Historical Materialism Karl Marx Essay - 1186 Words

HISTORICAL MATERIALISM Karl Marx, all through his life has been influenced by several philosophers. One of the most influential of them all was a German philosopher called Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel; We can clearly see that by looking at Mar’s early writings. Marx’s concept of historical materialism evolved from Hegel’s concept of trend in world history and Marx’s criticism on the presence of religion and idealism in Hegel’s philosophies. According to Hegel a person is not a human being without their ability to think and it is the application of those thoughts/reasons that form history. Furthermore, he says. â€Å"the spirit must create for itself a nature and world to conform with its own nature, so that the subject may discover its own concept of the spirit in this second nature, †¦.it becomes conscious of its subjective freedom and rationality.† It is the thoughts or the world spirit that self-actualizes itself into the human society and creates world history. Humans unconsciously are nothing but a tool of world spirit. The world spirit, like a parent, shows humans thepath and controls their action thereby creating history. For Hegel everything starts from an abstract, imaginary spirit. The world history is governed by the action of thought or the world spirit. In 1943 Marx wrote the â€Å"Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: Introduction.† In that unlike Hegel, Marx took a bottom to top approach. He focused on the real subjects rather than theShow MoreRelatedKarl Marx s Influence On Society1149 Words   |  5 PagesKarl Marx emphasized conflict in the society due to consumerism, religion, intersectionality. He saw this conflict and determined that hidden structures can benefit him and others by using the term of ideology which can rely on true or false consciousness. Marx was a unique sociologist who expressed his own ideas in various ways. Applying to Marx’s Theory towards slavery, it showed how the society use to be and how it impacted the slaves to be part of their culture to manifest the society. Read MoreWhy Marx s Social Theory Place So Much Emphasis On Class Conflict And The Economic Aspects Of Society? Essay1524 Words   |  7 Pagesdoes Marx s social theory place so much emphasis on class conflict and the economic aspects of society? Karl Marx is one of the most influential and revolutionary philosopher, economist and sociologist of the 19th century. His thoughts not only shaped our understandings of the capitalistic world but also created a new system of social organization, communism. His ideology also defined the key political figures of the cold war period such as Stalin, Mao and Castro. Without Marx, theRead More Karl Marx Essay1742 Words   |  7 Pagesher particular contribution. 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Espiritu Santo DKI God bless you who’s reading this ï Å  Karl Marx (1818-1883) Marx’s views about human nature lies in his ideas of society and labor, both linked by his concept of matter that serves as the fundamental argument in Marxism. If man is greatly affected by the material conditions in his surroundings then man’s nature lies within the heart of society and labor which forms man. Two contending camps offering an understanding of human nature Read MoreAnalysis Of The Book Common Sense By Thomas Paine1474 Words   |  6 PagesTse-Tung. Karl Marx’ works, Capital and The Communist Manifesto, have forever changed the course of history. On May 5, 1818, Karl Heinrich Marx was born in Trier, Prussia (modern day Trier, Germany) to Heinrich and Henrietta Marx. Throughout Karl’s schooling years, he was considered to be an ordinary student and did not take school seriously. In 1835, Marx began his college career at the University of Bonn, a college known for their rebellious students and wild parties. All too quickly, Marx was sweptRead MoreContemporary Social Theory And Functionalist Approach1457 Words   |  6 Pagesare discussed and explained in detail. These aspects include historical, social, and cultural context that is relevant to the development of contemporary social theory. Contemporary Social Theory In relation to contemporary social theory, there are two different approaches, which include Marxian materialist approach and the structural functionalist approach. The work of Karl Marx contributed in the development of materialist approach. Karl believed on the perspective that society is shaped by theRead MoreMarx, Nietzsche, And Marx : A Critical Analysis Of The Hermeneutics Of Criticity1268 Words   |  6 Pagesorder to draw out less visible and less flattering truths.† This is exactly what Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud do as critics; they provide us with strategies of critical thinking that can be applied to complex subjects; they teach us to apply a critical eye to different aspects in society to uncover these â€Å"truths,† and then provide a solution to these â€Å"truths.† Marx, through historical materialism and dialectical materialism, observes how capitalism leads to â€Å"commodity fetishism† that blinds us from seeingRead MoreJohn Marx s Capita l Volume I And The Witch990 Words   |  4 Pagesphilosophers such as Karl Marx took the challenge to analyze the process of primitive accumulation that began in the fifteenth century when common land was appropriated to fulfill the interests of capitalists (Mezzadra, 2011, p.317). Since the social relation of capitalism placed emphasis on private ownership of property as opposed to state ownership, citizens began to rely on wage labour in order to secure their status as property owners. Within his novel Capital Volume I, Marx delineates as well