion of communism, his theories have an important place in educational scholarship. Good debates require diametrically opposed positions, and Marx provides plenty of ammunition for the side of the argument that adopts an anti-corporate, anti-capitalist, anti-globalization position.

orks Cited

Crompton, Rosemary. (1998). Class and Stratification: An Introduction to Current Debates.

Hoboken, NJ: iley-Blackwell.

Elster, Jon. (1986). An Introduction to Karl Marx. New York: Cambridge University Press.

G.E.M. de Ste Croix (1999). Class in Marx's Conception of History, Ancient and Modern. In Karl Marx's Social and Political Thought, B. Jessop and R. heatley, Editors. New York:

Taylor & Francis U.S..

Hook, Sidney. (1993). Karl Marx's Economics. In Karl Marx's Economics: Critical Assessments

Volume 8, J. Cunningham ood, Editor. London,…

Karl Marx

The objective of this study is to examine Karl Marx and his ideals and political contribution. Toward this end, this study will conduct a review of the literature in this area of study.

Karl Marx was born in the German hineland in 1818 into a Jewish family that converted to Christianity. Marx is known for having written 'The Communist Manifesto." Karl Marx is described as "the ultimate leftist, the father of Communism itself." (Freedland, 2013, p.1) The primary theory posited by Karl Marx is that "all of history is simply a class struggle between the upper and lower classes." (McHenry, 2005, p.1) Karl Marx stated that a class "is defined by the relations of its member to the means of production." (McHenry, 2005, p.1) The middle class and the proletariat are held by Karl Marx to be the two classes of people that exist in society. The proletariat…

Karl Marx

An Evolutionist & a evolutionist

Karl Marx's work in the field of social sciences cannot be ignored. The scientific importance of Marx's work is based on him following the theory of evolution, which was initially concerned with the evolution of mere organic plants and animals and then moved onto the evolution of human society. Marx has been generally considered as a revolutionary scientist who advocates the right side of sociology and his often criticized for that. However, if his work is observed closely, one can easily find similarities between his work and other evolutionary scientists as well. Hence, Marx was an evolutionary as well revolutionary thinker.

One of the most eminent scientists of evolutionary wing is Darwin. His most important work is his book, "The Origin of Species," in which he explained the relationships between various species of plants and animals. Before Darwin, the only explanation for this…

Karl Marx is one of the most interesting philosophers of the 19th century, and his teaching have contributed immensely to the discussion of political organization for the past 150 years. The social conditions of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were of the utmost significance to the development of sociology. The chaos and social disorder that resulted from the series of political revolutions ushered in by the French Revolution in 1789 disturbed many early social theorists. hile they recognized that a return to the old order was impossible, they sought to find new sources of order in societies that had been traumatized by dramatic political changes.

The circumstances of Europe in the 19th century determined that state institutions and statecraft, in other words a consistent bureaucracy looking out for the interests of the state, have the best chance at monopolizing power, as was evident by the mighty British Empire. This…

" Normality in this case, according to Goffman, represents a situation where everything appears contrary to what is about to take place, yet again with fewer fortunes of overturning the situation.

Most of Goffman's first theoretical ideas are dramaturgical in nature. They encompass analysis of a frame of reasoning and complication of explanation while solving activities or doing work hand in hand. Goffman made use of theatre and stage presentation in most of his demonstrations. As such, readers of his work have referred him as a dramaturgical analyst. Most of his works and presentations are hard to understand basing on the fact that they cannot be literally represented in life. According to Goffman, individual people are performers whose main purpose is to involve in a number of different and divergent shows towards varied audience. According to him, an individual performer gets the advantage of controlling others while he or she…

Both of them also realized the necessity of fighting poverty and economic want and did not believe that the mythical 'invisible hand' of the free market economy would do so on its own. They were also common critics of at least some of the aspects of 'Classical Economics' such as the Say's Law. There, perhaps, the similarity between the two ends.

Being a conscious opponent of Trotskyism, Keynes was by implication a strong opponent of Marxism as well. He differed with the fundamental Marxist concept that the recurring crises of 'boom and bust' in Capitalism were due to structural contradictions in the Capitalist system arising from private ownership and production for profit. (Beams, para 3) He believed that such crises in Capitalism could be resolved by adopting the right economic policies within the system. In fact, Keynes was greatly concerned by the danger posed by Marxism to the Capitalist system…

All of Marx's ideas are based upon his value labor theory and surplus value concept in capitalism as the driving exploitation (McLellan, 2007, p.235).

Application of Marxism critique on Buddhism

Marxism on materialism is one Marxism aspect which is considered to be conflicting with Buddha-Dhamma. Buddha denounces materials while Marx proclaims it and Buddhism is considered non-materialist doctrine. Materialism that Marx means is not the one with physical, physiological or mechanical connotation or questions the conscious mind's reality. The stuff that the universe is composed of is not referred nor is it mechanistic materialism but rather dialectic materialism. Buddha's discourse refers concepts of materialism which are also not identical to the conventional materialism. The operative materialism aspect for Buddhism is the non-acceptance of survival after death. egarding this question, there wasn't any rash by Marx to put forth his opinion and it's clear that dialectical materialism's philosophical theory by illustrated…

For instance, according to Fischman (1991), "This need is generated by the task to which Marx believes all human beings are drawn, but in which the working class, of all segments of society, is most frustrated: the realization of their human powers" (1991, p. 106). Many working-class people, though, may believe their "human powers" are being fully realized on a daily basis as they enjoy their hobbies and sports, socialize with their friends, pursue their gainful employment and otherwise provide for their families, but even the most affluent blue collar workers are essentially trapped in their class with no upward social mobility available in Marx's class-based view of modern society. In this regard, Fischman writes, "As its end product, too, alienated labor reproduces a class system and a mode of production which allows no room and provides no resources for the workers to develop in any direction that does not…

Nevertheless, the relations between the workers are maintained open. In relation to one another the peasants are still people and not tools as in the capitalist view.

Capitalism - characteristics

What capitalism changed were the relations between people and the means of production. Until the birth of capitalism, the workers naturally considered themselves to be the rightful owners of the things that they produced. However, by the nineteenth century, the only thing that they get in exchange for their work is money. This is a paradigmatic change, since work becomes a mere product on the market.

The situation changes even more and workers are no longer able to decide upon where, when and how to do their work. All these aspects are decided and regulated by those who own the production means, that is the people who have large financial resources. Another change which occurs is represented by the relation…

That may "feel" socialist, but in reality it is still capitalism along with a healthy dose of charity and goodwill to others.

In socialism the government requires a person to give, where in capitalism a person gives only if he or she chooses to. There is no requirement for a person to give, but the more people who give the better the chance that society will flourish because there will more help for those who need it. In addition, the people who created most of the capital in the first place will still have enough. Since they were not forced by the government to give too much of what they had, they can keep enough to protect themselves and still have some left over to give to those who are less fortunate (Marx, 1888). In the end, that is a significant boost to the people who need help but it…

Thus, state policies in a capitalist society are determined by the government's need to protect the development of the economic base while coercively preserving social stability.

Therefore, state policies must be favorable to capitalist relations of production to ensures that a dominant economic class may actually rule even though it does not directly govern; it can determine the political agenda.

3. The worker-control movement was not forced on people by the government. Instead, it was a form of communism that resulted from frustration. How this consistent with Marx's predictions for communism?

Marx believed that the worker-control movement was yet another step in the direction where the growing, but increasingly alienated and exploited working class would turn on their capitalist oppressors. Marx argued that communism would not emerge from capitalism in a fully developed state, but would pass through a "first phase" in which most productive property was owned in common,…

It turns his species-life into a means for his individual life. Firstly, it estranges species-life and individual life, and, secondly, it turns the latter, in its abstract form, into the purpose of the former, also in its abstract and estranged form."(Marx, 116) the individual life becomes thus the purpose of the species life of man, as Marx contends. Capitalism appears as an abstract, alienating force that deprives the individual of his personal life and transforms him into a mere tool for productivity.

Other philosophers have expounded on Marx's theory of alienation, extending his commentaries and conclusions. Max eber for instance believed that alienation is rather a result not so much of the economical conditions of modern life, but of a complex system of social and political conditions of modern life. According to eber, the world moves towards a progressive rationalization of the social and political systems. As the institutions and…

Karl Marx developed an economic and socio-political view that he believed would improve society. (Mandel, 1974) He viewed life as a constant struggle between the classes as they competed to improve their overall condition. According to Marx, capitalism led to the oppression of the working class and that, because they controlled the tools of production, allowed the minority ruling class to control the behavior and lives of the majority. One of the things that allowed the ruling class to successfully control the workers was through the use of popular culture.

Popular culture is ever changing and is specific to a particular time and place. Although a specific definition of what constitutes popular culture is difficult to formulate it is easy to describe where it is best reflected. A society's popular culture is found in its film, television, music and publishing media. Simply, if something appeals to a broad spectrum of…

Corporate cultures no longer sustain an autocratic, hierarchical design that distances workers from the spirit of their creation. Quite the contrary, many modern corporations are run with programs such as profit sharing. Feedback from employees is encouraged, as companies are becoming more mindful of the ways job satisfaction positively impacts productivity.

What Marx and Engels could not and did not envision was the next revolution to follow the Industrial evolution: the information revolution. An economy that depends more and more on abstract services rather than products is one that fosters teamwork and collaboration, cooperation, and profit sharing. To have employees with vested personal interests in a company is no longer anomalous. Many of Marx's dreams are coming true finally, a century and a half after writing the Manifesto.

Of course, all these changes are taking place within the system of capitalism. Capitalism has not been overthrown as Marx predicted. A…

Karl Marx and Freeland

Karl Marx was a radical thinker during his era, speaking of social hierarchies and the class conflict that is associated with social classes. He aimed to understand social classes as it was a reflection of human history. Marx believed that social classes are a product of their times, but an intrinsic part of human history. From the beginning of human history, there existed social hierarchies and within those hierarchies' power dynamics, he defines the pre-modern classes as: freeman and slave, patrician and plebian, lord and serf, and the guild-master and journeyman (Marx, p.15). However, Marx states that the modern era is comprised of two classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Today, the distinction between these two classes is more pronounced, an issue which is investigated further by Freeland. Freeland does not utilize the Marx's terminology instead uses the labels "plutocrats" and "non-rich." This paper will argue…

Marx and Durkheim on eligion

Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim, two of the most important social critics of the modern world, agree on very little about the functions and goals of religion and its place in modern societies. The one clear overlap in their assessments of religion is that it is immensely important and that no important critique of society can be complete without an examination of religion. This paper explores the approach that each of these theoreticians took in regards to an understanding of how religion functions.

Durkheim and Marx were historical contemporaries, and so it is in no way surprising that they should be interested in many of the same social issues. However, their personal circumstances and personal philosophies were sufficiently different that there is no possible way in which one could ever confuse the two. Durkheim (1858-1917) was in many ways the scion of the Encyclopedists and…

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels present the idea of the German ideology by relating to diverse concepts that influenced German thinking contemporary to them and that practically revolutionized the system as a result of people becoming confused with regard to attitudes they need to support. ith German values up until that period having been significantly influenced by Hegelian theories, the fact that a series of controversial values pervaded the German system meant that people would start taking sides and that while some tried to find parallels to Hegel's thinking others adopted new ideas in an attempt to find explanations to problems that the German society faced at the time.

Both New and Old Hegalians experience trouble supporting their theories as a result of the fact that they fail to acknowledge their exact position as members of the social order. Marx and Engels want their readers to observe the difficulty with…

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels' "The German Ideology" discuses the idea of how each person can be categorized on account of the resources he or she produces and the strategies he or she uses to produce the respective resources. Material values are everything in society and it is thus intriguing to observe the relationship between materialism and people's thinking. The degree to which many individuals are interested in gathering as many material possessions as possible largely determines the role they play in the social order.

The two theorists consider the ruling class in any community to represent the values and ideals of the respective group of people. From their perspective, it is "the class which is the ruling material force of society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force." (Marx & Engels 19) Society is always going to take on such a system because people are naturally inclined…

In the idealist perspective, all that humans feel and experience are not products of sensory experience, but of the mind itself, where all human experiences are generated from the mind. Thus, in the idealist perspective, consciousness about one's status in life and perceived expression of oppression exist and develops only in the mind of the individual. Thus, one only feels oppressed if s/he thinks that s/he is indeed oppressed.

As Marx discusses in his discourse, materialism is distinguished from idealism in that the latter chronicles human history and social experience at a particular period in time, a deterministic approach to explaining social change. In materialism, what instead occurs is a continuous process of social change. Modernism is considered as a product of the previous economic societies of humanity in the historical materialist perspective; idealism, meanwhile, considers modernism as a unique event in society, exclusive of the previous events that surrounded…

Karl Marx's philosophical and political views were undeniably influenced by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Although the latter died five years before the former began attending the University of erlin, Hegel's notions had already become the standard by which all Prussian philosophers sought to attain and the launching point for many new and influential philosophies by the time Marx arrived on the scene. Although Marx appears to have somewhat embraced Hegel's concept of the dialectic, the primary way in which he was affected by his predecessor consisted of a rebellion from his core beliefs. Specifically, the way the two regarded human perception, reality, and the causality of events were almost completely opposed to one another. The two most fundamentally disagreed upon both the role and the position of the state within society. Hegel believed that each nation was the manifestation of sovereign and unique political, philosophical, and religious notions; accordingly, individual…

Another use was to redistribute it. In some societies, redistribution of wealth raised one's standing, rather than the accumulation of wealth. The third thing that was done with excess money in pre-capitalist times was that the holder built monuments to reflect that person's greatness.

The differences are that the capitalist system is designed to continually build wealth by investing profit back into the economy, with the intention to create more profit. Redistributing wealth (largesse) may have increased prestige, but it did not increase wealth. Likewise, building great monuments was essentially a form of redistribution, since the wealth spent on those monuments would go to the workers, but the monuments themselves would not generate any future profits. Storage of wealth did not generate future profits, although it was prudent during the pre-capitalist era. Marx viewed these two systems as entirely different, although a reasonable case could be made that this is…

Cambridge; Cambridge, MA: Polity Press

Devine, F. (ed.) (2004). ethinking class: culture, identities and lifestyles. Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

Joyce, P. (ed.) (1995). Class. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press

eid, I. (1989). Social class differences in Britain: life-chances and life-styles. London: Fontana [Franklin-Wilkins HN400.S6 EI]

ose, D and K. O'eilly (eds.) (1997). Constructing classes: towards a new social classification in the UK. Swindon: ESC/ONS

Wright, E. (1997) Classes. London: Verso

Zbigniew, a. (1972). Karl Marx: economy, class and social revolution. London: Nelson

Cohen, G. (2009) Why not socialism?

Elster, J (1986) an introduction to Marx

Gurley, J. (1976). Challengers to capitalism: Marx, Lenin and Mao

Lee, S. (200). European dictatorships, 1918-1945.

Marx, K. And Engels, F. (2005). The Communist Manifesto

Newman, M. (2005). Socialism: a very short introduction

Schumpeter, J (2010) Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy

Wacquant, L. (2009). Punishing the poor; the neoliberal government of social insecurity

Karl Marx, the founder of modern socialism and communism and son of a lawyer was born on 5 May 1818 in Trier, and received his classical education. He studied jurisprudence at Bonn and later in Berlin, his obsession with philosophy turned him away from law. However, after spending five years in the "metropolis of intellectuals," he returned to Bonn aiming to habilitate in 1841 (The Life and ork of Karl Marx).

At the end of 1842 he took over the editorship and was received the honor of sending a censor ilhelm Saint-Paul from Berlin particularly to take care of the Rheinische Zeitung. However, this proved of no benefit since either the paper was made to undergo dual censorship, or additionally to the common procedure, every issue was subjected to a second stage of censorship by the office of Cologne's Regierungspr sident (The Life and ork of Karl Marx).

However, this…

Geology was one of the sources of Marx's views about social system and it's structure (the idea of formation). Among the biological discoveries that influenced on Marx's sociological views were the discovery of cell, cell theory of the organism's structure and the most important was evolutionary teaching of Darwin that was stated in work "The origins of species." Marx saw biological analogue of his theories in Darwin's work and it was a stimulus for further work as well.

The basic question of sociology is a question about interaction of material and spiritual values in the life of society.

Marx introduced a new and independent variable in this process, which plays a key role in the relations that exist in society and it was a mode of material production. Besides he supported the views about the initial role of being in relation to society's consciousness, but not in the sense of…

"

One of these leaders of nations who had subsisted to the promise of Communism is Vladimir Lenin, Revolutionary leader who became the first leader of Soviet Russia, and eventually, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Under Lenin's leadership, he began realizing Marx's vision of a Communist society, where there is no private property and no class stratification. However, Lenin did not subscribe to Marx' belief that it should be the working class who will induce social reform and revolutionize to build a Communist society, in opposition against capitalism. In "What is to be done?," Lenin argues that revolution under a broad organization of revolutionaries made up of "hardened workers" is not feasible, simply because this organization is "loose," making the revolutionaries of workers more susceptible to outside intervention. These interventions, he states, are the police and gendarmes; hence, a broad organization of workers are not ideal, for it…

But to say that Marx had a conservative agenda on hand would also be wrong. hat Marx was propagating for a more socially equal and respectful environment for women where they could work out of their own free will and did not have to resort to prostitution and other evils to support themselves. But I must agree that Marx's sarcastic way of advancing his argument in the manifesto is certainly offensive in tone. It shows disregard for women and levies some unsolicited and unsupported charges against capitalism.

Another important and rather controversial remark is found later in the manifesto when Marx argues: "But you Communists would introduce community of women, screams the bourgeoisie in chorus. The bourgeois sees his wife a mere instrument of production. He hears that the instruments of production are to be exploited in common, and, naturally, can come to no other conclusion that the lot of…

Wheen (1999), in his biography of Marx's life, argued that Engels had greater knowledge and understanding of capitalism and its dynamics than Marx, thereby making the very concept of alienation as an idea that originated from and was put forth by Engels, and was only expounded upon theoretically by Marx (75):

Though he had already decided that abstract idealism was so much hot air, and that the engine of history was driven by economic and social forces, Marx's practical knowledge of capitalism was nil. He had been so engaged by his dialectical tussle with German philosophers that the condition of England -- the first industrialised country, the birthplace of the proletariat -- had escaped his notice. Engels, from his vantage point in the cotton mills of Lancashire, was well placed to enlighten him.

In the preceding passage, Wheen brought into light how, despite Marx's authority on the issues of oppression…

His Impact

The impact of Marx's theories was not as significant during his lifetime as in the 20th century after his death. Nevertheless, his ideas about class struggle were considered so dangerous by the governments dominated by the elite class that he was repeatedly prosecuted and exiled from major European countries such as France and Germany for propagating revolution. Besides his writings, he formed the Communist League and the First International to promote working class revolutions in the industrial countries, putting his own belief that "there is no point in gaining a deeper insight into the world unless it is a means of changing the world." ("Karl Marx: Man of Millenium.") After his death, however, with the growth of the labor movement in Europe, Marx's theories began to take on greater significance.

Various socialist movements around the world took up his analysis of capitalist economy, his theory of historical materialism,…

He also created his own vocabulary, and proposed a model that was radically different. He branded his views as being from an entirely different school of economics from "classical" economics. Before Marx, there was essentially only one view of economics, with thought progressing in a relatively straight line. Marx introduced the notion of entirely new ideology. The result is that since then economics is no longer viewed as a singular line of study, but a discipline comprised of competing models and thought.

Marx' models of socialism, capitalism and communism exist today, and with roughly his definitions. His work on the nature of workers, their outputs, and their relationship to value has also contributed to our modern economic model. His work occurred during an era when workers lived in poverty and had no rights. By the time he died, those workers were gaining rights, and realized wage increases, in part due…

Karl Marx

Marx's impact can only be compared with that of religious figures like Jesus or Muhammad. Nearly four out of every ten people alive today live under governments which consider themselves Marxist" (Singer, 1). Many people may consider that account to be an overstatement of Marx's historical importance, nevertheless he was undoubtedly the greatest thinker and philosopher of his, and recent, times. His theories on life, and on the social and economic structure of nations, have revolutionized the way in which people think (McLellan, 8). His life contributed to the way people think today, and because of him people are more open to suggestion and are quicker to create ideas on political, economic, and social issues.

Karl Marx was born on May 5, 1818, in the Prussian town of Trier. His parents, Heinrich and Henrietta were comfortably off, but by no means wealthy, and held liberal, but not radical,…

Karl Marx begins as an interpreter of the prior philosophy of Hegel, extremely popular in Marx's youth. Hegel espoused a philosophy known as "absolute idealism," which entails a complicated re-interpretation of Kant in order to arrive at a process which Hegel refers to as dialectic. The Hegelian dialectic proposes an original idea, thought or condition which Hegel calls the "thesis," this conjures its own opposite "antithesis," and the struggle between these two contraries eventually resolves itself in "synthesis." The result of the synthesis eventually emerges as a new thesis, and thus Hegel proposes a forward-moving philosophy of history, which Hegel saw as "unfolding the Absolute Idea of God."

Marx's philosophy is usually known as "dialectical materialism," which indicates his debt to the Hegelian dialectic. Hegel had after all proposed that the driving force of this unfolding historical process was essentially the "spirit of the age" (a sort of mystical atmospheric…

Karl Marx basically categorizes two different types forces. The material forces and the mental forces. In effect there is always a balance between the two in that the expression of one is defined and controlled by the other. In Society there is this never ending conflict between the dual forces wherein each one seeks to overpower the other by its dominance. (When mental forces dominate it is reflected as a revolution). According to Marx, our consciousness and our perception of life is influenced by the social setup or the circumstances and not the other way round.

Furthermore Marx opines that, men who are in control of the material productive forces (dominant class of people) also exercise control over the collective mental productive forces of the ordinary people. (Laborers). Though there is a certain degree of truth in this argument in that in most cases people are guided and subjugated (their…

This made the product "hostile' and "alien" because the worker had no real connection to it. Maybe a female worker sewed the seam of a pocket for a coat several hundred times a day. But she didn't make the coat. Maybe a man tightened a bolt on the bumper of a car hundreds of times each day, or connected two wires, but he didn't make the car. The product was "hostile" because when the worker looked at it, he or she was only reminded of the hours spent in drudgery doing a seemingly meaningless task. Receiving a paycheck didn't make up for the loss of meaning and the pride of accomplishment, and it led to consumerism, that is, people working in order to buy things that are supposed to make them happy.

I think Marx was correct in what he saw was happening. I worked in a factory once on…

Marxian Economics

Karl Marx was one of the most popular and prominent economists the society has ever produced. Born in 1818 in Prussia, Marx would come to activate in fields such as sociology, economy, history or journalism. In his economic activity, he uncovered a series of economic principles regarding the functioning of the society and the economy in the context of capitalism, commonly integrated under the generic umbrella of Marxism. The Marxian theories draw from the Marxist ideology, yet they are considered ideologically independent (oemer, 2002).

The Marxian economic theories oppose the previous theories of Adam Smith, who relied of productivity and wages; Marx, on the other hand, promoted the role of labor to attaining economic gains. Marx contends that the specialization of the labor force leads to a decrease in the wages and that ultimate value of the goods and services is not able to reflect the value of…

Marx Hegel

German philosopher Hegel developed a philosophy that can be called phenomenology, or Philosophy and the Actual World. Whereas previous philosophers concerned themselves with abstractions, Hegel wanted to apply philosophical inquiry to the world that we can know directly. Hegel appears to be more concerned with effects than with causes. However, Hegel is a philosopher and as such he is eminently concerned with reason.

Like the ancient Greeks, Hegel appreciated the method of the dialectic. The dialectical tool is effective in philosophy because it phrases issues in a question and answer method. The reader places himself or herself in the role of the inquirer, and a knowledgeable philosopher can answer the probing philosophical questions. Using dialectic, Hegel was also able to "converse" with his predecessors in philosophical tradition such as Kant. The dialectic allowed Hegel to grapple with complex philosophical contradictions. Hegel could resolve those contradictions using the tool…

Management

Karl Marx is highly regarded as one of the foremost authorities in economics and social structure. It is through his beliefs that the thought process of Marxism was created. Although very controversial in this thoughts and beliefs, Marx outlined, what he believed to be, a social framework for society. According to Marx, society often begins a series of transformations directly related to the primary flow of labor and production (Singer, 200). Through division of labor each organizational structure has a central conflict. According to Marx, each organizational structure is characterized with conflict among different parts of society with particular emphasis on economic status. Marx focused a disproportionate amount of his research on the social relationships between the economic classes prevailing in society (Marx, 1990). Marx tended to focus on the relationships between entry level workers and those of their immediate supervisor. Marx identified historical epochs from the beginning of…

Mill talked of ethical freedom in terms of all areas wherein individual and society interacts and become involved with each other; Marx utilized the same viewpoint, although specified it in terms of proletarian-bourgeoisie relations.

For Marx, ethical freedom is self-realization within the individual, and primary in this realization was the acknowledgment that one needs to be economically independent in order for modern individuals, and society in general, to function progressively. Ethical freedom is said to have been achieved if there will develop a new social order, identified as the "industrial proletariat," described to be the modern individuals, belonging to the previously identified proletariat class, who embodies "fresh moral and political idea, but one rooted in the world of material reality" (Morgan, 2005:392). In concrete Marxian terms, self-realization is an event that will occur only once the following elements have been abolished, as cited in "The Communist Manifesto": "representative government, bourgeois…

ideology from Karl Marx's work of literature The German Ideology -- is the disintegration of the conventional notion of ideology in times contemporaneous with Marx's writings. In order to properly understand this theme, one must be familiar with the German philosopher Hegel -- who cast a wide influence over the realm of ideology in general, and on German ideology in particularly.

Specifically, Marx compares the notions of the Young Hegel movement with that from the Old or the traditional Hegel movement. It is critical to note that within Germany (as is the case with much of Europe) Hegel's conception of ideology is so supreme that it polarizes the aforementioned groups -- the latter of which tends to view the facts that he disseminates as noxious, whereas the former views those facts as worthy of praise. As such, the principle theme driving these readings is the deconstruction of what Marx perceives…

For onaparte it was very clear that he risked his position and that the country was once again threatened with a revolutionary act. The only thing that he could do in order to prevent that outcome was to turn to the Party of Order.(Marx, 43-50) Although there had always been conflicts between the two parties, executive and legislative, they depended on each other in order to maintain the power. This is why both parties were willing to compromise, scared of the possibility they would no longer be able to enjoy the benefits of the revolution.

If the second reason for which the parliamentary republic had to be maintained is connected with a temporary weakness in onaparte's status, the third one is connected with the fear of the bourgeoisie of losing its position. y the end of the second period of the French revolution, the universal suffrage was no longer available.…

He contrasted the work done in factories with such tasks as lace making, stocking knitting and rural work and felt that factory work was easier by comparison and less tedious or monotonous in nature. The arguments of Marx and Ure are as dissimilar as two could possibly be. While Marx believed that history of technology since 1830 could be described as one of 'weapons against the revolts of the working-class', Andrew Ure felt that machine system was just so perfect that it could destroy any labor unions that ever came into existence. Writing about the dressing machine, he said:

It affords an instructive warning to workmen to beware of strikes, by proving how surely science, at the call of capital, will defeat every unjustifiable union, which labourers may form.

Thomas Carlyle was another important figure of the time. He can be described as the man whose views ran somewhere in…

Colleen -- but then again, when you're dealing with food services, every day's a long day. As she made her way toward the stairs and away from the brooding purgatory that is the HUB (name of cafeteria), shutting off the lights behind her like a row of fluorescent dominoes, the clock on the wall read "10:45." The sound of the door shutting at the top of the stairwell signaled the end of another day at the HUB.

Actually, perhaps this was not true. Just as the door was shutting above, the lights down below flickered on once again to reveal a ghostly line of customers stretching from the "Pizza Hut" station to the cash register. Near the end of the line, Mohandas Gandhi stood with a cup of tea and a veggie wrap balanced on his tray. Martin Luther King stood next to him, his tray empty except for a…

David Ricardo

One of David Ricardo's theories is the theory of Ricardian equivalence. Under the theory of Ricardian equivalence, government budget deficits do not change the level of consumption among consumers. The theory behind this is that, no matter when the government chooses to pay for its expenditures, citizens are ultimately responsible for paying those deficits. Therefore, people will change their spending based on government expenditures, regardless of whether the government is borrowing to pay for those expenditures.

Another of David Ricardo's economic theories is the theory of comparative advantage. Under the theory of comparative advantage, a country should focus its production efforts on those items it produces best. In order to obtain items that a country finds difficult to produce, it should trade with other nations, who are, in turn, focusing their production efforts on those items they produce best. Furthermore, under the theory of comparative advantage, it may…

The transnational class is believed to be a new breed of dominant class stemming from the new economic order (i.e. global capitalism) which gives way to a highly mobile capital which all the more strengthens social polarization (obinson & Harris, 2000). Secondly, (and at the same time) the group recognizes that institutions like IMF and WB aligns with the dominant class as seen in the group's website which has a special section for these institutions under eclaiming the Commons - where the group's critiques against the policies implemented by IMF and WB among many others can be found.

The transnational class works had in hand with supranational institution according to the work of obinson and Harris (2000) as they write, "the historical block is composed of the transnational corporation and financial institutions, the elites that manage the supranational economic planning agencies..." (par. 3).

eferences

Focus on the Global South (2009).…

Comparing Madison's ideas against Karl Marx's proposition of a new form of government (or aptly, a new social order) through Communism, salient differences emerge that highlight how Madison's democracy and Marx's Communism can be found in the opposite poles on the spectrum that is the political school of thoughts. Marx's The Communist Manifesto reflected human history's transition from a traditional to a capitalist society, and eventually, to a Communist society. This transition was a result of a history-long struggle of the "oppressed," who Marx referred to as the "proletariat," the social class that will eventually elevate the status quo of society from an oppressive to an egalitarian one -- that is, through Communism. Marx argues that transitions throughout history prior to the establishment of a Communist societydid not offer any the "class antagonisms" that existed in society:

The history of all past society has consisted in the development of class…

. . while defending these institutions themselves" (1034-1035). Peled further argues that Rousseau was not able to solve this paradox and it was one of the reasons why he became increasingly pessimistic about modernity. But Rousseau's attempts to reconcile the contradiction in his approach are worth looking at in details.

Although Rousseau abhorred inequality that rose out of private property, he did not hold any illusions about modernity. He believed that private property became an essential component of the modern bourgeois society and economic relations in the modern era could not be free from errors and corruption. So, Rousseau thought that the best solution to modern inequality was to allow private property in limited amounts and regulate it through the state that represents the common will. In a perfect society imagined by Rousseau, the state would honor the right to possess private property but at the same time would retain…

45). ith the ideology of the ownership class necessarily becoming the dominant ideology throughout the world not simply through the spread of industry and capitalism but through dramatic changes in international trade and economies brought about by capitalist/industrialist changes in single countries, the bourgeoisie acquires (or acquired) dramatic power to shape global events and politics through their shaping of the thoughts that can be had and the modes by which they can be expressed -- through their control over rhetorical interpretations and expression, in other words.

Implications of Marx's Rhetorical Theory

Using a Marxist approach to rhetorical theory has a variety of benefits and drawbacks to theorists and critics working from many different perspectives. The benefits to such a perspective are clear, if somewhat ominous -- they give concrete and measurable ways in which to develop an understanding of thought itself, and of how thoughts are created and expressed (and…

His objection to Capitalism is that it forces the market division upon the worker - it creates and monopolizes opportunities such that the independent producer is unable to survive and thus men are forced into relationships where others (managers, owners) dictate the course of their day, the purpose of their labor, and grants the credit and benefit of that labor go to the company and not to the worker. The capitalist, "profits...by the division of labor and...by the advance which human labor makes on the natural product. The greater the human share in a commodity, the greater the profit of dead capital," (39).

The diversity of humanity is critical to its survival. The truth is that Marxism never took off, would never have been successful, and was never successful in any variation that it took. Marx gives this away when he says, " the human essence of nature first exists…

Within this shared common language they are able to see a commonality or a common existence and, despite the many other differences that exist, this common thread will hold a society together.

Thus, it can be said that, according to Marx, language is the great equator. Within language a society is able to claim equality as, at least at the time of his writing, societies, regardless of how many classes it may have had, shared one basic language. However, this is not necessarily the truth today. As societies become more and more intermixed, due to immigration and the global economy, languages are beginning to clash and the emergence of class-based languages are starting to arise (such as Ebonics). When these clashes occur, one begins to see sub-societies rally behind their language and thus, their right to identification. When someone else tries to translate ones language as being the foreign one,…

Marx on Labor

Heilbroner's honesty at the onset of his writing on Karl Marx reveals the flaws and distortion contained within the often complex, if not mystical tone of Marx's philosophy. The admitted sheer immensity of work produced by Marx and his partner Engels cannot be completely understood. The author confessed " the collected works compromise forty volumes, each 700-1000 pages in length. I have no room for many documents of great historical importance." This dismissal is proof of the limited value of Marx and his theory. Cherry picking this and that from any collection suggests an inconsistency, if not cloaking, of the true essence of Marx's art.

Regardless of the irrationality behind the author's analysis, there are still worthwhile ideas contained within the writing. The alignment of Marx and Adam Smith's appreciation for the value of labor and the corresponding explanations of each demonstrated a quality of humanity in…

Society was more complex than a world divided merely into workers, aristocrats, and clergy, and contained many classes, from workers to owners to civil servants to politicians to aristocrats. Marx saw the major difference after the Industrial Revolution to be that of a shift from agriculture to industry, although the inequities and exploitation of the class possessing the means of production remained constant. But as a result of the complexity created through industrialization, eber believed social power had become more diffuse. Social power and classes were not based simply upon land ownership, money and wealth. Social power also rested in social prestige and political power and influence. (Bartle, "Community Empowerment: Lecture Notes, Marx and eber -- Inequality, 2006) Social classes were not fixed entities. A person's power and class allegiance could shift quite rapidly, depending upon one's immediate context.

eber might argue, for example that some persons who are not…

Marx's pragmatism is also very appealing to me. Emotive appeals not only do not make much sense to me, they also do not tend to affect great policy change or sway societies. Marx argues for the same things that many of the humanist philosophers of the Enlightenment argues for, but he determines that this is the correct course not due to emotive arguments, but the cool, rational logic of money, which always speaks to people in power.

This is not to suggest that Marx was always -- or even often -- successful in implementing his ideas. Indeed, the Russian Revolution whose early leaders claimed so much attachment to Marx's ideas fairly well butchered the humanist philosophy at the core of Marx's economic and political ideals. He even got into disputes with others that were ostensibly of his view: "Marx had refused to join forces with the Londoners [...] until they…

He disclosed that the proletarians inevitably outnumber the capitalists. The capitalist mode of production is capable of yielding tremendous growth because the capitalist can reinvest profits in new technologies. But Marx argued that capitalism was subject to cycle of crises. Marx argued that capitalist society undergoes a continuous cycle boom followed by collapse with marked upheavals in between. He rightly pointed out that the net result of all this process is further strengthening and enforcement of bourgeoisie class and dilipidation of proletriats.

Karl Marx assumed that if the proletariat class was to take control of means of production this class would probably indulge in social relations that would promote the benefits for everyone and thus making the society less prone to severe crisis. But this of course is more of an idealistic scenario where fairness and equal benefits for all are the name of the game, the reality on the…

Karl Popper is arguably one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century because of his role as one of the pioneers of philosophy of science. Popper was a political and social philosopher of significant stature, a dedicated campaigner and strong defender of the Open Society, and a committed rival of all types of conventionalism, skepticism and relativism in human affairs and science (Thorton, n.d.). He considered one of the greatest philosophers of his time because of his remarkable extent of intellectual influence that contributed to his recognition by individuals within and outside the field of philosophy. In his early years, Popper displayed a wide range of interests including music and an inquiring mind that was characterized by examining the psychotherapeutic theories of Fred and Adler, participating in lectures by Einstein, and becoming a Marxist. The main motivation for Popper's scientific inquiry and discovery was the search for truth in…

In such a system, "the worker becomes an ever cheaper commodity the more commodities he produces. The devaluation of the human world grows in direct proportion to the increase in value of the world of things. Labor not only produces commodities; it also produces itself and the workers as a commodity," as workers sell their labor on the marketplace. (Marx, 1844)

The more money the factory owner makes, the more workers he can hire and thus the more command he can have over an increasingly alienated workforce. According to Marx, "this alienation has a profound psychological effect upon the worker. For it is clear that, according to this premise, the more the worker exerts himself in his work, the more powerful the alien, objective world becomes which he brings into being over against himself, the poorer he and his inner world become, and the less they belong to him." (Marx,…

Voice, however, is usually political and confrontational.

In communist societies, it is impossible to get all people to conform to an ideal without using some type of force. People view freedom as the ability to do what they want with their time and control their resources. If the state forces you to work only for its benefit and the benefit of the community, individual freedom will always be limited. This problem was seen in the Soviet Union, North Korea, and China, which were repressive nations that used force to support its theories.

It is important to consider that "exit" is not always physical. It can be mental or emotional, as well. If communist theories were in motion, citizens would not have the ability to exit the system if they decided they did not like it. Physically, it is likely that they would lack the resources to move to another country.…

Marx would therefore react negatively towards the idea that some economic power cannot be distributed in an absolutely equal sense. Communism entails the equal distribution not only of wealth, but also of economic power. Liberalism does therefore fit into this ideal to some degree, but not entirely.

Machiavelli had a number of beliefs related to his economic paradigm. According ot this philosopher, human beings, society and culture can all be improved by means of education, and that central to such education stood manly virtues. This paradigm is more or less proved by means of the evolution of liberalism in the United States. A system that began as yet another form of coercion has developed to become an altogether improved paradigm. Indeed, the variety of ideologies within society at any given time greatly influenced the evolution of the liberalist ideology. This can be seen above, with the historical movements from World…

Cultural Power

Karl Marx, Max Weber, Antonio Gramsci and Pierre Bourdieu all conceptualize culture power in different ways. Each identifies the agent (the specific social group) which acquires and makes use of cultural power as well as the means by which the agents acquire and maintain cultural power.

As Marx and Engels observe in The German Ideology, "The class which has the means of material production at its disposal, has control at the same time over the means of mental production, so that thereby, generally speaking, the ideas of those who lack the means of mental production are subject to it" (64). Thus, for Marx, laborers were the specific group that needed to acquire power from the elites (capitalists), owners of the means of production. The means of production were, of course, the laborers. Communism was the ideology that would free the laborers from subservience to the owners of capital.…

Legacies of Marx and Engels

The publication of The Communist Manifesto in 1848 by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels formed the basis for a variety of ideologies. Some of these ideas have been modified and adapted by both communists and capitalists in the ensuing years. However, a number of Marx's ideas can be shown to be erroneous and/or outdated in light of events which have taken place since the time Marx and Engels wrote.

Marx believed that human history unfolds in distinct stages, and that these stages follow a distinct order, with one unfolding to reveal the next. According to Marx, scientific laws, which can be discovered by man using his innate powers of reason, govern the progression of these stages, and thus the progression of history can be foretold. This basic idea has often been applied by modern political and economic theorists as they make predictions of how events…

Humans had to learn to use freedom in a positive, rather than a negative fashion, said Sartre.

A modern manager, cognizant of such critiques, thus must try to create a workplace where a sense of connection to the product, place, and community is fostered. For example, at Google, workers are encouraged to use company time and equipment to pursue their own projects. Google is a place where workers can eat free meals, take free fitness classes, and combine work and pleasure. This creates a sense of togetherness, rather than fosters angst, alienation and exploitation. Skinner's concept of behaviorism, or rewarding positive behavior, is transformed so that giving back to the organization with creative input and ideas is reinforced. Google's mindset shows a sophisticated evolution beyond the concept of giving a worker a crude 'carrot' in the form a small bonus when he or she succeeds in fulfilling a mechanical objective…

This is one, alternative explanation for the Neoclassical Revolution -- even without Marxism, to help understand the way that producers maximized value in an industrial society, a new way of understanding manufacturing was essential. Still another explanation for Neoclassical economics might follow as thus: Classical economics is fundamentally flawed, but not as Marxists might suggest. Instead, this explanation suggests that Classical theory is based upon an idealized conception of 'economic human' who moderates his or her desires solely according to price, and a producer who perfectly calculates the correct cost or value an item, based upon demand. Phenomenon such as seasonal rises in demand not based upon price or scarcity, consumer psychology, and irrational consumer whims are all not explained in Classical Theory, and even Neoclassical Theory and Marxism only began to scratch the surface of such challenges to pre-existing paradigms. Thus, just as Kuhn asserts, when a paradigm is…