Marxism | 8values Interpretation of ideological ideology in political test

Explore Marxism, a social, political and economic theoretical system that has profoundly influenced the world. Understand the origins of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’ ideological origins, core concepts, critique of capitalism, and visions of socialism and communism. Through the 8 values political ideology test, we can deeply understand this complex and diverse philosophical method, sociology, political economy and revolutionary ideology, and gain insight into its unique interpretation of key issues such as historical materialism, class struggle, surplus value and alienation, so as to better analyze the economic operation and social change direction of modern society.

Marxism is a comprehensive theoretical system jointly founded by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the 1840s. It provides an economic, political and social worldview based on historical materialism, dialectics, and profound criticism of capitalism. This theory aims to clarify the doctrine of the complete liberation of the proletariat and all mankind around the world, and has had a profound and extensive influence on modern political philosophy and social movements. However, Marxism is not a set of rigid dogmas, but a scientific system that develops diversely, continuously enriches and improves in different fields and issues, and contains many theoretical schools that seem to be opposite or even conflicting. As Marx himself once said: "I am not a Marxist", this reflects the diverse interpretation and development of his thoughts in later generations.

The origin of Marxism's thought and background of the times

Karl Marx (1818-1883) was born in Trier, Germany and spent most of his life in London and was eventually buried in Highgate Cemetery, London. He and Friedrich Engels were lifelong friends and thought partners. The theoretical framework of Marxism was constructed by them in the mid-to-late 19th century.

The formation of Marx's theory is inseparable from the profound background of the European industrial revolution in the 19th century. During this period, Britain and other countries experienced drastic social changes: the old feudal system gradually collapsed, ordinary people lost their shared rights to land, were forced to enter factories, and became the wage labor force of factory owners. The factory's labor environment is harsh, work is dangerous, wages are extremely low, and child labor is common, all of which have led to serious social inequality.

When Marx and Engels founded Marxism, they critically inherited and absorbed the outstanding achievements of mankind in natural science, thinking science and social science. Its main theoretical sources include: German classical philosophy (especially Hegel's dialectical thought), British classical political economy (such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo's theories), and French utopian socialism. They critically transformed these ideas and formed a unique theoretical system.

The core composition of Marxism: philosophy, political economy and scientific socialism

Marxism is a complete scientific system, consisting of three main components: Marxist philosophy, Marxist political economy and scientific socialism. These three are interconnected to form an organic whole.

Marxist philosophy: dialectical materialism and historical materialism

Marxist philosophy is the methodology of Marxism, which provides a method and perspective to look at the world. Marxist philosophy mainly includes dialectical materialism and historical materialism. It examines social development from a materialist standpoint, believing that human society is based on its economic activities, and that the structure and production model of economic organizations are the fundamental sources of interpersonal society, politics, law and moral relations. Historical materialism believes that the production labor of material living materials is the basis for the existence and development of human society, and the contradictory movement between productivity and production relations is the fundamental driving force for the replacement of social forms.

Materialism : Marxism believes that what ultimately determines human existence is material reality, not God, thought or language. Consciousness is determined by social existence, and human society is based on material production activities.
Dialectics : Marx was deeply influenced by Hegel's dialectics, but he "turned Hegel upside down." Marx believed that the development of society is full of contradictions and tensions, which are rooted in the materiality of society, rather than concepts. For example, conflicts between social classes ultimately lead to revolution and change.
Historical Materialism : This is the framework for Marx to analyze social development and change. It believes that social structure, political system and ideology are all rooted in economic activities, that is, the "economic foundation" and "superstructure" of a society. Historical materialism believes that human society has gone through stages such as primitive society, slave society, feudal society, capitalist society, and will eventually develop into socialist and communist society.

Marxist Political Economy: Criticism of Capitalist Operation Mechanism

Marxist political economy is the main body of Marxism and mainly studies production relations. It criticizes capitalism's exploitation of labor and the generation of surplus value. Marx believes that capitalists accumulate wealth by free possession of the "surplus value" created by workers, and the treatment of workers is not what capitalists care about.

Labor Theory of Value (LTV) : Marx inherited and developed the labor value theory of classical economists, believing that the value of a commodity is determined by the socially necessary labor time required to produce the commodity.
Surplus Value : Marx pointed out that capitalists accumulate wealth by occupying the "surplus value" created by workers for free. The value created by workers' labor exceeds the value of their wages, and this part of the unpaid value is the surplus value, which constitutes the source of exploitation.
Exploitation : Under the capitalist system, because workers do not own production tools, they must work for the capitalists in exchange for necessities of life, so exploitation is inevitable. Marx believed that exploitation is a common economic characteristic of all class societies.

Scientific Socialism: A Blueprint to a Classless Society

Scientific socialism is the destination of Marxism, which depicts a future society that replaces capitalism. Unlike the early "utopian socialism", Marx and Engels believed that socialism was based on scientific analysis of the inherent contradictions of capitalism, rather than moral demands or ideal concepts. It guides the theory that the proletariat is moving towards victory. It predicts that socialism will emerge from the revolution and returns the tools of production to the collective, distributes profits based on the "real labor" of each person, and plans production based on "demand" rather than profit. Marx further pointed out that after socialism, communism will be born and become a society without classes, borders, currency, and selfless property rights, and achieve "everyone can do their best and get what they need."

Inevitability of Revolution : Marx believed that the inherent contradictions of capitalism would inevitably lead to the proletarian revolution and overthrow the existing capitalist system.
Dictatorship of the Proletariat : This is seen as the "transitional stage" of the transition from capitalism to communism. Marx emphasized that this is not a dictatorship in the current sense, but rather refers to the political power of the working class to suppress the counter-revolutionary forces of the old ruling class and gradually abolish class distinction.
Communism : The ultimate goal of Marxism is a society without classes, state, currency, and selfless property rights, to achieve "everyone can do its best and distribute it as needed." It emphasizes the social commonality of production tools and plans production based on "demand" rather than profit. Marx distinguished between "private property" (used to exploit others' means of production) and "personal property" (personal daily necessities), and communism aimed at abolishing private property.
Association of Free Individuals : Marx conceived a "combination of free people" in which producers jointly decide how to allocate and utilize surplus products to achieve free development for everyone.

A profound criticism of capitalism: Exploitation, alienation and class conflict

Marxist criticism of capitalism is a central component of its theory.

The exploitative nature of capitalism

Marx believes that the internal mechanism of capitalism lies in the extraction of surplus value . Capitalists take up this surplus value free of charge by paying workers wages less than the value created by their labor and convert it into profit. This "primitive accumulation" is regarded by Marx as a kind of theft because it steals the talents and hard work of the workers.

The alienation of labor and the loss of human nature

One of Marx's greatest insights is that work could have been one of the greatest sources of human happiness, but under the capitalist system, work has led to alienation . Alienation is manifested in the separation and barrier between workers and labor products, labor processes, their own "categorical nature" and other workers. Work becomes highly specialized and it is difficult for workers to gain a sense of accomplishment from their contributions, like a "human machine".

Class conflict: Bourgeoisie and proletariat

Marxism believes that the history of human society is a history of class struggle. In capitalist society, there are mainly two opposing classes:

Bourgeoisie : a few people who own means of production (factories, enterprises, shops, etc.) who hire labor to make profits.
Proletariat : a working class who sells its own labor for a living and does not own means of production.

This inherent class antagonism leads to ongoing conflict and inequality. Marx believes that capitalism is a system that encourages inequality, and that the rich always need someone to do the work they don’t want to do.

The inner contradictions and crises of capitalism

Marx pointed out that the capitalist system has inherent instability and cyclical crises . These crises are not accidental, but are caused by the contradiction of capitalist overproduction. In capitalist society, the purpose of production is to profit, not to meet the common needs of mankind, which leads to the absurd phenomenon that food is discarded and people are starved.

Capitalism also places money and economic interests at the center of life through commodity fetishism , leading to indifference in interpersonal relationships and preventing people from establishing in-depth and sincere relationships.

The evolution of Marxism and the pluralist school

As a living theory, Marxism has produced many branches and schools in its development process, and has different interpretations and emphasis on the arguments of classical Marxism.

Engels' contribution and the dogmaticization of Marxism

After Marx's death, Engels took on the important task of sorting out and popularizing Marx's thoughts. He edited and published the remaining volumes of "Das Kapital", and systematically organized Marx's thoughts through works such as "The Development of Socialism from Umogor to Science" and "Anti-Dulin", forming a comprehensive "worldview". However, Engels' systematic efforts also inadvertently contributed to the dogmaticization of Marxism, making it easier to be transformed into a fixed political theory. Karl Kautsky of the German Social Democratic Party is considered to be the first to codify the ideas of Marx and Engels into a formal programmatic theory, namely "orthodox Marxism."

Marxism-Leninism and its variants

Marxism-Leninism refers to Marxism developed by Vladimir Lenin . It combines Marxism with the specific practice of the Russian revolution and emphasizes the development of Marxism in the era of imperialism. Lenin contributed the theory that monopoly capitalism and imperialism are the new stage of capitalism, and developed the theory of proletarian revolution and proletarian dictatorship.

Stalinism : Stalinism was in power after Lenin's death, and some of his policies (such as "a country builds socialism" and emphasizes nationalism) were different from Marx's original internationalist ideas. It is characterized by the high concentration of state power and the suppression of dissent, which leads to large-scale bleeding and suffering.
Trotskyism : Oppose Stalinism, emphasize the importance of "continuous revolutionary theory" and the self-liberation of the working class, and criticize the bureaucratic system.
Mao Zedong Thought : Combining the basic principles of Marxism with Chinese history and social practice.

Western Marxism and Neo-Marxism

Western Marxism is a trend of thought that emerged in Europe after the 1920s. It criticized Stalinism and tended to shift the focus of Marxist analysis from the economic foundation to the philosophical, cultural and ideological fields. It often borrows the concepts of bourgeois philosophical schools to form a mixture.

Neo-Marxism refers to Marxism that attempts to re-examine or revise Marx's classical ideas but still adheres to certain principles. The Frankfurt School is an important representative, which combines Marxist theory with other theoretical frameworks, such as the analysis of psychology and cultural research.

Analysis of Marxism and Academic Development

Analytical Marxism is an English Marxism that emerged in the late 1970s, emphasizing the use of analytical methods and rational choice theory to examine Marxist theory. It is critical of some substantive Marxist claims, and recognizes normative commitments and advocates the necessity of socialist design. Its representative figures include GA Cohen, Jon Elster and John Roemer.

Marxism has had a profound influence not only in the political field, but also in many disciplines such as sociology, economics, philosophy, history, literary criticism, cultural studies, psychology, archaeology, and education, and has formed their respective academic schools.

Contemporary influence and controversy of Marxism

Marxism is undoubtedly one of the most influential ideological systems in modern history, with its influence all over the world.

Continuous insight into modern society

Against the backdrop of the global economic crisis and inequality, Marxist analytical tools have attracted attention again. For example, Marx's insights on the inherent contradictions and cyclical crises of capitalism are still of practical significance in the face of the global financial crisis and the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Many scholars and young people believe that Marxism provides a powerful tool to analyze and understand contemporary capitalism and its crises.

Challenges and criticisms in practice

Although Marxism has far-reaching influence, it also faces many challenges and criticisms in practice.

Relationship with communist practice : In the 20th century, many socialist or communist countries (such as the Soviet Union) established under the guidance of Marxism failed to realize the classless society envisioned by Marx, but instead encountered problems such as planned economic failure, centralization and bureaucracy. The failures of these practices are often seen as falsification of Marxism.
Neglect of market mechanisms : Free market economists (such as Friedrich Hayek and Karl Popper) criticized Marxism for neglecting the role of markets in resource allocation and production coordination and questioned the falsibility of its historical materialism.
Emphasis of non-economic factors : Some critics believe that Marxism overemphasizes social class and economic factors, and ignores other social conflict factors such as gender, race, and ethnicity.
Controversy of "Cultural Marxism" : In the Western context, the term "Cultural Marxism" is often used as a derogatory term to attack those who focus on social issues such as race, gender, and sexual orientation. However, true cultural Marxism is an academic field dedicated to analyzing the interaction between culture and capitalism.

Exploration of socialism with Chinese characteristics

In China, Marxism is combined with China's specific reality to form a theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics , such as Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory. This theoretical system continues to develop in the practice of guiding China's revolution, construction and reform, reflecting the modernization and sinicization of Marxism.

Marxism as a guide to action

Marxism is not a dead dogma, but a guide to action . It emphasizes the unity of critical thinking and theory and practice. True Marxists should treat Marxism with a non-doctrination and critical attitude, so that it can continuously enrich and develop in practice, and solve the problems raised by the times in accord with the times.

Conclusion: Understanding the complexity and practical significance of Marxism

Marxism is a complex and diverse theoretical system. It deeply analyzes the operating mechanism and internal contradictions of capitalism, and provides theoretical guidance and practical directions for realizing a more fairer and more free society. Although it has experienced many changes and controversies in practice, Marxism's criticism of social inequality, exploitation and alienation, as well as its pursuit of human liberation, still has important practical significance today.

Understanding Marxism requires transcending simple labeling and one-sided interpretation, and in-depth in the internal logic of its philosophical thinking, economic analysis and political conception. If you want to further explore your political stance and learn detailed explanations of different ideologies, the 8values Quiz website provides a wealth of resources to discover your unique political coordinates through the 8values political test and gain insight into Marxism and other diverse political ideas through ideological collections and official blogs . This will help you develop a more comprehensive and profound social insight, as Marx said: "Philosophers just explain the world in different ways, and the problem is to change the world."