Philosophy Themes From Karl Marx

KARL MARX (1818 – 1883) Karl Marx was born on May 5, 1818, in Prussia. Marx's father was a successful lawyer involved in the Prussian reformist movement, and appreciated the work of Voltaire and Kant. Although both of Kant's parents were Jewish, his father joined lutheranism as a result of 815 laws that prohibited Jews from having full citizenship rights. Karl Marx entered the university of Bonn in 1835, beiore moving to the university of Berlin at the request of his father who considered it a more serious school). At the university of Berlin, Marx began studying law before turning to philosophy, and began studying Hegel's works. Soon, Marx would be part of a radical student group known as the Hegelian youth who criticized the religious and political establishments of the time. In 1841, Marx earned his doctorate from the University of Jena. Where he wrote his dissertation on the natural philosophy of ancient Greece. His position as a teacher was rejected because of his radical political ideology. Later, Marx began working as a journalist, and became the editor of the libera! Newspaper Rheinische Zeitung in 1842. Only one vear later, however, the government closed the paper. Marx then married and moved to Paris, where, in 1844, he would work with Friedrich Engels in writing a critique of Bruno Bauer (a former friend and Young Hegelian). Marx was soon expelled from France for once again writing for another radical newspaper (this newspaper had close ties to the ar organization that would eventually turn into a communist league), so he moved to Brussels. During his tenure in Brussels, Karl Marx broke away from the ideology of the hegelian youth after being introduced to idealism. While living in Brussels, Marx developed his theory of historical materialism that would emerge in German ideology and wrote a thesis in Feuerbach (which was not published until after his death because he could not find a publisher willing to revise the books). In 1846, in an attempt to connect socialists throughout Europe, Marx created a communist correspondence committee. Marx's ideas inspired the socialists in Britain to form a communist league, and in 1847, at the request of a central committee meeting in London, Marx and Engels wrote the Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei (commonly known as the communist Manifesto). The communist manifesto was published in 1848, and as a result, Karl Marx was expelled from Belgium in 1849. After being deported from France and refusing renaturalization by Prussia Marx finally settled in London, where he participated in the development of German workers' educational institutions and created a new headquarters for the communist league. In 1867, Marx published the first volume of his paper on econornics. Das Kapital, which is considered his greatest achievement. Marx spent the rest of his life working on the manuscript for the next two volumes; However, he died before the books were finished, and then the books were published after his death. PHILOSOPHY THEMES FROM KARL MARX Marx's canon of work focuses on the role of people as laborers and their relationship to the exchange of goods and services. Understand material things In ancient times, Marx was greatly influenced by Hegel's philosophical works; In particular, Hegel's belief that human consciousness has evolved from simple attempts to understand objects to self-consciousness and other higher, more complex and abstract thought processes. Hegel said that history has a similar accent. See; Contradictions in a given time period lead to a more recent time period that seeks to be subtle on top of previous contradictions while Marx agrees with many of Hegel's views on history, Hegel was an idealist and Marx considered himself a materialist. So while Hegel believed that ideas are the main way people relate to their environment and that one can understand history based on ideas that represent periods of time, Marx believed that the way society was organized over a period of time in history was actually a basic truth about that society. Marx viewed history as a developing pattern of a series of economic systems that led to the creation of different cf societies through bringing about feelings of hatred among classes. And the concept of self is labor. When a person works to transform objective matter into something of food and value, one views himself as external and as if he has fulfilled the requirements of life. Marx argued that the key component to a person's sense of well-being Marx claimed that labor is not just a personal creation; It is a display of one's identity and survival. However, Marx stated that workers in capitalism, with the existence of a system underlying private property, eliminate the self-ownership entity that is important to workers. The worker, now far from his product, became alienated from his work, himself, and his colleagues. Nothing longer is a personal feeling of satisfaction for the worker, and he now views his work as a simple way to survive. Because workers are separated from the work process and because labor is an essential component of a person's self, workers must also be separated from themselves and from humanity as a whole. The constant alienation shaped by capitalism thus creates the antagonistic relationship discussed in historical materialism, and will eventually lead to the destruction of capitis. Labor Value Theory Marx stated that the term commodity is "an external object that can satisfy a need or desire." He also made an distinction between the value of utility (the capacity to meet such needs or desires) and the exchange rate (the value measured in money related to other commodities). All commodities are products of labour, and according to Karl Marx, the value of commodities should not be determined by something like demand and supply; Instead, the value should be based on the number of iabors that created the commodity. Therefore, the value of commodities in the market should represent the labor and production that goes into them. Labor Value Theory Marx's value is so significant because it would be at the root of the theory of exploitation, which states that profits are the result of foundries exploiting their workers. In order for a person's needs and desires to be met through the purchase of commodities, he must first produce and sell his own commodities, and such transactions can only be carried out through the use of money. Marx argued that motivation among capitalists is driven not by the desire for commodities, but by the desire for money. This idea was then exploited, and the capitalists created the most working hours to get the labor at the least cost, and then sold it more. From what they pay, not from the value of the commodity. By creating what Marx called "surplus value, the capitalists exploit workers. Production Mode and Production Relations According to Marx, the organization of people's economic production is known as the "mode of production". In the production method is the "means of production," which are used by society to make goods (e.g., raw materials, factories, machinery, and even labor). Then Marx described the "relations of production" as the relationship between those who do not have the means of production (such as workers) and those who do (such as the bourgeoisie or capitalists). Kar! Marx claimed that the evolution of history is the result of modes of production that interact with production relations. As the mode of production continues to develop until the productive capacity is fully reached, hostility between the classes corresponding to the relations of production begins to form (in other words, it becomes the owner versus the worker). The mode of production is known as capitalism, according to Marx. Based on the fact that production is based on private ownership. Capitalism is based on the idea of increasing labor for the lowest price, and workers are only paid enough so that they can survive and continue to produce. Marx claimed that the workers would understand the exploitation and antagonistic nature of capitalism, and this would ultimately lead to the downfall of capitalism by the working class. As a substitute for capitalism, the new method of production will be based on a mode of production that involves collective ownership; And this is communism. Picture page 211 Commodity Fetishism Marx believed that when people try to understand the world they become fixated on things like money (how to get it, who has it. How to spend it, etc.) and commodities (the cost of purchasing or MNK a product, the demand for a product, etc.). Considered by Marx to be "delusional", things that are attached to people who, in turn, prevent people from understanding the truth. These fetishes are what prevent people from understanding the truth about the exploitation of the working class. So in capitalism, the market reward of a commodity in everyday life does not depend solely on exploitation; I am also a mask of worker exploitation. Therefore, Marx said, the existence of commodity fetishism is what allows the capitalist of production to continue without having to face the exploitation that causes it.