Marxism

Marxism is worldview that focuses on class struggle, historical change through change in material production, and social transformation as a dialectical process. Marxism is the philosophy first espoused by the German writer Karl Marx, assisted by Friedrich Engels. Marxism has become notorious since its adoption as the political and economic foundation for the Soviet Union.

Marx begins with an analysis of material conditions, the basic economics that human beings need to provide for their needs. Marx was writing during the early phases of the Industrial Revolution, when unrestrained capitalism frequently abused workers. This manifests itself as class struggle. For Marx, he saw the minority, those who owned the means of production (the bourgeoisie) dominating the majority, those who actually labored to produce goods and services (the proletariat).

Marx believed that the struggle of class against class was ultimately a political struggle. The class that controlled the means of production is able to exploit the rest of society. Capitalism was thus based on the exploitation of the worker. Therefore, Marxism envisioned a revolution in which the proletariat would seize the means of production and abolish private property. The genesis of Marxism can be found in The Communist Manifesto.