Karl Marx Essays (640 words) - Socialism, Marxism,

Karl Marx Karl Marx was a believer in an inevitable revolution between capitalists, and the workers employed in their industries. He claimed that the actual cost of any product is simply the price of material and most importantly, the labor employed to build it. However, the owner of the industry does no labor in creating the product, but rather buys a laborer and sells the results of that man?s work. What he refused to accept, was the fact that the owners would sell the product for more than he paid the laborer making it. Marx therefore considered any profit or difference made in the sale, to be stolen from the worker. He anticipated that industrial owners would then begin to thicken their wallets by paying workers as little as possible, consequentially, causing his employees to become increasingly poor. Marx theorized that this increasing wealth of the capitalist, along with the increasing poverty of the workers, would eventually cause a revolution. As in all societies, individuals are placed into social classes. They are informally separated into these classes by means of their income, and worth to the society. The higher classes are capitalists who most likely inherited monies, and thus are considered to be more important than peasants or laborers. Peasants and laborers are then classified by their wealth (or lack of), which is directly proportional to their importance in the industry. Peasants are considered to be unimportant, and therefore are placed at the bottom of the social ladder. While laborers, although replaceable, are believed to be slightly more important, thus they are placed on a rung just above that of the peasants. The individuals in these classes become aware of their identities and interests, by socializing with other individuals who are considered to be in the same class. ?The mode of production of material life determines the social, political and intellectual life process in general. But it is not the consciousness of men that determines their social being, but on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness? The majority of the time, these classes to not mix or join together. However, in certain extreme cases, when all social classes are threatened, they will unite as one to fight the outside force.?(pg. 160) ?The bourgeoisie finds itself involved in a constant battle. At first with the aristocracy; later on, with those portions of the bourgeoisie itself, whose interests have become antagonistic to the progress of industry; at all times with the bourgeoisie of foreign countries. In all these battles it sees itself compelled to appeal to the proletariat, to ask for its help, and thus, to drag it into the political arena. The bourgeoisie itself, therefore supplies the proletariat with its own elements of political and general education, in words, it furnishes the proletariat with weapons for fighting the bourgeoisie.? (pg. 214) Capitalism is only feasible in a free society, where one man is allowed to acquire as much property as he desires. Therefore, the political action taken by the capitalist is extremely important. The rich will forever have more control over government because they control the majority of the money running the government. While the poor have to rally together and choose between, allowing the government to be run by the rich capitalists, or taking action themselves. If they choose to fight then they need to come together as a strong unit and demand even distribution of money as well as governmental control of industry. Thus, they need to instill a ?communistic? government. During periods of class conflict it would seem that states do become more democratic. This is due to the fact that individuals in their respective classes rally behind one another to make a difference. They discover that there is power in number and unless they ban together, change will not occur Bibliography Sociology Essays