Richard MarxEssay Preview: Richard MarxReport this essayClassical Social TheoryKarl Marx 12/06/2006I have chosen to write my essay on Karl Marx because his theory is very interesting. Karl Marx strove to put into sensible effect the humanitarian concept of Feuerbach. In doing so, he, along with close friend Friedrich Engels, founded a new economic movement called Socialism. According to Marx, the supreme end of man is an immature and material one, and consists in happiness. This material happiness must be obtained through a term they call organized collectivism. In fact, according to Marx, reality is governed by economic needs. Economic reality develops, that is, reality must deny itself in order to reach a higher degree of being. This principle means that the present organization of society must be destroyed (even through violent revolution, if necessary, because only through such destruction can a better political, economic, and social organization be achieved. To establish this new format of society, working men (the proletariat) must be organized and take up the struggle against the capitalists who deceive them. The characters in this drama are the social classes; the proletariat is put up against capitalism. This struggle, according to Marx and Engels, will end in triumph for the proletariat, that is, in the conquest for universal Socialism.
Karl Marx was born on May 5, 1818, in the city of Trier in Prussia, which is now Germany. He was one of seven children of Jewish descent. His father was quite liberal, taking part in demonstrations for a constitution in Prussia and reading such authors as Kant, known for their social commentary. His mother, Henrietta, was originally from Holland and never was interested in becoming German, not even to learn the language
properly. Shortly before Marx was born, his father converted the family to an Evangelical Established Church, where Karl was baptized at the age of six. Marx attended high school in his home town where students and teachers were under suspicion of believing in liberal ideals. In October of 1835, he started attendance at the University of Bonn, enrolling in classes like Greek and Roman mythology and the history of art. The student culture at the university included being politically rebellious and Marx was involved, presiding over a political club and joining a club for poets that included some politically active students. He left Bonn after a year and enrolled at the University of Berlin to study law and philosophy. Karls experience in Berlin was crucial to his introduction to philosophy and to his “adherence to the Young Hegelians.” Hegels philosophy was crucial to the development of his own ideas and theories. Upon his first introduction to Hegels beliefs, he felt disgusted and wrote his father telling him that he was sickened from standing up on a point he did not believe in.
The Hegelian doctrines exerted considerable pressure in the revolutionary student culture that Marx was involved in and he eventually joined a society called the Doctor Club, involved mainly in the new literary and philosophical movement. The chief figure of that society was Bruno Bauer, a lecturer in theology who thought that the Gospels were not a record of History but that they came from human fantasies arising from mans emotional needs and he also believed that Jesus did not exist as a person. Bruno Bauer was later replaced from his position by the Prussian government. By 1841, Marxs studies were lacking and he submitted a doctoral dissertation to the University at Jena,
known for having lenient acceptance requirements. He got accepted and finally received his degree in 1841. His thesis researched in a Hegelian style the difference between the natural philosophies of Democritus and Epicurus, using his knowledge of mythology. In October of 1842, Karl became the editor of the paper Rheinische Zeitung and wrote editorials on socio-economic issues such as poverty. During this period, he found that his Hegelian philosophy was of little use and he separated himself from his Hegelian friends. Marx helped the paper succeed and it almost became the leading newspaper in Prussia. Later, the Prussian government suspended it because of the pressures from the Russian government. Karl Marx then journeyed to Paris to study French Communism.
In June of 1843, Marx married Jenny Von Westphalen, who came from a very important family of both military and administrative distinction. Jennys father was in favor of Marx and his thought. While in Paris, Marx became familiar with the Communistic views of French workplace. Although he thought that the ideas of the workmen were utterly crude and unintelligent, he admired their friendship. Marx later wrote an article entitled, “Toward the Critique of the Hegelian Philosophy of Right,” from which comes the famous quote that religion is the “opium of the people.” Once again, the Prussian government interfered with Karl and he was expelled from France. He left for Brussels, Belgium, and in 1845, renounced his Prussian nationality. The next two years seemed to deepen the lifelong friendship Marx had with Engels. The two of them, sharing the same views, combined their resources and published The Holy Family, a criticism of the Hegelian idealism of Bruno Bauer. It is during Marxs years in Brussels
that he really developed his views and established his “intellectual standing.” From the later part of 1847 to early 1848, Marx and Engels wrote The Communist Manifesto, a document outlining 10 immediate measures towards Communism, ranging from an abolition of inheritances to a progressive income tax and to free education for all children. When the Revolution exploded in Europe in 1848, Karl was invited to Paris just in time to escape expulsion by the government of Belgian. After traveling back to Prussia, Marx called for democracy and agreed with Engels that the Communist League should be broken up. During this period, Marx got into trouble with the government and was indicted on charges that he advocated that people not pay taxes. After defending himself in his own trial, he was acquitted unanimously. In 1849, Marx was banished as an alien by the Prussian government.
The Marxist-Leninist Line on Social Relations
The following is a discussion of the social relations developed on the front lines leading up to the Revolution. Although the Marxist-Leninist line was in sharp decline, some members of the Bolshevik party still believed that there was a possibility of making a significant contribution in a socialist society when one was living in the revolution. There was no guarantee that Lenin’s leadership during the Bolshevik Revolution would be effective. Since there was no revolution in the country, it was impossible for the “leftwing,” that had been leading the revolution to achieve power and influence in the country, and so a small group, such as the anarchists, to take the lead was not enough. The “leftwing” to hold the leadership in the revolution had to do far more than what the Trotskyists of the left and the anarchists had done on the front lines. They had to take over the state in order to break the dictatorship. This had to be done in an effort to increase the power and influence of the “left” that had to control the state.
When the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 was inaugurated, there were still strong divisions between the revolutionary left and the “left” and a lot of their leadership seemed to be coming from the former faction, the “left wing,” especially on the military front. This led to the formation of the so called “right wing” led by Trotsky, who would soon be seen as anti-Communist and opposed to “Russian Marxism” because of his socialist and Communist orientation. This included Trotsky’s opposition to the introduction of land ownership by socialist landowners and the opposition that “Western” social democratic governments were pursuing against those “Russian” governments, but also his strong view of the political situation in Russia. On the political front the “left” was more concerned with strengthening the economic strata in Russia than it was with creating an environment for socialism in general, and the two differed on various things. The “left” was against the introduction of a capitalist industry, but was also opposed to the Soviet military buildup. Their stance on the military was somewhat different from those of the Communist party. On the one hand, they were also quite friendly to the workers and peasants, but on the other hand Trotsky was pro-capitalist.
The “Left and Right” were divided on what to do regarding the situation in Russia. The “left wing” was in favor of allowing trade unions to form and work for the general benefit of the working class and against raising the debt ceiling and the workers’ control over pensions. On the other hand Trotsky was pro-socialist, but his views on the issue of the ownership of the means of production were much harsher on “the middle” and those in power and the “left” side of the equation. Thus these are the two areas that had the most friction with the Bolsheviks and the “left.”
The “left wing” split on the issue of the future of Russia was not the most intense. When it came to social issues, Trotsky often referred to Stalin as a “dictatorship of the proletariat,” but he also regarded it as a dictatorship of the proletariat, and the Bolsheviks, along with others, considered these concepts very serious even to the point of advocating abolishing the monarchy. Thus, those who had been opposed to the creation of the state and to the introduction of capital in the country were opposed to Bolshevism and their views on that had to be re-examined. And these split over the future was very