Marx

1. Marx's philosophy emerged from a critique of Hegel and capitalism

Marx seized on this idea of bringing Hegel down to earth, and he too began using Hegel's methods to attack the present material and economic condition of human beings.

Hegelian roots. Marx's philosophical journey began with a critique of Hegel's idealism. While Hegel saw history as the progress of Mind or Spirit, Marx inverted this concept, arguing that material conditions and economic relations shape human consciousness and society. This materialist approach became the foundation of Marx's analysis of capitalism and his vision for social change.

Critique of capitalism. Marx's early encounters with socialist ideas in Paris and his observations of industrial conditions in England led him to develop a critical view of capitalism. He saw it as a system that, while productive, also created profound inequality and alienation. This critique would form the core of his lifelong work, culminating in his magnum opus, "Capital."

2. The materialist conception of history: Economic forces shape society

The mode of production of material life conditions the social, political, and intellectual life process in general. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness.

Economic base and superstructure. Marx argued that the economic system of a society (the "base") determines its social, political, and ideological structures (the "superstructure"). This means that laws, politics, culture, and even religion are shaped by the underlying economic conditions and relations of production.

Historical materialism. According to Marx, history progresses through different modes of production (e.g., feudalism, capitalism, socialism) driven by contradictions between the forces of production (technology, labor) and the relations of production (property ownership, class structure). These contradictions lead to class conflicts and eventually to social revolutions that transform society.

Modes of production:

• Primitive communism
• Slave society
• Feudalism
• Capitalism
• Socialism/Communism

3. Alienation: Capitalism estranges workers from their labor and humanity

The worker puts his life into the object and this means that it no longer belongs to him but to the object … The externalization of the worker in his product implies not only that his labour becomes an object, an exterior existence but also that it exists outside him, independent and alien, and becomes a self-sufficient power opposite him, that the life that he has lent to the object affronts him, hostile and alien.

Four types of alienation. Marx identified four ways in which capitalism alienates workers:

1. From the product of their labor
2. From the act of production
3. From their species-being (human nature)
4. From other workers

Dehumanizing effects. Under capitalism, Marx argued, work becomes an external, coerced activity rather than a fulfilling expression of human creativity. Workers are reduced to commodities, their labor bought and sold on the market. This alienation extends beyond the workplace, affecting all aspects of human life and relationships.

4. Surplus value: The exploitation at the heart of capitalism

The fact that the worker obtains only the exchange-value, rather than the use-value, of his labour, means that in order to earn enough to support himself he has to work a full day—say, twelve hours—whereas his labour produces the use-values of the necessary food, clothing, shelter, and so on in, say, six hours.

Labor theory of value. Marx built on classical economics to argue that the value of a commodity is determined by the socially necessary labor time required to produce it. However, he went further to expose what he saw as the fundamental exploitation in capitalism.

Extraction of surplus value. Capitalists, Marx argued, pay workers only for their labor power (ability to work) but profit from the full value their labor creates. The difference between what workers are paid and the value they create is surplus value, which is appropriated by the capitalist as profit. This exploitation is the source of capital accumulation and class inequality.

Example:

• Worker's daily wage: $100
• Value created in a day: $200
• Surplus value extracted: $100

5. Class struggle: The driving force of historical change

The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.

Binary class structure. Marx saw society as fundamentally divided into two main classes:

• The bourgeoisie: owners of the means of production
• The proletariat: workers who sell their labor

Historical dialectic. Class struggle, according to Marx, is the engine of historical change. Each mode of production creates its own class antagonisms, which eventually lead to revolution and the establishment of a new social order.

Proletarian revolution. Marx predicted that the inherent contradictions of capitalism would lead to its downfall. The proletariat, as the universal class with "nothing to lose but their chains," would overthrow the bourgeoisie and establish a socialist society, eventually leading to communism.

6. Communism: Marx's vision of a classless, stateless society

Communism … is the genuine solution of the antagonism between man and nature and between man and man. It is the true solution of the struggle between existence and essence, between objectification and self-affirmation, between freedom and necessity, between individual and species.

Abolition of private property. The core of Marx's communist vision was the collective ownership of the means of production, eliminating the basis for class exploitation.

Transformation of human nature. Marx believed that communism would not only change economic relations but also human consciousness. Without the alienation and competition of capitalism, people would be free to develop their full potential as social beings.

Stateless society. In the final stage of communism, Marx envisioned the "withering away" of the state, as class antagonisms disappear and society can be organized on the principle "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."

7. Marx's enduring relevance: Inequality, globalization, and environmental crisis

The need of a constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie over the entire surface of the globe. It must nestle everywhere, settle everywhere, establish connexions everywhere.

Persistent inequality. While Marx's predictions of immiseration and revolution have not come to pass, his insights into capitalism's tendency to concentrate wealth remain relevant. The work of economists like Thomas Piketty has brought renewed attention to rising inequality.

Globalization. Marx's analysis of capitalism's expansionist nature anticipated many aspects of modern globalization, including the creation of a world market and the constant revolutionizing of production.

Environmental crisis. Some contemporary thinkers draw on Marx's critique of capitalism's drive for endless growth to address environmental challenges, particularly climate change. "Ecosocialists" argue that overcoming capitalism is necessary to achieve ecological sustainability.

Areas of continued relevance:

• Critique of economic inequality
• Analysis of economic crises
• Insights into the dynamics of globalization
• Basis for environmental critiques of capitalism

Last updated: January 24, 2025