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KARL MARX AND MARXISM
“Workers of the world unite – you have nothing to lose but your chains!”
Marxism
The key to history is economics
The key to economics is class conflict
All of history is the struggle between the dominant economic class and the exploited economic class
Superstructure (everything we see around us)
The dominant economic class
The Means of Production
Key point: When the means of production change
then everything above it changes as well!
For example: ancient world (Roman empire) to feudalism (Middle Ages) to capitalism (Renaissance) to industrialism (Modern)
The Modern World (circa 1848)
• Capitalism (c.1500)• Industrial Revolution (c.1750)
Two Classes
• The Bourgeoisie/Middle Class/Exploiters• The Proletariat/Urban working class/Exploited
The Dictatorship of the Proletariat
•Violent overthrow of the Old Order•One government with absolute power to remold society
Re-education•“From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.”•How long? Maybe hundreds of years?•Abolition of all private property
True Communism•No classes•No conflict•No government•No exploitation
The Final Stages of History
Problems with Marxism
Is it true that economics is the key to history?
The conditions of workers in 1848 vs. the early (and late!) 20th century
The test of World War One