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MARXIAN MODEL OF SOCIETY.
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His concept of historical materialism.... More...

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Paper Abstract:
His concept of historical materialism. Rise of capitalist society of divided classes and alienated individuals. Concept of class conflict and alienation leading to violent revolution; dictatorship of the proletariat and formation of ideal socialist society. Marx's focus on critique of capitalist society. Criticisms of Marx by modern theorists. Failure of Communism.

Paper Introduction:
The Marxian model of society is based on the concept of historical materialism, which gives rise eventually to a capitalist society of starkly divided classes and alienated individuals whose relationships are based on the mode of production. Marx sees society as a material entity which evolves from crude to more refined means of production, with ever greater gaps of wealth and power between the owner and worker classes, and individuals suffering from greater alienation as they become commodities themselves in the means of production. The alienation and class conflict eventually becomes so severe that violent revolution occurs, led by enlightened workers, and resulting in the dictatorship of the proletariat, which gives way to the ideal socialist society. Marx focuses more on his critique of capitalistic society

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These are rather the consequences of the material forces of history (Stumpf 433). The events which brought down the Soviet Empire, and which havedriven China, for example, increasingly into the capitalist camp, are takenby many as signs of the failure of Marxist theory. He says that hedoes not come to a final definition of imperialism, but he says thatwhatever its definition it does have a number of elements: "the emergenceof capitalism, its spread through the world, the unequal development ofdifferent areas, the dominance of some countries over others" (Brewer 3).While blatant imperialism as an arm of capitalism may have had its day, theexploitation of poor nations by rich still continues to this day, onceagain confirming Marx's analysis. The sum total of these . Of course, that does not seem to be the case in manydesperately poor nations. Socrates to Sartre. They have become, in effect, anexploited reserve of consumers for the capitalism which reigns over thedeveloped nations. Marx sees society as a material entity whichevolves from crude to more refined means of production, with ever greatergaps of wealth and power between the owner and worker classes, andindividuals suffering from greater alienation as they become commoditiesthemselves in the means of production. The furtherthe worker becomes from the product of his hands, the more he is alienatedfrom life, despite how much money he might make. . Among his most important ideas was that "existencedetermines consciousness." Most fundamentally, this phrase means that Marxbelieved that human individual and social consciousness was shaped by theconditions of the environment, the class conflicts, the means ofproduction, the forces of alienation at work in capitalism. Does it require deepintuition to suspect that the developed capitalist nations have gatheredtremendous wealth and goods, but are nevertheless alienated from the worldwhich they have created? One fascinating aspect of Marxism which is often overlooked is thathe believed the capitalist is as much a victim of historical materialism asthe unenlightened worker: Marx did not "blame" the capitalist for this arrangement [in which workers were exploited] any more than he would attribute to him the organization of the laborers into a self-conscious and powerful group. Marx focuses more on his critique of capitalistic society than on thesocialist utopia. Marx argued that all societies would eventually go through a processwhich resulted in capitalism, that it was historically and materiallyinevitable. For example, it has beennoted that Marx did not foresee the power of labor unions in the classstruggle, a modern addition to the conflict which certainly took some ofthe pressure off society and the struggle between workers in and owners ofthe means of production. . The Marx-Engels Reader. Marx was correct in that the capitalistic market needsto constantly expand. Works CitedBrewer, Anthony. Wages and income are low (except for a small elite)"(Brewer 9-1 ). Of course, this radical rupture with traditional ideas suggests aradical rupture with the enslaved consciousness which contains those ideas.The communist revolution, then, simultaneously ruptures entirely the mentaland material processes of capitalism. (Tucker 489). The Marxian model of society is based on the concept of historicalmaterialism, which gives rise eventually to a capitalist society of starklydivided classes and alienated individuals whose relationships are based onthe mode of production. Hebelieves that capitalism and imperialism developed together, becausecapitalism has to expand and imperialism is that expansion. However, they are morethe failure of human beings to bring to reality the last part of histheory. constitutes the economic structure of society, the real foundation, on which rises a legal and political superstructure and to which correspond definite forms of social consciousness (Tucker 4). Of course, the point of communism is that it provides liberation forhuman consciousness, but not until that consciousness becomes so dividedagainst itself, so alienated from everything and everyone around it, thatit is ready to risk all to be free: The Communist revolution is the most radical rupture with traditional property relations; no wonder that its development involves the most radical rupture with traditional ideas (Tucker 489-49 ). Brewer writes that there are importantdifferences among the three continents where the underdeveloped nations are-- Latin America, Africa and Asia -- but there are also importantsimilarities among such nations: "a small proportion of the population isemployed in modern industry, and large, low-productivity, agricultural andservice sectors. Marxist Theories of Imperialism. This rhetorical question is meant to make clear that theconsciousness of man is, in effect, a slave to the material conditions ofthe society in which it exists. New York: Norton, 1978.----------------------- 7 The fact thatcommunism failed in its various forms does not allow us to dismiss Marxism,for those failed efforts do not invalidate his critique of capitalism,although they may show that bringing to reality an ideal utopia is as hardunder communism as it is under "democracy" or capitalism. ed. His critique of capitalism holds true in many areas. Of course, Marx did not see the rise of the middle class and its rolein defusing some of the pressure from the two-class struggle upon whichMarx based his theory. Brewer says that in the modern world international trade hasincreased faster than production. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966.Tucker, Robert C. London: Routledge,199 .Stumpf, Samuel. The major development of the 2 th century is the division between thedeveloped and underdeveloped worlds. However, as Anthony Brewer writes in MarxistTheories of Imperialism, underdeveloped nations are not capitalistic, butthey are now a part of a world which is dominated by capitalism, and as aresult they are being shaped by it. In the social production of their life, men enter into definite relations that are indispensable and independent of their will, relations of production.... Marx leaves no doubt that man's consciousness is simply anotherelement of the inexorable march of historical materialism and the social,economic and political evolution which creates an increasingly distressedreality for all: Does it require deep intuition to comprehend that man's ideas, views and conceptions, in one word, man's consciousness, changes with every change in the conditions of his material existence, in his social relations and in his social life? There have been changes in many countrieseconomically, but Brewer says that The world capitalist economy is much more tightly integrated than ever before, despite the achievement of formal independence by most underdeveloped countries. It is a world which has taken hundreds of years todevelop, and it resembles a single capitalistic society in which therelative few who are rich and powerful control and exploit the lives of themany workers and the poor. The system cannot possibly be understood by looking at particular nation-states in isolation (Brewer 8). Brewer takes the basic Marxist view that society andthe world are shaped by economic forces more than by any other factor. Underdeveloped and developed nations together form a worldof unequal economies. The alienation and class conflicteventually becomes so severe that violent revolution occurs, led byenlightened workers, and resulting in the dictatorship of the proletariat,which gives way to the ideal socialist society. He also did not foresee employee-owned businesses.Nevertheless, much of what Marx had to say in his critique of the processesof capitalism does seem applicable and relevant still today. Marxism has been criticized by modern theorists, and even by thoseneo-Marxists who base their ideas on Marx's ideas.

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