The Sociological Thinker Karl Marx and His Theories
Karl Marx was one of the most influential and revolutionary thinkers, economists, political theorists and sociologists in modern world history.
His revolutionary ideas not only strengthened the very foundation of sociology, but also changed the course of political and economic history of the entire world, adding a new dimension to it.
He is regarded as the father of scientific socialism or communism. In sociology, Marxian philosophy and his method of social analysis are still equally relevant today.
The legendary Karl Marx was born on 5th May, 1818 in a middle-class Jewish family living in the city of Trier, in the Rhineland province of Germany. However, later his father converted to Christianity for social and professional reasons.
Marx studied Law, History and Philosophy at the Universities of Bonn and Berlin. While studying at the University of Berlin, he was deeply influenced by the famous German philosopher G.W.F. Hegel.
After completing his studies, Marx took up journalism as a profession and became the editor of a radical left-wing newspaper. Due to his sharply anti-government writings, the German government shut down the newspaper and expelled Marx from the country. After that he went to Paris, Brussels and finally to London, where he continued to study and write consistently till the end of his life. While in London, he faced extreme financial crisis, during which his lifelong friend and collaborator Frederick Engels provided him with unprecedented financial and intellectual support. This great thinker died on 14th March, 1883.
The central focus of Marx's sociological analysis was the development of human society and the economic inequality prevailing in it. Before Marx, Hegel had said that human history changes through ideas or thoughts. But Marx reversed this idea and said that the driving force of history is not thought, but material or economic conditions. To survive, man first needs food, clothing and shelter and to obtain these, he must produce. Religion, politics, philosophy etc. all come after that. According to Marx, a society has two main structures. The first is the Base or Foundation, which is the economic system of society, which includes the forces of production - machinery, raw materials and the relationship between owners and workers for production.
The second is the Superstructure, where law, politics, religion, education and culture of society are built depending on the economic base. If the base changes, then this superstructure is bound to change.
Marx and Engels wrote in their famous book 'The Communist Manifesto' that the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.
According to Marx, based on who owns the means of production, two main classes are created in every society. One is the Bourgeoisie, i.e., those who are the owners of the means of production or the capitalist owner class, and the other is the Proletariat, i.e., those who own no property and have to sell only their labour to make a living. The owner class always wants to earn maximum profit and exploits the workers. Because of this exploitation, an inevitable struggle or conflict is created between the two classes, which is called class struggle.
To explain how the capitalists exploit the workers, Marx put forward the theory of Surplus Value. According to him, the real value of any commodity is determined by the labour of the worker. Suppose, a worker works 8 hours a day and his daily wage is covered by 4 hours of work. For the remaining 4 hours, the worker works for the owner free of cost.
Marx calls the value produced in this extra time as 'Surplus Value'. The capitalist owner appropriates this value without giving it to the worker and becomes richer and richer.
Because the capitalist mode of production turns workers into a part of a machine, a sense of alienation is created in their minds. According to Marx, this results in four types of alienation in the mind of the worker.
First, alienation from the product, where the worker has no right over what he produces.
Second, alienation from the process of production, where work is not enjoyable, but becomes a mechanical compulsion.
Third, alienation from human nature or from oneself, because they cannot develop their own creative talent.
Fourth, alienation from fellow workers or from society, where due to competition, workers start to see each other as rivals instead of comrades.
Presenting a materialistic interpretation of history, Marx divided human history into 6 main modes of production. Those are -
a) Primitive Communism: This is the very earliest stage of society. There was no private property and the means of production were jointly owned by the whole society. People lived by hunting and gathering food.
b) Slave Society: This stage begins with the creation of private property. Here society is divided into two main classes — slave owners and slaves. The main driving force of production was the labour of slaves.
c) Feudalism: In this system of the Middle Ages, land was the main source of production. Society was divided into two classes called Landlords and landless peasants or Serfs.
d) Capitalism: The present system that emerged after the Industrial Revolution. Here the means of production - factories, machinery etc. are in the hands of the capitalist class (Bourgeoisie) and for which the proletarian working class (Proletariat) is almost forced to sell its labour.
e) Socialism: Socialism is a transitional stage that will come after the fall of capitalism. Here the means of production come under the control of the state or society. The principle of 'From each according to his ability, to each according to his work' applies in this socialism.
f) Communism: According to Marxian philosophy, communism is the highest and final stage of human history. There is no class division, private property and exploitation. It is a classless and stateless social system, where everyone has the right to 'From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs'.
Capitalist society is the stage after the Industrial Revolution, where machinery and capital dominate and the bourgeoisie and proletariat are created. According to Marx, against the extreme exploitation of capitalism, the proletarian workers will revolt and after that, first socialism and finally a classless, stateless communist society will be established, where exploitation will end.
Although Karl Marx's theories were extremely influential, various sociologists and economists have also criticized them. According to critics, Marx gave importance only to economics. He completely ignored important non-economic factors like religion, culture and nationalism.
Marx predicted that society would be divided into only two parts - very rich and very poor, but in modern society a large middle class emerged, which balanced society. Moreover, the communist governments formed on Marx's ideals in the Soviet Union or Eastern Europe in the twentieth century later turned into dictatorships and eventually collapsed.
Despite flaws and criticism, Karl Marx's contribution to modern sociology is undeniable.
Karl Marx taught us to look at society with a new scientific and critical perspective.
To discuss globalization, the monopolistic dominance of large corporate groups, the unprecedented gap between the rich and the poor, and the question of workers' rights in the present twenty-first century, Marx's 'Das Kapital' or the theory of class struggle is still equally relevant today. He did not just stop at explaining society, he wanted radical change in society. That is why on his tombstone in Highgate Cemetery, London, it is written that philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways, but the point is to change it
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