SOCIOL 339 Marxism and Society

According to Marx and Engels, what are the consequences of “Modern Industry”? 

The essay analyses the depth of Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The book demonstrates an ideology which was completely different from the socio and political concepts prevailed at that time. This text provides an implicit picture of the social and cultural changes during 1950s Europe. According to Hunt et al (2012), Communist Manifesto was one the most influential text that changed the ideology of people and manipulated the political changes to form a social and communist state in some super powerful states in the world.

In 1950s was marked by the nation-state disruption in Europe. The better-informed Europeans started to protest against the policies of the states as well as transforming nature of the economy. Growth of factories led the artisans to lose their jobs. The political theorists like Karl Marx and Proudhon not only criticized the social system but also analysed the reason behind this upheaval. Their ideologies manipulated these discontented citizens therefore, unions were formed and they demanded for permanent solution for the atrocities of the government as well as the employers. The people of Paris also demanded for Paris Commune that will be a seat without self-interested politicians and bearcats. The ideology that Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels introduced chiefly inspired the ordinary lower class people. According to the historians, the effect of the book was so deep that soon after this text published, Paris erupted in revolt for overthrowing king Phillippe. The expansion of government, rising of business were opposed by these enraged citizens therefore, the middle as well as upper class people, political powers of the states were sensing threat.

Most of the outspoken labour revolutionaries were the artisans who were struggling for survival in this growing economy dominated by new factories. Their chief concern was the unbalanced and unequal distribution of wealth. This was the class struggle with which Communist manifesto opens. Marx defines his concept of history that identifies the two classes proletarians and bourgeois. He describes the economic growth of a particular class through manufacturing, expansion of markets and oppression on the economically weaker class gradually divided the society in two halves- ‘have and have not’. The bourgeois capitalists increased their own capital and the small business owners and artisans failed to compete with them. Thus their situation became more deteriorated and this created a revolutionary element in the minds of the weaker section for destroying the supremacy of their bourgeois autocrats. The people were so dissatisfied that the society was going towards anarchy. “As the nation-state expanded its power, workers were also drawn to anarchism, which maintained that the existence of the state was the root of social injustice” (Hunt et al 2012). The concept of ‘Proletariats and Communists’ describes that the interests of the communists are not different from that of the proletarians. Their primary objective was the abolition of private property thus equal power and end of exploitation. “Capitalism would be overthrown by these workers — the proletariat — who would then form a socialist society” (Hunt et al 2012). The last chapters of the book records the position of the communism in the opposing situation marked by social and economic transformation. Marx demanded that the communist thinkers want a social change through revolution so that the balance and equality can be established. They will be a protest as well as revolutionary movement whenever there will be any disorder in social and political balance and the interests of the proletarians will be at stake. No revolutionary movement address the property question and free oppressed from dominance as the Marxism does. In the conclusion Marx thunders that proletarians have nothing to lose except their chains.

Marxism has a huge impact on the lives of the contemporary people as well as future social revolutions. Marxism states that culture is the cause of inequality in the society. To Marx, it is the main cause of perceived deterioration of humanities, social science, culture as well as civilization therefore need to be corrected by means of politics. The concept of Marxism supports the liberal idea which dated back to the seventeenth century John Locke and Marx through the mathematical calculations, production and profit, demonstrated the need of social equality. According to Hunt et al (2012), “Marx held that the fundamental organization of any society, including its politics and culture, derived from the relationships arising from work or production”. Marxism basically focus on the economic inequalities as well as economic classes where there re divisions based on race, religion, family structure, gender and ethnicity. This ideology places huge importance on the analyse, control a change of the popular culture, discourse, language as well as the mass media. To Marx culture has a considerable amount of subconscious influences on the people that creates as well as sustain inequalities. Therefore, Marxists all over the world have tried to remove such inequalities by subtle manipulation along with censorship on culture. Different countries like Russia, China, Cuba and Vietnam that aimed to change their social superstructure by abolishing inequality among the people formed institutions for controlling social culture for creating a new culture. This ideology assure that this will permanently bring the revolutionary changes but need no bloodshed or without taking resort to any kind of political violence. Though these changes, the impact of the revolution became more permanent as well as deep-rooted. The social evolution that was brought about by the revolt, get sustenance through cultural transformation.