Karl Marx

2008-11-10T01:06:17Z

OmniR:

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[[Image:KarlMarx.jpg|right|frame|Karl Marx]]
'''Karl Marx''' (1818-1883) was born in Prussia, educated in [[Germany]], and a writer in [[London]]. Marx was an [[economics|economist]] who sought to set [[socialism]] and [[communism]] on scientific bases.

Marx saw "primitive" socialist thought as a fundamentally moral movement with no base in practical science. Marx's solution was to create an analysis of society on his principle of dialectical materialism.

The system [[Dialectic]] which was employed by Marx was developed by German philosopher [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]]. Though concepts of dialectics had existed in philosophical theory since [[Plato]], Hegel systematized the idea more thoroughly than any previous thinker. For Hegel, reality is a reflection of the unfolding of Absolute Spirit, roughly meaning knowledge. Thus Hegel saw the contradictions of Enlightenment philosophy (such as between subject and object, mind and nature, etc) as phases in the development of Absolute spirit. These contradictions would be resolved dialectically through the progress of Absolute Spirit.

Marx argued that Hegel's dialectic was upside down. Instead of being based in human knowledge, the dialectical contradictions were based in human social reality. For Marx, the contradiction between subject and object in philosophy was a reflection of the actual contradiction between workers and employers under capitalism. The difference between the ideal spirit and reality translates into Marx's view that man had become [[alienation|alienated]] from his true nature. Man had been created different from animals: he is creative, this is essential to his nature. However, in modern days, man is just automatically producing: he works to earn his wage, but has no tie to the product of his labor at all. This is the alienation from his true nature.

The necessity for material sustenance gives rise to an imperfect [[means of production]], which changes as the internal contradictions of [[thesis and antithesis]] work themselves out. A key feature of Marx's theory was his contention that [[competition]] for resources splits society into mutually antagonistic classes ("The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of [[class struggle]]s.") whilst the operation of the dialectic serves to continually reduce the numbers of classes until, in the [[Industrial Age]], society was almost wholly split between "[[bourgeoisie]]" and "[[proletariat]]".

[[Capitalism]], according to Marx, is just one system in a long series of [[economic systems]] in the world. He held that a so-called "[[capitalist society]]" had strong internal contradictions. In the development of capitalism, [[capital]] would be increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few people. <ref>See his "Law of the Centralization of Capital".</ref> The difference in income between the poorest and richest would always increase. Through economic crises, the poor laborers could be inflamed to believe that the system would always be disadvantageous to them.

''Das Kapital'' (''Capital'') seeks to explain that the "bourgeoisie" make [[profit]]s by [[exploitation]] of the "proletariat." The exploitation arises when the value of the goods produced by workers is much more than the wages paid, thus creating "[[surplus value]]" over and above the value of the wages advanced. Marx sought to agitate class envy by alleging that the competition amongst the bourgeoisie forced them to exploit their workers as much as possible. If an individual bourgeois refused to continue the "exploitation" he would soon be forced into [[bankruptcy]] or be taken over by someone who would. The result is persistent low wages among the proletariat who, eventually, would rebel and replace the existing capitalist system with a [[socialist]]/communist system.

It's important to note, however, that Marx never argued in any sustained fashion that socialism was inevitable: he knew there are too many factors in history to make a prediction possible. He did not have a clear idea about what the next stage after capitalism would be. The increasing concentration, he thought, would facilitate a [[communist]] system. In that system, however, man also would have to eliminate his "alienation." One possibility, which Marx imagined, was complete mechanization of production, so that any man could do any job<ref>Marx, K. Foundations of the Critique of Political Economy, [[Berlin]]</ref>.
In the ''Communist Manifesto'', Marx went into greater detail about how this [[revolution]] would unfold. As well as proposing an economic system, Marx also advocated [[education]] for all including women and the lower classes who at the time were without any education.

==Critique of Marxists==
[[Mikhail Bakunin]] observed how rather than discussion of issues, the tried and tested method of [[leftism]] and [[Marxism]] was spread through the art of [[character assassination]], <ref>Guy A. Aldred, ''Bakunin'', Strickland Press, [[Glasgow]], (1940). </ref> close associates of Marx were adept in the art of
{{Cquote|cowardly, odious and perfidious insinuations. They seldom make open accusation, but they insinuate, saying they "have heard - it is said - it may not be true, but', and then they hurl the most abominable calumnies in your face.}}

===Views on Religion===
Marx' view on [[religion]] is mostly based on [[Ludwig Feuerbach's]] ideas<ref>Feuerbach, L. ''The Essence of Christianity'', New York, 1957</ref>. Marx is considered very controversial in religious circles for his statement, "Religion...is the opiate of the masses." This was written in his 1843 work "A Contribution to the [http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1843/critique-hpr/intro.htm Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right]" and expresses Marx's belief that religion offers a false palliative to assuage the suffering of "the oppressed", which in his view essentially blames [[faith]] in [[God]] as the hindrance to carrying out the Marxist program.

Karl Marx is often labeled an [[Anti-Semitism|anti-Semite]] or a "self-hating [[Jew]]" for statements such as, "Money is the [[jealous god]] of [[Israel]], in face of which no other god may exist", "The god of the Jews has become secularized and has become the [[god of the world]]. The [[bill of exchange]] is the real god of the Jew. His god is only an illusory bill of exchange", and "What is the worldly religion of the Jew? Huckstering. What is his worldly [[God]]? Money."

It should be noted, however, that Marx's metaphorical use of Judaism and money was standard for Jews of his time. Moses Hess, for example, self-consciously Jewish and proto-Zionist, used language almost exactly similar to Marx's in his "On the Money System." The equation of Judaism with money was standard for Marx's period, even by Jews.<ref>[http://www.marxists.org/archive/draper/1977/kmtr1/app1.htm]</ref>

== Academy Marx versus Public Marx ==

Marx in the academy and Marx in the public sphere are two different figures. It is an axiom within the academy that Marx in the public sphere is a vulgar misappropriation; even Marx once commented, "I am not a Marxist", referring to the treatment of his theory amongst his own contemporaries; this largely displays, at least, the freedom of interpretation intrinsic within Marx and the volatility of his content.

This misappropriation is likely largely a result of Marx's own Communist Manifesto and its popularity within post-war socialist activism in the US. The Communist Manifesto is only a drop in an ocean of Marx's work and theory, and not even the most relevant one. The complexity of Marx's work has actually enabled some contemporary theorists to find his work as a support of capitalism, while others interpret it as a trenchant critique of capitalism; and in fact it is both. Marx is actually very clear that capitalism is the most powerful mode of production available. What is debated is whether resistance to capitalism is intrinsic to itself, and whether the entire world marches inevitably towards capitalism.

Regardless of Marx's nuances and the usefulness of his theory for all perspectives of inquiry, even conservative ones, he continues to be misappropriated in the public. This is noticeable in the mildly anecdotal evidence that to even mention Marx is virtual political suicide. The academy refers to this phenomenon as the anti-intellectualism of the American public.

== See also ==

*[[Baldomero Ortoneda]]
*[[Max Weber]]

==References==
<references/>

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Max Weber

2008-11-09T18:52:42Z

OmniR: added the iron cage since w/o it the entire point Weber had been missed in the article

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'''Max Weber''' (1864-1920) was a German [[sociologist]], [[economist]], [[political scientist]], and writer. One of Weber's main interests was developing a methodology for social science. His works had a considerable influence on 20th-century sociologists. He devised the concept of "ideal types," generalized models of historical situations that could be used as a basis for comparing societies. He opposed the orthodox Marxian view of the time that economics was the primary determining factor in social causation, and instead stressed the plurality and interdependence of causes. Weber emphasized the role of religious values, ideologies, and charismatic leaders in shaping societies. In his most famous work, ''[[Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]]'' he developed a thesis concerning the connection between the ascetic ideal fostered by Calvinism and the rise of capitalist institutions.

Weber viewed the [[Reformation]] as a critical period in European history that saw a reorientation of basic cultural frameworks of spiritual direction and human outlook, destined to have a great impact on economic life as well as other aspects of modern culture. Weber tended to view Protestant rationalism as one further step in the series of stages of increasing rationalization of every area of modern society.

== The Iron Cage ==

Weber's point in the seminal work ''[[Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]]'' is not the success of protestant nations or capitalism over other nations or economic organizations. He actually questioned the historicist conclusion that the protestant ethic or capitalism were responsible for the "success" of modernity. In fact, such a conclusion is entirely Marxist, who Weber was in deliberate argument with. This is expressed in Weber's notion of the '''Iron Cage''' from a passage in the conclusion of his book:

:''"...care for external goods should lie on the shoulders of the "saint like a light cloak, which can be thrown aside at any moment." But fate decreed the cloak should become an iron cage"''

Weber's point is that the rationalization of individual behaviors towards a capitalist organization would create a rigid, authoritarian, materialistic, and dehumanized bureaucracy. Some argue Weber was a pessimist in this regards but that he actually thought this was the best means of social organization. Others note that he has argued that capitalism and its benefits existed before protestantism and that the protestant ethic only rationalized individual behavior towards this mode of production. These people claim he was lamenting the ways in which human society had come to serve their tools and organizations (such as capitalism) rather than let these things serve them.

Regardless of which interpretation of Weber we take on this point, he was very clear that due to the rationalization of capitalism, the entire globe would be effected by it, perhaps forced to adopt it. Whether or not this is a good thing is, of course, a point of debate related directly to the interpretation of the '''Iron Cage'''.

== Sources ==
http://www.answers.com/topic/max-weber#Encyclopedia

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Karl Marx

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