Marxism

Marxism was a "body of doctrine"(1) developed by Karl Marx in the late nineteenth century describing his views on philosophy and history, as well as a plan for economics and politics.


 * Philosophy**: Karl Marx thought that we as people cannot settle simply for philosophical thought and interpretation, but that these philosophies must be manifested and the world must be changed, as well as man's awareness of it. He was not a typical philosopher following lines of ideas about generalities like mankind, nature, or the world, but rather he was likely to explore specific problems and their relations to the rest of the political, social, or economic spectrum. He believed, broadly, that it is a man's social existence that defines their consciousness instead of the other way around. This is often referred to as "historical materialism" (1). Marx also viewed human activity as a "struggle with nature" (1), in that we first have to satisfy all of our needs to live, like eating and drinking, and then focus on work, and then on thought and art. In this way, we are defined by our labor and nature. Within Capitalism, Marx thought, one could never truly be free, and needed to instead live by producing as much as possible while consuming the converse amount. Ultimately, he believed that all social, economic, political, and religious ideas were results of man's consciousness, and not the other way around.


 * Works of literature**: Karl Marx had two very famous pieces, //Communist Manifesto// and //Capital//. In //Capital//, Marx's view of the economy is pinpointed and he describes that " man  is a productive  being and  that all economic value comes from human labor" (1). He explains that with capitalism comes increasing contradictions and instability. He believed people needed to switch to some sort of new economic system beyond capitalism, springing socialism and communism. In the //Communist Manifesto//, Marx explained the pointlessness of class struggle. The development of class struggle, he believed, grew and grew with the growth of capitalism. This struggle would eventually end in either some sort of vague crisis, or in a revolution.


 * Influence**: Karl Marx is credited with the ideas of many splintered philosophies, along with practiced Socialism and Communism. In Germany, the extreme leftist group KPD was based on Communism and wanted the revolution in Weimar to proceed on Marxist lines with the creation of a one-party communist state, and an extreme restructuring of Germany along economic and social lines(2).

1. "Marxism." //Encyclopedia Britannica//. N.p., 2009. Web. 11 Oct. 2009. .

2. Layton, Geoff. __Weimar and the Rise of Nazi Germany__. 3rd Edition. London. Hodder, 2005.