Marxism: a political philosophy that is the backbone of Communism, although most communist countries are not truly Marxist.
Key Concepts, People, and History
Marxism was a mighty motion in the late 19th century/ early 20th century. With the belief of rising up against the upper class, many countries had Marxist revolutions that overthrew their government. Marxism is pretty much three different parts.
The first part was that history was interpreted by each the struggles that the classes faced. It was pretty much the rich versus the poor.
The second part was capitalism only had power over the rich and many of the lower classes had to make more than what was necessary to support the system.
The third part: Workers didn't have any control over their society. If that was to happen, the lower class was to stand up and take the political power away from the rich for themselves.
The two masterminds behind the Marxist theory were Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. They were German philosophers in the 1800's. They both wrote the most famous book about Marxism called The Communist Manifesto. This book explained Marxist theories of revolting and history and was published in 1848.
The first part was that history was interpreted by each the struggles that the classes faced. It was pretty much the rich versus the poor.
The second part was capitalism only had power over the rich and many of the lower classes had to make more than what was necessary to support the system.
The third part: Workers didn't have any control over their society. If that was to happen, the lower class was to stand up and take the political power away from the rich for themselves.
The two masterminds behind the Marxist theory were Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. They were German philosophers in the 1800's. They both wrote the most famous book about Marxism called The Communist Manifesto. This book explained Marxist theories of revolting and history and was published in 1848.
Some key terms that are associated with the Marxist theory are:
- Historical Materialism: political and historical events are the result of conflict of social forces.
- Hegemony: leadership or dominance
- Capitalism: an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.
- Ideology: a system of ideas and ideals
Key questions of the Marxist theory are:
- Whom does it benefit if the work or effort is accepted/successful/believed, etc.?
- What is the social class of the author?
- Which class does the work claim to represent?
- What values does it reinforce?
- What values does it subvert?
- What conflict can be seen between the values the work champions and those it portrays?
- What social classes do the characters represent?
- How do characters from different classes interact or conflict?