Karl Marx Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Known as the father of socialism, political theorist and economist Karl Heinrich Marx (1818–1883) was born in the Rhineland area of Prussia (Germany) near the French border. Marx’s Jewish family converted to Christianity and moved to England where he became a radical. In England, Marx met philosopher Friedrich Engels, and the two became close friends and collaborators. In 1848, after Marx returned to England from a failed revolution in Germany, he and Engels published The Communist Manifesto, in which they provided a rationale for class revolution. Marx ultimately produced over 100 works.

Marx subsequently turned his attention to political economy, publishing Contribution to a Critique of Political Economy in 1859. He and Engels further articulated Marxist theory in Das Kapital, published in three volumes: Volume One: The Process of Production of Capital (1867), Volume Two: The Process of Circulation of Capital (1885), and Volume Three: The Process of Capitalist Production as a Whole (1894).

Although Marx’s ideas led to revolution in economic thought and to the development of socialist/communist governments in parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America, his ideas were not original. Marx was directly influenced by German economist Georg W. F. Hegel and particularly by Hegel’s contention that history provides answers to all philosophical questions. Marx used Hegelian theory to develop his argument that the mode of production is responsible for all the ills of given societies, which are prone to repeating the same mistakes throughout history. He presented socialism as the answer to the problem.

Marx lived during an intense period of industrialization, and he wrote to discredit raging capitalism and to refute classical liberal thought. Ironically, he was heavily influenced by some of the British thinkers he rejected. Marx owed particular debts to philosopher John Locke and economist David Ricardo. Locke’s contention that workers should own the fruits of their labor provided the foundation for Marxian theory. Ricardo argued in Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1919) that the value of any product was dependent on the labor used in producing it, stating in the “iron law of wages” that the wages of any given period tended to stabilize around the subsistence level. Marx believed that expanded profits for capitalists and mere survival for workers were bound to lead to alienation and political unrest.

Although Marx accepted that worldwide revolution might be possible to overthrow capitalism, he believed it would be unnecessary. He insisted that alienation from the capitalists (the bourgeoisie) would eventually cause the workers (the proletariat) to rebel against the capitalist system. The result, according to Marx, would be the destruction of capitalism and the creation of a temporary state that would wither away after establishing a worker-controlled market.

Karl Marx envisioned his socialist revolution taking place in his homeland of Germany, but it was in Russia that his ideas bore the most fruit. In 1917 Bolshevik revolutionaries overthrew the monarchy. After the Bolsheviks were absorbed into the Communist Party under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, Marxist-Leninism provided the foundation for the creation of an all-powerful state. Contrary to Marxist theory, however, the communist state refused to wither away. In 1922 the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was created. Communism continued to expand, aided to a large extent by concessions made during peace talks at the end of World War II (1939–1945). The resulting cold war between democratic and communist nations lasted until 1991, when Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev’s perestroika precipitated the dissolution of the Soviet bloc, leveling a death blow to Marxist-Leninism in most of the world.

Bibliography:

“Karl Marx (1818–1883).” History of Economic Thought. http://cepa.newschool.edu/het.
Lee, Wendy Lynne. On Marx. Belmont, Calif.:Wadsworth, 2002.
“Marx and Engels Internet Archive.” http://marxists.org/archive/marx/index.htm.
McGregor, David M. Hegel and Marx after the Fall of Communism. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1998.
Nimtz, August H., Jr. Marx and Engels: Their Contribution to the Democratic Breakthrough. Albany, N.Y.: SUNY Press, 2000.

This example Karl Marx Essay is published for educational and informational purposes only. If you need a custom essay or research paper on this topic please use our writing services. EssayEmpire.com offers reliable custom essay writing services that can help you to receive high grades and impress your professors with the quality of each essay or research paper you hand in.