FREE ESSAY ON KARL MARX

KARL MARX

Karl Marx was a believer in an inevitable revolution between capitalists, and the workers
employed in their industries. He claimed that the actual cost of any product is simply
the price of material and most importantly, the labor employed to build it. However, the
owner of the industry does no labor in creating the product, but rather buys a laborer
and sells the results of that man?s work. What he refused to accept, was the fact that
the owners would sell the product for more than he paid the laborer making it. Marx
therefore considered any profit or difference made in the sale, to be stolen from the
worker. He anticipated that industrial owners would then begin to thicken their wallets
by paying workers as little as possible, consequentially, causing his employees to become
increasingly poor. Marx theorized that this increasing wealth of the capitalist, along
with the increasing poverty of the workers, would eventually cause a revolution. 
As in all societies, individuals are placed into social classes. They are informally
separated into these classes by means of their income, and worth to the society. The
higher classes are capitalists who most likely inherited monies, and thus are considered
to be more important than peasants or laborers. Peasants and laborers are then classified
by their wealth (or lack of), which is directly proportional to their importance in the
industry. Peasants are considered to be unimportant, and therefore are placed at the
bottom of the social ladder. While laborers, although replaceable, are believed to be
slightly more important, thus they are placed on a rung just above that of the peasants.
The individuals in these classes become aware of their identities and interests, by
socializing with other individuals who are considered to be in the same class. 
?The mode of production of material life determines the social, political and
intellectual life process in general. But it is not the consciousness of men that
determines their social being, but on the contrary, their social being that determines
their consciousness? The majority of the time, these classes to not mix or join together.
However, in certain extreme cases, when all social classes are threatened, they will
unite as one to fight the outside force.?(pg. 160)
?The bourgeoisie finds itself involved in a constant battle. At first with the
aristocracy; later on, with those portions of the bourgeoisie itself, whose interests
have become antagonistic to the progress of industry; at all times with the bourgeoisie
of foreign countries. In all these battles it sees itself compelled to appeal to the
proletariat, to ask for its help, and thus, to drag it into the political arena. The
bourgeoisie itself, therefore supplies the proletariat with its own elements of political
and general education, in words, it furnishes the proletariat with weapons for fighting
the bourgeoisie.? (pg. 214)
Capitalism is only feasible in a free society, where one man is allowed to acquire as
much property as he desires. Therefore, the political action taken by the capitalist is
extremely important. The rich will forever have more control over government because they
control the majority of the money running the government. While the poor have to rally
together and choose between, allowing the government to be run by the rich capitalists,
or taking action themselves. If they choose to fight then they need to come together as a
strong unit and demand even distribution of money as well as governmental control of
industry. Thus, they need to instill a ?communistic? government. During periods of class
conflict it would seem that states do become more democratic. This is due to the fact
that individuals in their respective classes rally behind one another to make a
difference. They discover that there is power in number and unless they ban together,
change will not occur
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