Marx

Question 1

Who was Karl Marx, and what were his key contributions?

Answer 1

Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a German social scientist, political theorist, and activist whose work profoundly impacted the world.

Question 2

What was Marx’s view on human nature?

Answer 2

Humans are creative and productive beings, different from animals due to their ‘conscious life activity’, shaping life beyond mere instinct.

Question 3

How did Marx define the essence of humans?

Answer 3

He defined the human essence as “social creativity,” emphasizing humans as inherently social and conscious beings.

Question 4

What was Marx’s critique of Enlightenment emancipation?

Answer 4

Marx argued that formal emancipation promoted individual freedom but left inequalities and domination untouched.

Question 5

How did Marx critique the notion of the individual as ‘atomic’?

Answer 5

He argued that viewing individuals as isolated, tears them out of their social context.

Question 6

What are the four dimensions of alienation in Marx’s theory?

Answer 6

Alienation from the product, from productive activity, from self, and from other human beings.

Question 7

What is alienation from the product?

Answer 7

Workers do not own or control what they produce, as it is taken away and used for profit, often without their knowledge of the end product.

Question 8

What is alienation from productive activity?

Answer 8

Work becomes tormenting, repetitious, and uncreative under capitalism, reducing workers to mere machines.

Question 9

What is alienation from self?

Answer 9

Workers are prevented from realizing their full potential and living up to their human essence.

Question 10

What is alienation from other human beings?

Answer 10

Relationships are defined by competition and exchange, rather than mutual need, instrumentalizing others.

Question 11

Who are the bourgeoisie in Marx’s theory?

Answer 11

The modern capitalists who own the means of production and exploit wage laborers.

Question 12

Who are the proletariat?

Answer 12

The working class who rely on selling their labor to survive and create capital for the bourgeoisie.

Question 13

What is historical materialism?

Answer 13

A view that material factors, especially organized labor, determine societal realities, ideas, and historical events.

Question 14

What is the role of class struggle in history, according to Marx?

Answer 14

Class struggle is the driving force of history, with conflicts between classes shaping societal changes.

Question 15

How did Marx describe class antagonisms in ancient society?

Answer 15

Patricians vs. slaves.

Question 16

How did class antagonisms manifest in feudal society?

Answer 16

Nobility vs. serfs.

Question 17

How are class antagonisms expressed in capitalism?

Answer 17

Bourgeoisie vs. proletariat.

Question 18

What does Marx mean by “the ruling ideas of each age”?

Answer 18

The dominant ideas in society reflect the interests of the ruling class.

Question 19

What is the “base” in Marx’s theory?

Answer 19

The base consists of the forces of production (means, methods, organization of work) and relations of production (class and property relations).

Question 20

What is the “superstructure” in Marx’s theory?

Answer 20

The superstructure includes legal, political, and ideological structures influenced by the base.

Question 21

What are Marx’s three theses of historical materialism?

Answer 21

1. The development thesis =
   The forces of production grow
2. Primacy thesis I =
   Forces of production determine the relations of production
3. Primacy thesis II =
   The relations of production determine the superstructure

Question 22

What triggers the transition from feudalism to capitalism?

Answer 22

The conflict between developing productive forces and existing relations of production leads to social revolution.

Question 23

What is the formula for capitalism according to Marx?

Answer 23

M-C-M’ (Money-Commodity-More Money).

Question 24

How does Marx define a commodity?

Answer 24

Commodities are market articles, including labor power, which is bought and sold under capitalism.

Question 25

What determines the value of a commodity?

Answer 25

The socially necessary labor time required to produce it.

Question 26

How does capitalism exploit workers?

Answer 26

Workers sell their labor power for subsistence wages, but create surplus value, which becomes profit for capitalists.

Question 27

Why is unemployment necessary for capitalism, according to Marx?

Answer 27

Unemployment gives capitalists a bargaining advantage over workers, keeping wages low and conditions poor.

Question 28

What leads to capitalism’s downfall?

Answer 28

Increased use of machines, profit-seeking, rising class consciousness among the proletariat, and intensifying crises.

Question 29

What are the cyclical crises of capitalism described by Marx?

Answer 29

Boom and bust phases where productive forces outgrow bourgeois conditions, setting the stage for more destructive crises.

Question 30

How does the proletariat rise against the bourgeoisie?

Answer 30

The bourgeoisie create the conditions for their own overthrow by creating the proletariat, which eventually leads the revolution.

Question 31

What is the “dictatorship of the proletariat”?

Answer 31

A transitional phase where the proletariat organizes society and redistributes the means of production.

Question 32

What is the principle of communist society?

Answer 32

“From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”

Question 33

How does communism change labor and society?

Answer 33

It eliminates division of labor, allows diverse activities, and aligns work with human development and prime wants.

Question 34

Why is Marx’s theory still relevant today?

Answer 34

It critiques commodification and exploitation, concepts that remain significant in 2024 and beyond.