Transcript KARL MARX - AP EUROPEAN HISTORY

KARL MARX
1818-1883
Prussia, comfortable, middle class, Jewish
Co- Author Das Kapital, The Communist
Manifesto
Moved to Paris (1843) – exiled (1844)
Brussels, London
Journalist, philosopher, social scientist,
historian, revolutionary, poet, father, husband
University of Berlin, lawyer
Influenced by George Hegel
1770-1831
Professor University of Berlin
German Philosopher
Volkgeist (absolute spirit)
Happiness = Study History align
yourself – Volkgeist
Volkgiest works through state
leaders
Dialectical Process
“volk” – spiritual entity
Literature, music, art,
culture of people
manifestations of the
“volkgeist”
German myths, legends,
fairytales
National Spirit, Universal
Spirit
THESIS
SYNTHESIS
ANTITHESIS
VOLKGIEST
THESIS – Set of Ideas established order
ANTITHESIS – Conflict of ideas
that challenge to the established
order
SYNTHESIS – solution emerged
that was a step ahead of the old
system
Historical Evolution
“History is the unfolding of reality itself, the ideas
of the minds of the universe…”
Nothing in history is accidental or arbitrary Each
era = set of ideas + opposing ideas = synthesis
Stages
– Asiatic – absolute monarchy
– Greco-Roman – individual freedom
– Germanic European – synthesis of freedom with a
strong state
Hegel – conflict of ideas???? NOT IDEAS / $$$
Hegel too idealistic too mystical
Marx conflict of economic class struggle
“turned Hegel on his head”
Applied Hegelianism to society and economics
“Scientific Socialism” – philosophy grounded in
empirical historical, sociological, and economic
data
Happiness come through the erasure of false
class consciousness
“The philosophers have only
interpreted the world, the point is to
change it” – MARX
Communism – each should
contribute according to their ability
and receive according to their need
"the nature of individuals depends on
the material conditions determining
their production."
October 1843
Home of many
revolutionaries
Relationship with Friedrich
Engels – Son of a wealthy
factory owner, Communist &
Atheist
Marxist ideology a reaction to
the conditions of the day –
one of many
Industrial Revolution
1848
Co-authored Friedrich Engels (1820-1895)
History is the record of humankind’s
coming to grips with the physical nature
to produce goods necessary for survival
Historical process determined the
structures, values, and ideas of society –
rooted in class struggle
Primitive
Slave Owning
Feudal
Capitalist
Communist
“Capitalism will destroy itself, because it contains
the seed of its own destruction” - Marx
Dialectical Materialism
Class Struggle
The Theory of Surplus Value
The Inevitability of Communism
The Dictatorship of the
Proletariat
Human history based on wealth of ownership
and means of production
Modes of production determine the rest of
the social structure
Marx – conflict of material conditions
(economics)
Owners of Production – bourgeoisie
Workers – Proletariat
Industrial Revolution – inequity between the
“haves” and “have nots”
Changes in material condition will change the
whole nature of society
IDEALS OF SOCIETY
Laws, morals, ethics, religion
Justification, rationale,
ideology, for who controls
means of production
BASE
What are the means of production?
How wealth, or capital, is produced and divided?
Who owns the means of production?
= CLASS STRUGGLE
$ Labor is the source of all
value
$ Capitalist got more labor than
he paid for
$ According to Marx, the
capitalist stole from the worker
$ Amount charge over the
amount to produce =
“PROFIT”
History - involved conflict b/w classes that owned
the means of production and the classes that
worked for them
VIOLENT REVOLUTION OF THE PROLETARIAT
Property-less and classless Communist society
“State withers away”
Transitional period b/w Capitalism and Communism
Socialism inevitable – wealth distributed equally
Divided society into two giant hostile groups
Did not take into account the power of Nationalism,
Religion
Predicted Revolution would occur in Capitalist nations first
? Russia, agricultural, China
More and More people did not suffer from Industrial
society – benefited
Workers lose their incentive to work and progress
Gov’t – difficulty managing complex economic system, will
become a dictatorship, place needs of the state ahead of
the needs of the people
Late nineteenth century
Re-evaluate Marxism
Eduard Bernstein (1850-1932)
Evolutionary Socialism (1889)
Capitalism showed no signs of collapse,
conditions of workers improved through
LEGISLATION
REFORM within existing order rather than
revolution
Achievements through the Democratic political
process (Social Democrats)
Marxism was just another ideology that
existed and criticize the emerging industrial
capitalist society
Marx theory was largely ignored by scholars
during his lifetime
After his death – his social, political, and
economic philosophy gained acceptance and
was altered
Until recently (1989) – almost half of the
world’s population claimed to be Communist
First applied 1917 Bolshevik
Revolution
Marxism-Leninism
Lenin altered Marx ideology - 70
years later
Marx in its pure philosophy was
never applied
Marx waited for history Lenin
made it
Lenin 1st to alter Marx
Revolution possible in an
agricultural country (Marx –
industrial nation first)
“Revolution from above” – elite
intellectual revolutionaries not
below (workers)
Revolution determined by
human leadership not historical
laws
Mao Zedong version of
Marxism
Leader the Chinese
Communist Revolution
1949 – 1976
“Great Leap Forward”
“Cultural Revolution”
NORTH KOREA
VIETNAM
CUBA
LAOS
CHINA
“WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE.
YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT
YOUR CHAINS”