The Communist Manifesto (1848) - Marx Flashcards
what does this statement mean:
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.”
encapsulates Marx’s view that societal development is driven by conflicts between oppressor and oppressed classes.
How does Marx define the bourgeoisie and proletariat?
Bourgeoisie: “Modern capitalists, owners of means of social production, employers of wage-labor.”
Proletariat: “Modern wage-laborers, no means of production of their own, selling their labor.”
What distinguishes the bourgeois epoch according to Marx?
The abolition of bourgeois private property, which is tied to exploitation and class antagonisms.
What are the 10 proposals in the Communist Manifesto?
- Abolition of private property for land and public use
- Progressive or graduated income tax: the more money you make, the more taxes you should pay
- No inheritance because inheritance passes on the wealth from one generation to the next which gives an unfair advantage; everyone should share the wealth!
- Emigrant and rebel lands confiscated & redistributed
- National Bank with Power to Issue Credit - Some of the most offensive acts of theft (e.g. people’s pensions and savings were sent to pockets of the rich people and no one was prosecuted) are done by banks
- National banks regulate whose money is lent to and check if lenders using the money productively
- Communications and Transport run by the State
- Factories controlled by State
- Everyone Must Work
- Free Education -> access to education, encourage diversity, avoid student debts
what does this quote mean:
“The executive of the modern State is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie.”
Reflects the idea that the state primarily serves the interests of the ruling capitalist class.
what are the common criticisms of communism?
if we eradicate private property,
1. individuality vanishes (but we’re already robots under capitalism)
2. communists are lazy (but laziness is defined by the bourgeoisie)
3. we will lose cultural diversity (culture of the bourgeoisie - socialised into that lifestyle)
4. families will be destroyed (but families have been prostituting their children – grooming children to pursue to bourgeoisie lifestyle)
5. what about education? (but education liberates us from ruling class values)
6. women will become sluts (but Communism liberates women from alienated domestic labour -> believe that marriage will trap women)
7. Religion will be eliminated (but religion is the opiate of the masses - makes you ensure injustices you face)
How did colonization contribute to the rise of the bourgeoisie?
Colonization created new wealth, markets, production methods, and demands, enabling economic expansion and the development of an integrated global economy.
Good:
1. New Markets, New Technology, New Demands
2. economy expanding faster than society could keep up
3. Internationalism, integrated economy, unified culture
4. New democratic structures, political rights, and social movements.
5. Breaking away from tradition / monarchy
Bad:
1. Too much development leads to the dominance of the bourgeoisie (E.g. US flooded the market with cheap goods (cotton) → slavery → UK benefitted slave trade as they benefitted from the cotton)
2. Bad for Bourgeoisie - constantly fending off one another, protecting one’s assets, jockeying for more power
Bad for Proletarians - pawns in the global economic system, commodified, as development goes up, misery and exploitation goes up.
3. People disenfranchised by the market & take it out on others (E.g. People who are unhappy with migrant workers / foreigners, feels like they are stealing locals’ jobs)
What is private property (capitalist mode of production)? How does Marx view it?
- The exclusive ownership of modes of production
- The proletariats lack ownership over these modes of production
What does Marx say what happens in every historical epoch?
- at every stage of history, there is conflict/class antagonisms between the exploited and the exploiting
- this struggle has reached a stage where the oppressed can no longer emanicpate itself from the class which exploits it
- those who benefit from the conflict is only the bourgeoisie
- the class antagonism is a driving force in historical development, leading to social change and evolution
What did Marx believe the proletariats would do when faced with class struggle?
“The proletariats have nothing but to lose their chains. They have a world to win”
* Marx believed they would form a political class of their own to overthrow the capitalist system
* He believed the proletariats would subvert the hierarchies and be at the top of society
What does this quote mean:
“What the bourgeoisie, therefore, produces, above all, is its own grave-diggers.”
The bourgeoise needs the proletariats for their labour. Yet they exploit them the most. This contradiction (among others) will lead to collapse [or revolution] eventually.
What is Marx’s methodology:
- (Hegel) Dialectics as a way to understand history & our current capitalistic condition
- Movement of history will lead to Communism → using dialectics to analyse history - (Feuerbach) Materialism over abstractions, idealism
- “philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways, the point is to change it”
- “rational kernel within the mystical shell.”
- “We ascend from earth to heaven” means starting with the real, observable conditions of life and then examining how they shape human thought and society.
- “men in the flesh”—in their material and historical contexts; reject abstract notions
What does this statement mean: “All previous historical movements were movements of minorities, or in the interest of minorities.”
In the history of the world, power has always been held by a few. In the past it was the sovereign, then feudal lords, now it is the bourgeoisie.
[Minority] Power is also held by the slaves, peasants, and proletariats. They also have an interest in challenging the power structure to better their lives.
These two opposing [contradictory] interests lead to historical movements.
Principles of communism
- Abolition of private property
- Abolish class distinctions
- Promote revolutionary change
What do the communists say about education?
- Education is used by Bourgeoise (remember who is in power now) as an instrument of class oppression. Education should be liberated from the influence of the working class and to serve the interest of society as a whole.
- Education will be a public for all, and not confined to elites only, it will be “free” for all
