Essay - Legacies of Marx and Engels the Publication of the Communist...

Legacies of Marx and Engels

***** publication ***** The Communist Manifesto in 1848 by Karl Marx ***** Frederick Engels formed the basis for a variety of ideologies. Some of these ideas have been modified and adapted by both communists and capitalists ***** the ensuing years. However, a number of ********** ideas can be shown to be erroneous *****/or outdated in light of events which have taken place since the time Marx and Engels wrote.

Marx *****lieved that human history unfolds in distinct stages, ***** that ***** stages follow a distinct order, with one unfolding to reveal the next. According to Marx, scientific laws, which can be discovered by man using his innate powers ***** reason, govern the progression of these stages, and thus the ***** of his*****ry can be foretold. This basic idea has often been applied ***** modern political ***** economic *****orists as they make predictions of how events will unfold in the future. However, modern *****orists are not so convinced ***** Marx that ***** ***** a strictly deterministic p*****ttern, nor do capitalists or most socialists and communists today believe that the inevitable end point ***** this proression will necessarily be the end of capitalism.

According to *****, human history is driven by class antagon*****ms. In many situations ***** in ***** examples since Marx's *****, societal change ***** indeed be linked to class struggle. The American Civil War, the American Civil rights movement, the push for women's rights in the West—including suffrage ********** and the move toward ***** equality ***** women—all can arguably be traced to foundations, at least in part, in class antagonism.

To Marx, ***** ***** of a class system, and membership in a given *****, was purely materialistic. That is, economic wealth, as expressed ***** property ownership ***** material possessions, was the determinant of an individual's class status and of the relationship between/among classes. *****, there are other bases for class structures in ***** cultures. Ethinicity, religion, political ideology, personality, and any number ***** ***** variables are often determinants of which class an individual becomes identified *****. Notably, the widespread revolutions ***** 1848 which closely followed the publication of the Manifesto were driven much more by *****sues of nationalism than of economically-determined *****.

Perhaps ***** most clear example of how Marx's ideas have not ***** borne out by experience can be seen in an examination of his claim ***** capitalism precludes workers' accumulation ***** property. Experience has disproven ***** idea in two major ways ***** can be disputed. First, Marx could see only two roles ***** *****ment in an economy: either it must take a laissez-faire position, or it must be ***** complete control of the *****. However, in many capitalist societies, government has been able to successfully intervene in business matters in a limited way. Minimum wage laws, welfare programs, and unemployment assistance are all forms of governmental influence in ***** economy, as are regulations concerning workplace safety and health issues. While ***** may be disagreement on the degree to which this intervention should be