Who is Karl Marx? What are the theories of Socialism, Class struggle and Marxism?

Karl Marx 1818- 1883

German philosopher, economist, historian, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary leader, Karl Marx, in full Karl Heinrich Marx, was born on May 5, 1818, Trier, Rhine province, Prussia, now Germany, and died on March 14, 1883, London, England. His parents were Jewish. His father, Heinrich Marx, was a lawyer and mother, Henriette Pressburg was a housewife. His father had nine children and Karl Marx was the oldest. At the university, Marx got engaged to Jenny von Westphalen, an educated baroness. They would later marry in 1843.

Karl Marx studied law and philosophy at the university of Bonn and Berlin, Germany. However, he was more interested in philosophy and literature.

Karl Marx is known for his works ,The Communist Manifesto" and "Das Capital," that influenced generations of political thinkers. Karl Marx is also known as the Father of Communism. His ideas stirred bloody revolutions that toppled centuries-old governments. His most famous work is "Das Capital" that shook the roots of Capitalism. The writings of Karl Marx are more centered around the exploitation of the proletariat, the working class, by th capitalist, the ruling class. Marx was exiled from Germany due to his struggle to replace capitalism with socialism with the help of the proletariat. Then, he moved to France. It was the place where he met his best friend, Friedrich Engels. Karl Marx was greatly impressed by the writing of Friedrich Engels. It was that impact that Karl Marx wrote "The Communist Manifesto" in 1848 along with his Friedrich Engels. After being exiled from Belgium, Marx finally settled in London till his death. Later, Karl Marx published Das Capital in 1867.

Karl Marx spent the big part of his life working on was "Das Capital". Almost all his works are incorporated in Das Capital.

Theory of Social Class or Class struggle:

Every society is based on classes. In a society, a class is formed on the bases of people’s positions in different levels of production. Since the Europe was undergoing industrial revolution, A number of classes were emerging. Of the most, there are two famous groups that are widely discussed by Karl Marx-labour class or the working class and capital class or the ruling class. The former is involved in production of goods while the latter invests money and takes profit. The two classes come into conflict over the respective interests and that conflict ultimately leads to the social change. In addition, the class struggle finally results in history such as slave society or feudalism. As slave society gives rise to the master and the slave. Feudalism, the lord and the serf. During the 20th century, the capitalist society- the owners and the workers. These classes are always in struggle to obtain their own objects.

Alienation and Economic exploitation by Karl Marx:

According to Karl Marx, capitalist society is self-destructive in two ways, alienation and economic exploitation.

What is alienation?

It is the estrangement, or a sense of deprivation, of people from their human natural ability. Human have the ability of self-expression. When someone sells his natural ability to someone, he is being alienated or isolated from his work. In that sense, the work is not the self-expression of someone's creative desire, but rather the result of a physical need. This is exactly what happens in capitalist society according to Karl Marx.

For instance, a man is a painter and likes painting. But when he is forced to work as directed by a capitalist, he is being alienated from his self-expression. In capitalist society, the ability of a person is sold to the capitalist. Now, he would produce what he is asked and paid; he would not be able to produce his ability. Thus, it would result in alienation from his distinct ability and from other people.

What is economic explanation?

Capitalism is exploitation of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie. In capitalist society, there are two types of capitals, fix Capital and variable capital. The former is machinery, tools raw materials, etc, while the latter is human resource. What capitalists do that they simultaneously increase working hours and reduces wages. It leads to the economic crisis. As a result, the working class gets jobless while the capitalists do not get affected in any way. In that way, capitalists keep exploiting the working class economically.

What is Capitalism and Socialism?

Karl Marx believed that Capitalism breeds social inequality, and its solution lies in socialism. Capitalism is a type of economic and political system in which means of production is owned by private individuals. Under capitalism, economy and resources are controlled by individual business owners and private companies. USA for instance is a capitalist society.

However, socialism is a political and economic system in which means of production is controlled by public, in common or government. It aimed at creating a society in which everyone has the equal opportunity to benefit from society's wealth. Under socialism, according to Karl Marx, society is governed by the working class. Later, they would transform socialism into classless and stateless society that is called communism.

Karl Marx predicted that Capitalism, which he called the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, would no more last long and eventually fall down. It is prone to crisis because of economic exploitation and social inequality. The unity of the bourgeoisie, said Karl Marx, can be shaken only by the unity of the proletariat. Once the working class develops a class consciousness, they would rise up against capitalists, seize means of production and form a socialist society.

What is Marxism?

Marx's work about society, economics, and politics are collectively known as Marxism. According to Karl Marx, society progresses through the dialectic of class struggle. Marx main focus was ills of capitalism and provide its solution through revolution with the help of the proletariat.

The revolutionary leader Karl Marx died of cancer on March 14, 1883 in London. later on, it was Vladmir Lenin who followed the footsteps of Karl Marx and founded the world's first socialist society.