SOCIALISM - Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel's ideas Flashcards
Who defined historical materialism?
Engels called the comprehensive analysis of the effects of social and economic forces on humans as historical materialism - this is basically looking at the history of human society and how it was driven by material conditions, creating dominant and oppressed classes.
What is primitive communism?
This is the part of history where initial forms of civilisation took place in a tribal hunter-gatherer society.
Resources were shared around the tribe but they were not very productive, which caused a constant struggle for survival.
What happened after primitive communism?
Conflict between the tribes, with the successful tribes being the ones with better technology, led to the establishment of ancient empires based on slavery.
What happened after ancient empires?
Feudalism - the nobility exploited the serfs and peasants.
This ended in economic and social revolution.
What happened after feudalism?
Capitalism - bourgeoisie exploited the proletariats to make profit.
What did Marx and Engels think a revolution would do?
They believed it would take all resources into common ownership, shared by all.
This would establish socialism.
People can’t be expected to just adjust to collective ideology after being individualistic for so long - how would they adjust?
State govt would have to educate and move people towards ever more equality and collective living and prevent any counter-revolution.
Thus would always be temporary
What is the transitional period called?
Dictatorship of the proletariat.
What would happen after the dictatorship of the proletariat?
People could live communally in absolute equality.
There would be a classless society
There would be no need for the state and so it could happily ‘wither away’
HUMAN NATURE
understanding + quo
humans are social beings but capitalism created a ‘false consciousness’ in proletariat
humans are malleable and are shaped by prevailing material conditions.
proletariat need to gain class consciousness.
‘all history is nothing but a continuous transformation of human nature’
SOCIETY
understanding + quo
capitalist society corrupts human nature.
proletarians must rise in revolution to create a fair and just society.
‘workers of all countries, unite. you have nothing to lose but your chains. you have a world to win’
STATE
understanding + quo
bourgeois state needs to be overthrown and temporarily replaced with the dictatorship of the proletariat.
when society learns to live in harmony and cooperation, there is no need for a state.
the state can then ‘wither away’
ECONOMY
understanding + quo
capitalism is corrupt and inefficient - this is based on competition rather than cooperation.
the economy needs to facilitate collective ownership and distribution according to need.
equality of outcome!
‘from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs’
