Bet you saw this one coming, huh?
Lots of people think they know what Karl Marx's philosophy of communism is all about but haven't read anything by the dude himself. Das Kapital, Marx's most important work next to the Communist Manifesto, provides some choice quotations neatly illustrating his ideas.
The basics are that economic life underpins everything else (such as what ideas are popular in society); capitalists by definition are always on the hunt for surplus-value and therefore will always exploit workers; and the working class should join together both to pass laws to improve working conditions and to overthrow capitalism altogether—in favor of a vanguard or temporary government that will transition society to communism in a planned way, so that workers will share ownership of the means of production and class differences won't exist.
Questions About Philosophical Viewpoints: Communism
- Does the economic structure of society really determine everything else? See if you can trace your own beliefs and values—about religion or anything else—to your financial situation. Do you have any beliefs or values that, if you changed them, would negatively impact your supply of the means of sustenance (food, clothing, shelter)?
- Is Marx right that capitalists always seek profit, or do they ever let themselves lose money even at the risk of giving competitors an advantage? Consider philanthropy as an example. How might it serve business interests?
- Is Marx right that impersonal forces govern how capitalism plays out? Or do the individual personalities of billionaires and presidents make a bigger difference in how life under capitalism goes?
- What does Marx think about rights? What does he mean by saying force decides between equal rights?
Chew on This
Adam Smith was right: individuals pursuing their own self-interest is the best way to produce a just society.
Karl Marx was right: individuals pursuing their own self-interest leads to exploitation and injustice.