Karl Marx and the Theory of Communism

Karl Marx was a German philosopher who became fascinated with revolution and the nature of change within civilization. The purpose of these changes would be the ultimate creation of an ideal society. His ideas were not well received by his home country and he was forced to leave. He settled in Belgium and France for short periods before moving to England.

The Communist Manifesto

Marx defined his ideas by examining human history to see if a struggle for power existed. He believed that there were two types of people that existed historically. The haves and the have-nots would be involved with a constant struggle for resources. The haves were called capitalists because they had all the money needed to build new factories, mines, railways or other means of production. The capitalists would then force the have-nots, who he called the proletariat (working class), to work for them. This situation was unfair in the distribution of wealth within a society that would cause problems. Problems emerge when capitalists pay the working classes very low wages while keeping the profits for themselves. In this manner the rich would become richer and the poor would become poorer. This situation would lead to the working class becoming frustrated and angry, therefore rising up to seize the means of production. The purpose of the uprising by the workers would be to distribute the wealth in a fair manner among all members of society. This stage of historical evolution would be called socialism. A socialist state would have the workers own the means of production and all would share the profits equally. The workers would be working for themselves, not for the benefit of the capitalists. All forms of government would slowly disappear, as the workers understood the benefit of working for the good of each other. Once this model state of affairs occurred, his ideal society that he called communism would exist.

ON THE OTHER HAND: >Marxs view of Communism was not rational or practical by any stretch of the imagination. >His utopian society is impossible because mankind naturally divides itself between those who lead and those who follow. >Even if the workers took over the world in some great Proletariat revolution as Marx envisioned, little would change. >The workers would divide themselves into worker classes and the process of oppressor and oppressed would begin anew. >Marxs views were vague at best but truly inspirational. His alternative to Capitalism was and still remains commendable. >He was right on in his assessment of the poor state of affairs among the labor classes of the nineteenth century. >There was nothing wrong with him providing these people hope for a better world where they were more than a number in a book. >Marx swayed millions to his way of thinking and was a major factor in the start of Russian Revolution. >Even today, there are many avowed Marxists. There is nothing wrong with a Utopian society, but Utopia is not real.