A BRIEF EXAMINATION INTO HOW COMMUNISM DEFINES JUSTICE

Marx & Communism

Marx on Religion

“Religion …is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions” -Marx

What is Marx saying about religion?To be awesome use our formula from yesterday: Opinion Quote Explanation/Interpretation of quote

Capitalism

An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market

Communism

1. A theoretical economic system characterized by the collective ownership of property and by the organization of labor for the common advantage of all members

a. A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people

b. The Marxist-Leninist version of Communist doctrine advocates the overthrow of capitalism by the revolution of the proletariat

Proletariat vs. Bourgeoisie

Proletariat: a. The class of industrial wage earners who, possessing neither capital nor production means, must earn their living by selling their labor

b. The poorest class of working people

Bourgeoisie:

a. The middle class (the ownership class)

b. In Marxist theory, the social group opposed to the proletariat in the class struggle

What is the Solution?

Human societies progress through class struggle: a conflict between an ownership class that controls production and a dispossessed laboring class that provides the labor for production would eventually lead to the acceptance of communism

Thus, Marx advocated for the revolution of the proletariat to take the power away from the bourgeoisie and spread the profit and resources equally among ALL in the society

No person would claim ownership of production, i.e., no privatized businesses, no privatized profits

Everyone equally benefits from the efforts put forth from everyone in society, no matter your job or position

(Ideally) Those in charge would have the best interest of the collective group in mind and create laws that were advantageous to the majority and not a select few

Karl Marx

May 5 1818 – March 14, 1883Studied at the University of BerlinMost famous works include: - The Communist Manifesto- Das Kapital Wrote about and studied:

-Sociology

-Philosophy

-Economics

-History

-Socialism

Religion + Capitalism

Marx argued that religion, through the doctrine of denying oneself, advocating suffering on earth, and blindly following church leaders, politicians, government officials, and business owners could abuse and dehumanize their workers through the guise of a “better afterlife”

How does this relate to Neo-Platonism (it is OK to suffer now because the body is sinful and suffering gets you closer to God)?

Marx on Capitalism

“Dictatorship of the bourgeoisie”- meaning, in a capitalistic society the government is run by the wealthy classes for their own benefit

Marx argued that the exchange of money for goods destroyed relationships between people in society – the dehumanizing effect of placing worth on someone’s time, education, labor skills, etc

He further argued that class antagonisms under capitalism between the bourgeoisie and proletariat would eventuate in the working class' conquest of political power in the form of social revolution where (ideally) the proletariat would eventually be in charge of the common good (administering justice to all citizens no matter what their station)