What are the main ideas of Karl Marx?

Question

What are the main ideas of Karl Marx?

Answer 1

share not selfishness

Answer 2

Firstly, the douche who called Marx illiterate is completely deluded, I'm not a Marx fan, but along with Engels, he was one of the greatest articulate and euphemistically profound writers matched in clarity only by Foucault.

He single handily inspired an original epoch in philosophical and social history. You can't change that, or deny it.

Secondly, he wasn't Russian, nor did he live in Russia, he was a German Jew who spent most of his life in Manchester - with Engels who's father owned several cotton mills there, and London - where he eventually died.

If you want to focus on the important ideas then remember the following, He was inspired to a great extent by the teachings of the famous philosopher Hegel, He believed society was a state of evolution which ended in communism (much like Francis Fukuyama of today but with a different outlay), He is the father of class, class struggle, class wars and class action, He was the first person to discuss the conceptions of 'dominant Ideology' and he was mad for technology.

There are reasons he is claimed as the 'greatest philosopher of all time' and aside from Foucault, I think he has it.

Answer 3

Though ill miss a bunch, ill probably hit enough for what youve specified.

1) Karl Marx wrote numerous pamphlets and works discussing some of the contemporary issues of the world around him. Living in a very volatile period in Europe (though he was from Germany and lived for a time in England -unlike what one poster who was misinformed said) he wrote with Frederick Engels about a variety of political and economic issues.

2) Some of his writings were not necessarily tied to capitalism and his critique of it. Marx wrote plenty in his earlier period and much of these pre-capital writings were perhaps of a slightly different tone than his later writings.

3) Marx is probably best known for his critique of capitalism. As a relatively recent large scale phenomena (though it certainly existed in smaller levels for centuries before) Marx originally saw capitalism as a potentially very positive thing, perhaps the last step before the ending of class conflict.

4) As time passed Marx became far more critical of capitalism as it had froze the divisions between groups of people - known as class. Marx began to discuss the need to change the system as he saw numerous issues with the economic system and saw that it would not be the ending of "pre-human history" which he described as based in class conflict. This change would come from in his mind "the proletariat revolution" where the capitalist class would be overthrown by the workers.

5) Marx believed as other people have perhaps hinted to, that the structure of society was based on the economic structure. Everything else was built up on and around the economic base. This is where people tend to start talking about his views of religion, and people will often misquote or apply his famous quotes incorrectly. For Marx religion was allowing people to continue to live in a world that was increasingly set antagonistically against itself. The fact that religion held such a sway over the average person, only kept that person from realizing that change was needed and to do something about it. It was not necessarily religion that Marx had issue with, but what religion was keeping people from, ie overthrowing the antagonistic society he believed they lived in.

Theres certainly a lot more (a whole lot more) than can and should be said about Marx, but i actually recommend reading him. Though the language is intellectual, his writing is actually fairly accessible, and much of the writing is actually poetic at times and you can really sense the passion Marx had for his writing. Its pretty good stuff, even if you dont agree with all of it, or find flaws in it.

Answer 4

karl marx was the father of communist..he lived in russia so russia is basically the father nation of communist..the essence of communist ideology is one country,one religion.one nation...good idea but impossible..u know..with all the races and indifference nowadays..

Answer 5

Im not sure this is totally accurate but Karl Marx  was a communist who believed that every society would go through a number of stages until they reached the perfect state of communism.

He also made a well known quote "religion is the opium of the masses". hmmmm very random soryyyy x

Answer 6

I think you should expand your question a bit....

Answer 7

red is a lovely color...

Answer 8

1.  Every single  penny should be turned in to the local communist bank.?????

2.  You should wear dirty clothes you borrowed from the "blouse house" or the "suit room" of your commune to work.??????

3.  You should get everything free from the supplies that the commie rat  troops have spent years confiscating from the industrial nations' supplies??????.

4.  You should be humble in front of the "bourgeois" workers who are on their coffee break at work and realize that the profits and salary from a job should rightly be turned in to one's local Communist Party and not wasted on shameful coffee and snacks??????

No, suh.  I was just kidding!  Has anyone ever read the works of Marx?  Most practicing communists seem to be illiterate!