Marx and Engels Flashcards
1
Q
Books?
A
- Communist manifesto (1848)
- Das kapital (1867)
2
Q
Human nature
A
- Human nature originally fraternal and altruisitc, has been contaminated by capitalism, instilling the ‘false consciousness’ of bourgeios values.
- Task was to create a non-capitalist economic system that would revive such characteristsics
3
Q
The state
A
- The existing liberal-bourgeois state is a tool of the dominant capitalist class: it must destroyed by revolution and replaced by a socialist state: dictatorship of the proletariat
- The liberal state was merely a committee for the ruling class and could never provide an evolutionary road to socialism. Later inspired socialist fundamentalists such as Ralph Milliband and Tariq Ali
4
Q
Society
A
- Capitalist society is sickeningly, yet fatally, defined by class interests and class conflict
- A communist society will be the perfect ‘end of history’, principle of ‘from each according to his ability to each acording to his needs’
5
Q
The economy
A
- Capitalism is corrupt, inefficient and ultimately self-destructuve. It should be replaced by an economy based on collective ownership
- Capitalism sought to be competitive by creating ‘ surplus value’, whereas employers paid employees minimum wages so as to allow for most profits to be used for refining the means of production
