MARX - OVERVIEW

MARX
THE PROPHET OF REVOLUTION

(1818-1883)

"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles."

Overview

For Marx, all history was the history of class struggle. Feudalism had been replaced by bourgeois capitalism, and this in turn would inevitably be overthrown by a proletarian revolution, resulting in a dictatorship of the proletariat. This would eliminate the alienation that was the result of the capitalist system which robbed workers of the fruits of their labour in the name of profit. The end result would be a classless society. Marx's "Communist Manifesto" exhorted working men of all countries to unite and to recognise the historic mission of the proletariat.

Marx's analysis of history owes much to Hegel's concept of dialectic which saw history as moving inexorably towards greater freedom. Marx, however rejected Hegel's idealism in favour of a strict materialism which rejected all metaphysical and religious interpretations of nature and history. His doctrine is described as "scientific socialism" because it aimed to create an empirical science of society. His systematic analysis of the processes of history revealed them to be determined by economic forces, above all, by the control of the means of production.

Marxism had great appeal, not only to workers, but also to intellectuals. Its doctrine of revolution inspired not only political revolution but also new ways of studying history, economics, sociology and even psychology.

MAJOR WORKS
At the time of his death, Marx was known mainly for his two political works:

"Communist Manifesto" (1848)
"Capital" (Vol.1 1867)

Other works published included the historical works:

"The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte" (1852)
"The Civil War in France" (1871)

Many of Marx's manuscripts were published posthumously (initially by Engels) and it is in these that the philosophical foundations of Marxist theory most clearly emerge. "Theses on Feuerbach" (1845) was initially published in an edited form in 1888. "Philosophical Manuscripts" (1844) and "The German Ideology" (1845-46) were not available until the 1930's. There was no accessible addition of the "Grundisse" (1857-58) until 1953. What has struck scholars studying these manuscripts is how early in his career Marx had the vision of a critique of political economy as the key task to be undertaken.