Karl Marx is commonly viewed to be the most important figure in the history of Communism, creating The Communist Manifesto with Friedrich Engels (Heywood, 2012). Marx believed that society evolved in a series of stages, with each stage inherently reliant upon the oppression of the majority – the working class, or proletariat – by the wealthy minority – the bourgeoisie (Heywood, 2013). Each stage would be more developed than the prior one, with the proletariat being better off in each stage. However there would always be a significant wealth inequality (Marx & Engels, 2008).
The most recent stage was capitalism, which would be the final stage before the communist revolution (McLean & McMillan, 2009). In capitalism, despite enjoying increased wealth and freedom compared to the previous stages of slavery and feudalism, the proletariat would still be exploited by the bourgeoisie (Marx & Engels, 2008). The proletariat would be subjected to wage slavery by the bourgeoisie, who would extract the surplus value of their labour (Heywood, 2013). This would create a conflict of interests, therefore after a series of crises; the proletariat would rise up and overthrow the bourgeoisie, causing the collapse of capitalism (Heywood, 2013). This in turn requires an entirely different economic system to come about (Marx & Engels, 2008).
Marx thought that the precise nature of the post-capitalist society is unpredictable, due to the unforeseeable conditions under which the communist revolution would occur, and in fact dismissed ‘utopian blueprints’ created by others (McLean & McMillan, 2009). He did suggest some changes that would happen to society, however. The notion of a class based society would be eliminated, possibly though violent force known as the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ (Heywood, 2013). The ownership of the means of production would be transferred to the workers whilst private property would be transferred into common ownership (McLean, & McMillan, 2009). People would receive fair wages for their work, and society would be ordered to cater to the basic needs of all people, rather than to pander to the wealthy (Marx, & Engels, 2008).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Heywood, A. (2012). Political Ideologies – An Introduction. (5th ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Heywood, A. (2013). Politics. (4th ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Marx, K. & Engels, F. (2008). The Communist Manifesto. Retrieved from: http://site.ebrary.com/lib/portsmouth/docDetail.action?docID=10479933
McLean, I. & McMillan, A. (2009). Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press
The most recent stage was capitalism, which would be the final stage before the communist revolution (McLean & McMillan, 2009). In capitalism, despite enjoying increased wealth and freedom compared to the previous stages of slavery and feudalism, the proletariat would still be exploited by the bourgeoisie (Marx & Engels, 2008). The proletariat would be subjected to wage slavery by the bourgeoisie, who would extract the surplus value of their labour (Heywood, 2013). This would create a conflict of interests, therefore after a series of crises; the proletariat would rise up and overthrow the bourgeoisie, causing the collapse of capitalism (Heywood, 2013). This in turn requires an entirely different economic system to come about (Marx & Engels, 2008).
Marx thought that the precise nature of the post-capitalist society is unpredictable, due to the unforeseeable conditions under which the communist revolution would occur, and in fact dismissed ‘utopian blueprints’ created by others (McLean & McMillan, 2009). He did suggest some changes that would happen to society, however. The notion of a class based society would be eliminated, possibly though violent force known as the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ (Heywood, 2013). The ownership of the means of production would be transferred to the workers whilst private property would be transferred into common ownership (McLean, & McMillan, 2009). People would receive fair wages for their work, and society would be ordered to cater to the basic needs of all people, rather than to pander to the wealthy (Marx, & Engels, 2008).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Heywood, A. (2012). Political Ideologies – An Introduction. (5th ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Heywood, A. (2013). Politics. (4th ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Marx, K. & Engels, F. (2008). The Communist Manifesto. Retrieved from: http://site.ebrary.com/lib/portsmouth/docDetail.action?docID=10479933
McLean, I. & McMillan, A. (2009). Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press