Karl Marx was a German philosopher and very famous political activist. He was a philosopher, political economist and was known for creating the idea of Communism. Marx's rise to popularity began during the Industrial Revolution. He was shocked at the sight of the workers. The conditions were terrible and the workers were being treated very poorly. They were making products that weren't theirs and depended greatly on money wages. He voiced his thought saying that the factory owners would own the factories instead of the landlords. He encouraged the workers to unite and revolt.
This was the when the period of Capitalism began to arise. Capitalism is a type of economic system where th e means of production, distribution and exchange of wealth is run under private companies or corporations. Landlords began to lose power and other people, such as merchants, eventually rose to power. During the Industrial Revolution, children worked 12 hour days and the conditions in England were damaging and dangerous to one's health. The streets were dirty. Families could only afford to live in ONE room and were very crowded. Many children died because of diseases and undernourishment. Capitalist gained much political power.
A man named Adam Smith wrote a book about Capitalism and his views about it. He was for it, but Karl Marx had a very different idea. He believed that the workers of the factories were disassociated "from the fruits of his own labors." He wanted to change that but first he has to get rid of the Capitalist system. This bought upon the idea of Communism. Communism was the thought that everyone would be common. Karl wanted to put an end to Capitalism. He exclaimed that wealth should be diffused "from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs."
When the kicked Marx and his family out of France because of his ideas, he went to Belgium, where he formed a small group called the Communist League and wrote his Communist Manifesto. In the Manifesto, he explained, how always in history, the lower classes of any system would always rise up and created a whole new society. He also explained how the real value of the product was the labor put into it. Marx kind of threaten the government saying that communist had a better understanding of class struggles and said they would start a revolution and take over the government. The proletarians, or the workers, would take away all the private property of capitalist. The plan for such a project would be used to benefit the proletarians. During the communist phase of the Revolution, the workers controlled mass production and Marx said that there would no longer be a need for government because all the classes would disappear.
He was kicked out of Belgium and then from France again. His ideas were not accepted. He was constantly attacked, threaten and harassed. His ideas were not used in some Communist countries, but others took his thoughts into consideration. Karl believed that the worker of the factories should run the government, but the communist governments were very strict. Workers were still forced to work difficult jobs and the newspaper was forbidden to write anything that would go against the beliefs of the government. Anyone who was against the government, and expressed it, they would be treated terribly. He died in 1883 and only 11 people attended his funeral. His friend and supported Friedrich Engels, who helped him write the Communist Manifesto, attended.
He ended the Communist Manifesto with these great words: "Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workers of the world unite!"
No comments:
Post a Comment