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MARX & SOCIALISM.
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Role of German thinker on formation & development of socialism, economics as evolutionary science, impact on 19th Cent. Europe, revolution.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Role of German thinker on formation & development of socialism, economics as evolutionary science, impact on 19th Cent. Europe, revolution.

Paper Introduction:
KARL MARX AND THE BIRTH OF SOCIALISM Karl Marx was born in Trier, Germany on 5 May 1918. The man with whom Marx would become linked in the pursuit of social reform, Friedrich Engels, was born about two years later--29 November 1920--in Barmen (now a part of the city of Wuppertal), Germany. Later in their lives, Marx and Engels would be closely identified with the concept of socialism, generally understood as a social system based on the ownership in common of the means of production and distribution. The use of the term socialism to describe this concept began in the 1830s, some 12-to-15 years after the birth of Marx and Engels, and well before they began to form their own ideas of social philosophy. Although Marx did some of his work in Germany, most was done in England, where he se

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New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992.Hunley, J. Mercantilismhad been the prevailing economic system in France the last-half of theseventeenth century.[1 ] The structure and regulation of the Frencheconomic system was enforced by a strong monarchy. 2. [15]Ibid., 2 2. Where AdamSmith believed that the factors of supply and demand was major determinantsof commodity prices (although the value of labor consumed in theirproduction provided a basis for the determination of value), Karl Marxbelieved that: 1. Heilbronner, The Worldly Philosophers, 6th ed. C. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1977.Ekelund, R. Marx held that a transformation in consciousness was a necessaryprerequisite for the transformation of society.[2 ] The greatest impactMarx had on nineteenth century Europe was the bringing of socialconsciousness to the forefront of general thought. Marx postulated that the value of labor usedestablished the exchange value for a commodity. Marx conceived of economics as an evolutionary science.[5]Karl Marx also viewed economics as merely a part of broader societalprocesses. New York: W. 2. [9]T. Thecapitalist does not behave in the manner described above because he or sheis inherently evil. The owners of capital paid wages which are determined by theexchange value of labor. B., and Hebert, R. (Eds.). K. [23]T. W. Mayer, "German Social Democracy and the Legacy of Karl Marx,"Economic Knowledge and Understanding 35 (1984): 737-745. [8]R. [11]R. The historical conditions prevailing in the years of thelate-nineteenth century, according to this argument, set the stage for anatural transition from capitalism to scientific socialism. Stallybrass, (Eds.), Modern Thought (New York:Harper & Row, Publishers, 1977), 585. 4. [6]K. (New York: W. D. C. W. M. In return for the exchange value of labor, the owners ofcapital who use labor gain the utility value of labor. (New York:Simon and Schuster, 1986), 2 1. F. Marx believed thatthe utility value of labor was greater than the exchange value of labor. During this period, the working classes in France, as a general rule,received low wages, and worked long hours in all but intolerableconditions.[11] Thus, while the French economy prior to 1789 was workingrelatively efficiently, most French citizens were receiving little of thebenefits of this efficiency. (New York:Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992), 7-13. "Utopia and Determinism in Marx, Lenin, and Stalin." China Report, 22 (1986): 129-14 .Shanin, T. [17]Ibid., 2 4. [1 ]R. Norton & Company, 1978, 222-293.Marx, K. Ekelund and R. W. [14]Ibid., 113. In the future, human controlwould be increased over things, as opposed to the prior system, in whichhuman control was increased over other people.[17] To the French political and economic leader Claude de Saint-Simon, thelong-term goal was a form of anarchy, where there would be no interferenceby government in the industrial sphere.[18] In the intervening periodbefore the elimination of government, however, Saint-Simon also believedthat government should, when required, provide employment for thoserequiring work, and social assistance for those people in need.[19] Theseobjectives were incorporated into the philosophical thought of Marx andEngels who also foresaw the eventual elimination of government. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1993), 1 2. Modern Thought. W. Hunley, The Life and Thought of Friedrich Engels (New Haven,Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1991), p. Narayanswamy, "Utopia and Determinism in Marx, Lenin, andStalin," China Report, 22 (1986): 129-14 . [5]D. Hebert, A History of Economic Theory andMethod, 4th ed. 3. [3]A. Norton & Company, 1978, 2 3-217.Mayer, T. Karl Marx: His Life and Thought. Marx raised economic theory above a preoccupation withagriculture and stationary states that had dominated earlier economicthought.[6] Marx postulated that class structures in societies, thepolitical systems in societies, and societal cultures were the product ofthe ways in which societies produced their goods and services. M. Norton & Company, 1978), 222. In Tucker, R. E. Rather, according to Marx, capitalist greed is a partof the system in which entrepreneurs must strive for accumulation, if theyare to survive; "one accumulates or one gets accumulated."[8] The theories of Marx and Engels became intertwined with the concept ofsocialism, and exerted a profound influence on nineteenth centuryEurope.[9] The theories of Marx and Engels were heavily influenced by theevents in France in the first-half of the nineteenth century. Tucker, (Ed.), The Marx-Engels Reader, 2nd ed. Marx, "The Grundrisse," (1858), in R. Thus, the economyworked relatively efficiently to serve the self-interest of the fortunatefew in French society during that period. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1993.Hausman, D. Theemphasis in Marx-Engels economic theory is on the welfare of the masses, asopposed to an emphasis on individual self-interest. "Introduction." In Hausman, D. D. Heller, Structured Social Inequality, 3rd ed. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books, 1992.Bullock, A., and Stallybrass, O. In Tucker, R. [16]Ibid., 2 2-2 3. (Ed.). Within this framework, one might expect that capitalists would seekout labor-intensive production processes, as surplus value is, according toMarx, created by labor.[7] Marx contended, however, that the realmotivation of the capitalist is to keep labor costs low. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1986.Heller, C. Bullock and O. [7]K. B. In the wake of the Industrial Revolution, the plight of the laboringclasses became increasingly dismal, as the excesses of early capitalismproliferated.[4] The inequities between the laboring and capitalistclasses in society spawned the concept of socialism, and served as both amotivation and an inspiration for both Marx and Engels in the formulationof their own social philosophies. C. L. Marx diedin 1883. The Marx-Engels Reader, 2nd ed. C. The Philosophy of Economics. S. The labortheory of value occupied a prominent place in the broader economic theorydeveloped by Marx. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1991.Hunt, E. M. KARL MARX AND THE BIRTH OF SOCIALISM Karl Marx was born in Trier, Germany on 5 May 1918.[1] The man withwhom Marx would become linked in the pursuit of social reform, FriedrichEngels, was born about two years later--29 November 192 --in Barmen (now apart of the city of Wuppertal), Germany.[2] Later in their lives, Marx andEngels would be closely identified with the concept of socialism, generallyunderstood as a social system based on the ownership in common of the meansof production and distribution.[3] The use of the term socialism todescribe this concept began in the 183 s, some 12-to-15 years after thebirth of Marx and Engels, and well before they began to form their ownideas of social philosophy. Baxter, Economics, 3rd ed. M. The socialism of thefirst-half of the eighteenth century was a utopian socialism that Marx andEngels viewed as primarily theory that would eventually lead to thedevelopment of a practical socialism.[21] The practical socialismdeveloped by Marks and Engels was referred to as scientific socialism.Marx and Engels argued that the concentration of capital that was occurringin Europe in the late-nineteenth century was the stimulus for the creationof communism. Hunt, "The Relation of the Ricardian Socialist to Ricardoand Marx," Science & Society, 44 (198 ): 177-198. Marx, "Wage, Labour, and Capital," (1849), in R. L. Hausman, "Introduction," in D. The sociallynecessary labor time required to produce workers is comprised of the inputsrequired to rear, feed, clothe, educate, and train workers. [21]W. Germany, underthe yoke of Bismark's anti-socialist legislation, was considered by Marxand Engels to be especially susceptible to such a social transition.[22]Marx viewed the peasant communes in Russia in the late-nineteenth centuryas the model for the establishment of scientific socialism acrossEurope.[23] The concept of an independence for the working classes to beachieved through socialism swept across Europe in the late-nineteenth andearly-twentieth centuries.[24] BIBLIOGRAPHYBaxter, R. New York: W. The Marx-Engels Reader, 2nd ed. A History of Economic Theory and Method, 4th ed. F. Structured Social Inequality, 3rd ed. (Harmondsworth, England: PenguinBooks, 1992), 1 5. The Life and Thought of Friedrich Engels. Tucker,(Ed.), The Marx-Engels Reader, 2nd ed. "Utopian Socialism and Scientific Socialism As Understood By Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels." Contributions to Economic Understanding, 27 (1985): 733-746.Narayanswamy, R. (New York: W. [12]Ibid. [19]Ibid., 2 5. The Worldly Philosophers, 6th ed. The difference between the utility value of labor and theexchange value of labor was termed surplus value by Marx, who believed thatonly labor, among all of the factors of production, could produce surplusvalue. S. K. The exchange value of labor, in turn, is determined by thesocially necessary labor time required to produce workers. [24]E. [4]C. "The Relation of the Ricardian Socialist to Ricardo and Marx." Science & Society, 44 (198 ): 177-198.Marx, K. Shanin, "Marx, Marxism, and the Agrarian Question," HistoryWorkshop Journal (1981): 12 . "Marx, Marxism, and the Agrarian Question." History Workshop Journal (1981): 1 8-128.----------------------- [1]D. Economics, 3rd ed. (Ed.). What was required in post-revolutionary France was an economic and political system that emphasizedthe interests of the masses as opposed to the interests of theindividual.[16] In post-revolutionary France, there would be no favoredand governing aristocracy. "Wage, Labour, and Capital." (1849). Rather, there would be economic and industrialmanagement for the benefit of the masses. McLellan, Karl Marx: His Life and Thought (New York: Harper &Row, Publishers, 1973), 1. "The Grundrisse." (1858). Although Marx did some of his work in Germany,most was done in England, where he settled permanently in 1849. [22]Mayer, 741. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1984, 35- 38.Heilbronner, R. Philosophically, the French during this period, again, as a generalrule, (1) tended to emphasize the group, as opposed to the individual, and(2) tended to perceive societal systems, economic or political, asevolving, so that each new development was superior to that immediatelypreceding.[12] Each of these factors was significant, because theyprovided the basis for the development of economic theories designed topromote class interests, as opposed to individual self-interest.[13] Considering, as they did, the French Revolution as a part of anevolutionary process, French economists and philosophers looked to the post-revolutionary period as one in which the social and economic evils of thepast would be eliminated.[14] The primary emphasis in the French actionwas on improvements for the working classes through the socialization ofthe economic system.[15] To the French economic and political theorists,the French Revolution had demonstrated that reason alone was not enough tocreate social and economic justice. Marx, thus, regarded labor as a commodity, and the distinctionbetween the labor value of a commodity and the utility value of a commoditywas critical in an analysis of value employing Marxist theory. Hausman, (Ed.), ThePhilosophy of Economics (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press,1984), 35-38. Meiser, "Utopian Socialism and Scientific Socialism AsUnderstood By Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels," Contributions to EconomicUnderstanding, 27 (1985): 733-746. [2]J. (Ed.). [13]Ibid., 2 3. [2 ]R. "German Social Democracy and the Legacy of Karl Marx." Economic Knowledge and Understanding 35 (1984): 737-745.McLellan, D. E. [18]Ibid. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1973.Meiser, W. Marx did not believe thatthe utility value of the commodity altered the fundamental value of thecommodity, which was established by the amount of labor consumed in itsproduction. Norton & Company,1978), 2 5. Thus, capital-labor substitution through technological innovation will be sought by thecapitalist, because this action depreciates the cost of labor.

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