Marxist Socialism: Difference between revisions
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'''Marxist Socialism''' refer to a [http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/schools/marxian.htm Marxian school of economics] which emerged soon after Marx's death, led by his companions and co-writers, [http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/engels.htm Friedrich Engels] and [http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/kautsky.htm Karl Kautsky]. | '''Marxist Socialism''' refer to a [http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/schools/marxian.htm Marxian school of economics] which emerged soon after Marx's death, led by his companions and co-writers, [http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/engels.htm Friedrich Engels] and [http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/kautsky.htm Karl Kautsky]. | ||
[http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/marx.htm Karl Marx] work suggested | The questioning of the ''status quo'' of the economic system was not a new idea; [[Jean-Jacques Rousseu]] planted its first seeds and was followed by a plethora of thinkers whose ideas are better described in the article [[Economic Heterodox Tradition]]. Each one of those thinkers, during the XVIII th and early XIX th centuries, pointed out some of the flaws they identified in the prevailing economic system. Their rethoric was strong and capable to gather some large audiences; from time to time they would succed in promoting riots and even some short lived revolutions. But none of those thinkers developed a systematic and encompassing political economic theory system which had the strenght to possibly change the world. | ||
Some of them were too utopic, some too romantic, or too idealistic, or even "half-mad". Most of the real live experiments done with their theories did not last long. Even those which succeeded, like [http://www.newlanark.org/robertowen.shtml Robert Owen's] (1771-1858) example of the viability of co-operative factory communities, the ''[http://www.newlanark.org/ New Lanark Mills]'' in Scotland, represented only very punctual, local experiments, unable to influence the economic activities beyond the limits of their own nearby village. | |||
On October 1st, 1867 the pubication of the first volume of a single book would change that situation. This was Karl Marx's [http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ ''Das Kapital - Kritik der Politschen Oekonomie''] <ref name=KAPITAL>[http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ MARX, Karl. ''Das Kapital - Kritik der Politschen Oekonomie''. 1867. <small>First english edition of 1887 (4th German edition changes included as indicated). Translated by Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling, edited by Frederick Engels</small>]</ref>. A very long, dense, complex, logical, sometimes tedious but a very systematic work ''Das Kapital'' has been read by very few but, since its publication in 1867, has been discussed by all. Marx died before he could complete the work; his friend Friedrich Engels edited Das Kapital's second and third volumes based on Marx's notes. | |||
[http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/marx.htm Karl Marx] work suggested that the number of conditions required for steady-state growth were too numerous for capitalism to avoid its own breakdown. This ''"inevitablibilty"'' of the capitalism failure was challenged by [http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/bernstein.htm Bernstein] (1899) who thought that if socialism is to exist, it must be a conscious choice | |||
Revision as of 15:05, 27 March 2007
Marxist Socialism refer to a Marxian school of economics which emerged soon after Marx's death, led by his companions and co-writers, Friedrich Engels and Karl Kautsky.
The questioning of the status quo of the economic system was not a new idea; Jean-Jacques Rousseu planted its first seeds and was followed by a plethora of thinkers whose ideas are better described in the article Economic Heterodox Tradition. Each one of those thinkers, during the XVIII th and early XIX th centuries, pointed out some of the flaws they identified in the prevailing economic system. Their rethoric was strong and capable to gather some large audiences; from time to time they would succed in promoting riots and even some short lived revolutions. But none of those thinkers developed a systematic and encompassing political economic theory system which had the strenght to possibly change the world.
Some of them were too utopic, some too romantic, or too idealistic, or even "half-mad". Most of the real live experiments done with their theories did not last long. Even those which succeeded, like Robert Owen's (1771-1858) example of the viability of co-operative factory communities, the New Lanark Mills in Scotland, represented only very punctual, local experiments, unable to influence the economic activities beyond the limits of their own nearby village.
On October 1st, 1867 the pubication of the first volume of a single book would change that situation. This was Karl Marx's Das Kapital - Kritik der Politschen Oekonomie [1]. A very long, dense, complex, logical, sometimes tedious but a very systematic work Das Kapital has been read by very few but, since its publication in 1867, has been discussed by all. Marx died before he could complete the work; his friend Friedrich Engels edited Das Kapital's second and third volumes based on Marx's notes.
Karl Marx work suggested that the number of conditions required for steady-state growth were too numerous for capitalism to avoid its own breakdown. This "inevitablibilty" of the capitalism failure was challenged by Bernstein (1899) who thought that if socialism is to exist, it must be a conscious choice