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I. Marx and Marxism
a. Beginning of Marxism: publication of The Communist Manifesto, by Marx and Freidrich Engels
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History
- i. Marx born in middle-class family in Germany from rabbis; father= Protestant lawyer
- ii. University of Bonnà University of Berlin due to carelessness
- 1. UBerlin: encountered ideas of German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
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History of Marx cont.
- i. Ph.D in philosophy and planned to teachà fail due to atheismà career in journalismà editor of liberal bourgeois newspaper in Cologne
- 1. After newspaper suppressed because of his radical viewsà Paris where he met Engels
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History of Engels
- i. Son of wealthy German cotton manufacture who worked in father’s factories
- ii. Knowledge of wage slavery of the British working class, detailed in The Conditions of the Working Class in England, a damning indictment of industrial life written in 1844.
- iii. Engels would contribute his knowledge of actual working conditions as well as monetary assistance to the financially strapped Marx
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Marx and Engels
- i. 1847: joined German socialist revolutionaries known as Communist League
- ii. Both were enthusiastic advocates of the radical working-class movement and agreed to draft a statement fo their ideas for the leagueà Communist Manifesto
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Communist Manifesto appearance
- 1. Appeared on eve of revolutions of 1848; very radical in language
- a. Closing lines: WORKING MEN OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!—were to arouse the working classes to action, but were unnoticed
- 2. Work was one of most influential political treatises in modern European history
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i. Engles said Marx’s ideas were partly a synthesis of French and German thought
French contribution
- 1. French gave Marx ample documentation for his assertion that a revolution could restructure society
- a. Also provided him with examples of socialism
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i. Engles said Marx’s ideas were partly a synthesis of French and German thought
German contribution
- 1. Germans, like Hegel, gave idea of dialectic: everything evolves, and all change in history is result of conflicts between antagonistic elements
- a. Marx was impressed by Hegel, but disagreed with his belief that history is determined by ideas manifesting themosevesl in historical forces
- i. Marx said course of history is determined by material forces
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a. Ideas of the Communist Manifesto (1)
- i. Throughout history, oppressed and oppressor opposed each other
- 1. In earlier struggles, the feudal classes of the Middle Ages were forced to accede to the emerging middle class/ bourgeoisie
- a. As the bourgeoisie took control, its ideas became the dominant views of the era, and government became its instrument
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a. Ideas of the Communist Manifesto (2)
i. Marx and Engles declared the government of the state reflected/ defended the interests of the industrial middle class and its allies
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a. Ideas of the Communist Manifesto (3)
- i. Although bourgeois society emerged victorious out of the ruins of feudalism, Marx and Engles insisted that it had not triumphed completely
- 1. Once again, the members of the bourgeoisie were antagonists in an emerging class struggle, but they faced the proletariat, or the industrial working class
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a. Ideas of the Communist Manifesto (3b): Fierce Struggle
a. Fierce struggle, but Marx and Engles predicted the workers would overthrow their bourgeoisie mastersà proletarioat would form a dictatorship to reorganize the means of productionà classless society and the state (instrument of the bourgeoisie) would wither away since it no longer represented the interests of a particular classà no more class strugglesà progress in science, tech, and industryà greater wealth for all
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Revolution's failure
- a. After revolution’s failure, Marx went to London, where he spent the rest of his life
- i. Continued writing on political economy, especially his famous work, Das Kapital, only one volume completed and Engels edited the remaining novels
- b. One of the reasons Das Kapital wasn’t complete was Marx’s preoccupation with organizing the working-class movement
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In The Communist Manifesto...
- i. In The Communist Manifesto, Marx defined communists as “most advanced and resolute section of the working-class parties of every country”
- ii. Marx’s role was participating in the activities of the International Working Men’s Association
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i. International Working Men’s Association
- 1. Formed in 1864 by British and French trade unionsists, this “First International” served as an umbrella organization for working-class interests
- a. Marx was the dominant personality on the organization’s General Council and dvoted much time to its activities
- i. Internal dissension within the ranks soon damaged the organization, and it failed in 1872
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