KARL MARX

Sociology is the academic study of social behavior and societies. One of the
foundational thinkers of sociology was Karl Marx, a 19th-century German
philosopher. Marx was focused on the relationship between workers and the
economy and began to study society.

Karl Marx (5 MAY 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a

German philosopher, economist, historian, political
theorist, sociologist, journalist and revolutionary socialist. Marx's theories about
society, economics and politics collectively understood as Marxism hold that
human societies develop through class struggle. In capitalism, this manifests
itself in the conflict between the ruling classes (known as the bourgeoisie) that
control the means of production and working classes (known as the proletariat)
that enable these means by selling their labour power in return for wages.
Employing a critical approach known as historical materialism, Marx predicted
that, like previous socioeconomic systems, capitalism produced internal
tensions which would lead to its self-destruction and replacement by a new
system: socialism. For Marx, class antagonisms under capitalism, owing in part
to its instability and crisis-prone nature, would eventuate the working class'
development of class consciousness, leading to their conquest of political power
and eventually the establishment of a classless, communist society constituted
by a free association of producers. Marx actively fought for its implementation,
arguing that the working class should carry out organised revolutionary
action to topple capitalism and bring about socio-economic emancipation.

Marx has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history
and his work has been both lauded and criticised. His work in economics laid
the basis for much of the current understanding of labour and its relation
to capital, and subsequent economic thought. Many intellectuals, labour unions,
artists and political parties worldwide have been influenced by Marx's work,
with many modifying or adapting his ideas. Marx is typically cited as one of the
principal architects of modern social science.

WORK OF KARL MARX:

Karl Marx is a prominent pillar of sociology, and he well established as

classical thinker in sociology. His contribution is in many core areas of
sociology such political sociology, economic sociology, methodology,
sociological theories as well as sociological thought. Beyond this, Marxist itself
as perspective to look at a social issue in sociology from class formation to class
conflict in conflict perspective, stages of development of society a historical
analysis, mode of production, surplus production, capitalism, are one and
unique, dialectal materialism a philosophical approach are few examples from
many .Even now there is a school in Germany of Neo Marxists as critical
sociology - Frankfurt School. Marx and his ideas are a big failure in 21st
century, but Marx remains alive even in near future.

His most the theories are the focal point of discussion among the sociologists
across the world. He changed the methodology of the historical analysis. Marx
rejected the history of rise and fall of kings and their history.

His way of history is history of change of mode of production.Change of mode

of production brings change in society.

In the beginning society was classes so in the last stage of development of

society again society will be classless.

Surplus production causes the creation of benefits through market, in later

course that creates classes - proletariat and bourgeois.
Through dialectal materialism he proved that material brings change in human
as well as society. He corrected to Hegel through as Hegel was believing in
spiritual dialectics.

Karl Marx witnessed the change happened across Europe in his life time,
therefore he has been a great critique of industrialisation and it's post impact on
society.

He is often criticised on the basis that Marx was unaware of emergence of the
middle class which is the centre of modern economy. And also Marx was not
aware of cooperative movement that is the backbone many countries. And that
brought huge change in society.

MARXIST:

Key concepts of Marxist sociology include historical materialism, modes of

production and the relation between capital and labour. Marxist sociology is
primarily concerned with, but not limited to, the relations between society and
economics. Key questions asked by Marxist sociology include:

 How does capital control workers?

 How does a mode of production influence the social class?
 What is the relation between workers, capital, the state and culture?
 How do economic factors influence inequalities such as those relating
to gender and race?

Within the field of sociological theory, Marxist sociology is recognized as

one of the major sociological paradigms and is associated with conflict
theory and critical theory. Unlike Marxism and Marxist philosophy, Marxist
sociology has put relatively little weight on creating class revolution,
pursuing instead the development of an objective, politico-economic study
 of society rather than a critical philosophy of praxis. It may be seen as a field
of economic sociology. Karl Marx is considered the founder of
modern sociology
Social science is a major academic discipline which is concerned with society
and the relationships among individuals within a society. The main social
sciences include economics, political science, demography and sociology.
Sociology is the systematic study of society and human social action. Along
with Émile Durkheim and Max Weber, Karl Marx is considered one of the three
principal architects of modern social science. He is also regarded as thefounder
of modern sociology. In contrast to previous philosophers, Marx offered
theories that could often be tested with the scientific method. Key concepts of
Marxist sociology include historical materialism, modes of production and the
relation between capital and labor. It is primarily concerned, though not limited
to, the way economics define social roles and expectations. Marx’s notion of
metabolic rift, which occurs due to ecological crisis tendencies under
capitalism, is considered the predecessor to modern environmental sociology.
He was a leading member of the First International
In 1864, the International Workingmen’s Association (IWA) was founded in
London. Also known as the First International, IWA had a considerable
influence as a unifying force for labor in Europe during late 19th century; and at
its peak, it was reported to have around 8 million members. Marx was a key
member of IWA and drew up the fundamental documents of the organization.
The IWA played a part when the citizens of Paris rebelled against their
government and held the city from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During this time
the city was governed by a radical socialist and revolutionary government
known as the Paris Commune. The Commune was ultimately suppressed by the
French army. In response to this bloody suppression, Marx wrote one of his
most famous pamphlets, The Civil War in France. In 1872, the IWA started to
decline and split into two; a socialist wing under Karl Marx and an anarchist
faction led by Mikhail Bakunin
. LIST OF STRENGTHS OF MARXISM
1. It tends to create a system of true equality.
Although Marxism’s system of government is considered as communism, it
places an emphasis on human rights, with its foundation encompassing equal
gender roles, health care and access to education. As Marx believed, there
should be equality before the law and societal services, where everyone has an
equal stance and opportunity with no dominant gender. This means that every
person would be able to get access to the most important things he needs
regardless of whatever he does, wherever he lives or how much he makes to
provide a better living for those depending on him.

2. It offers benefits to the society. 

If you look at the Marxist theory, it considers society as a whole, which means
that it acknowledges all the social forces involved, including the power interests
of different groups. Stressing the role of class struggle or conflict within society
between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, it is effective in explaining change
in society. In essence, it organizes society under capitalism, where the
bourgeoisie tends to maximize profit with the proletariat.

3. It helps with capitalism.

Ironically, when huge multi-nationals dominate the entire world economy,
capital advocates would tell us that the future lies with small businesses or
always state that “Small is beautiful”. However, we can consider that the
youthful phase of capitalism is gone beyond recall. But as far as Marxism is
concerned, free competition inevitably begets monopoly, where the struggle
between big and small capitals always yields to the same result. In modern
times, the vast power of multi-nationals and monopolies seems to exercise a
total stranglehold on the world, holding access to economies of scale, staggering
sums of money, ability to manipulate commodity prices and even the influence
of government policies. Now, Marxism was able to predict the inevitable
tendency towards monopolization, where free competition was a standard.

4. It reduces the tendency of debt. 

Under the Marxist philosophy, communities will be working together to achieve
success, where all people would come together to provide for each other, with
the help of the government distributing resources as required.

5. It protects the rights of unions. 

Rather than exploiting managers, Marxism encourages unions to stand up for
personal rights, creating a system of checks and balances for a maximum
production level to be achieved. As it is believed that this philosophy never
exploits workers by management, followers believe that unions are definitely a
great idea.

LIST OF WEAKNESSES OF MARXISM

1. It tries to abolish religion. 
Under Marxism, you would have the freedom to have your own faith, but you
would not have the freedom to practice it in a way that is organized. As you can
see, religion would ultimately place one group in a superior role over the others,
which goes against the equality principle of Marxism. This means that there
would be no organized religion, which would affect prominent beliefs followed
around the world, including Christianity and Judaism. As Marx felt that religion
was used to control people, Marxism would not allow people to be free of
choosing their spirituality.

2. It negatively affects the educational system.

It is important to note that Marxist education implements one that is absolutely
state- controlled, which means that it regards too much importance to the role of
the state in education, which means that the methodology of teaching,
curriculum construction and examination system would be determined by the
state and it does not allow other agencies in education—local or regional—to
have their say. Marxist philosophy on education sees economics lying at the
root of every human activity, though this is not absolutely factual on scientific
point of view, as economics occupies the pivotal position in the curriculum is
one of the main objectives to acquire productive skills, which would result to
creative faculties of children being neglected.

3. It does not value the concept of private ownership. 

While you are given a place to live as part of a community and contribute to the
common good, you will have no private property ownership, which means that
you might not have much control over your residence and your contributions. In
Marxism, there will be the idea that private properties and businesses should be
abolished, which makes it impossible for anyone to take business advantage of
someone else, giving him no reward for working.

4. It limits opportunities for entrepreneurs. 

If you are in doing business under Marxism, then basically, you would be
working for the government, which means that are not going to work as an
entrepreneur, freelancer or sole business owner because everything would run
through the government.

5. It can lead to communism. 

Communism is a possible occurrence in Marxism, as this philosophy is believed
to lead to dictatorship. As you can see, it would not allow anyone to be an
individual, which is believed to lead to a dangerous society without anybody
being motivated.

In theory, equality sounds great, seeing a lot of examples where people are
treated fairly, but keep in mind that an individual is taken out of the scenario
under Marxism. The strengths and weaknesses of this philosophy show some
sets of benefits and drawbacks, creating a system of government that is prone to
abuse, that is why Marx to fix its flaws. But by examining its key strengths and
weaknesses, we will be able to decide whether it is best for society or not.