Karl Marx Study Guide Questions

1.

What was Karl Marx background (i.e., family, schooling, etc)

Born May 5, 1818 in Prussia (Germany)
Jewish family, but converted to Protestantism in 1824
Fam was petty-bourgeois; his father was a lawyer
Studied law, majored in history and philosophy
After college, hoped to be a college professor

2. Why was Marx work On The Jewish Question viewed as anti-semitic by

some scholars?
Marx argues that the Jewish religion does not need to be attached to the significance
it has in Bauer's analysis, because it is only a spiritual reflection of Jewish economic
life. This is the starting point of a complex and somewhat metaphorical argument
which draws on the stereotype of the Jew as a financially apt "huckster" and posits a
special connection between Judaism as a religion and the economy of contemporary
bourgeois society. Thus, the Jewish religion does not need to disappear in society,
as Bauer argues, because it is actually a natural part of it. Having thus figuratively
equated "practical Judaism" with "huckstering and money", Marx concludes, that "the
Christians have become Jews"; and, ultimately, it is mankind (both Christians and
Jews ) that needs to emancipate itself from ("practical") Judaism. Quotes from this
part of the essay are frequently cited as proof of Marx' antisemitism. For analyses,
see the Interpretations section.
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3. How does Marx view the relationship between the division of labor and
forms of property? What are the shifts over time as he sees it?
Three different kinds of ownership
1) Tribal Ownership DOL is very rudimentary Social structure is basic and
limited to the extended family
2) Communal and State Ownership Union of several tribes into a city by
agreement or conquest Rising of private property: abnormal form subordinate to
communal ownership This stage illuminates class consciousness Production &
Industry or agriculture
3) Feudal or Estate Property Ownership based on community; but directly
producing class stands over enserfed small peasantry Competition from
escaped serf led to trade guilds Hierarchy in towns mimicked the feudal system
in the countryside
4. How does Marx view history?
4. What is the real basis of ideology for Marx?
Division of Town and Country
The greatest division of material and mental labour is the separation of town and
country."

Former serfsunorganized rabble who will eventually comprise the

proletariat They looked to the guild associations with envy and lust
Guilds maintained power; former serfs remained powerless Guilds were
necessary to acquire skills, exclude serfs and protect feudal organization;
protect private property
DOL: Production and Commerce

New class: Merchants

Communication between different towns
World commerce on slowly progressing

Rise of Manufacturing

# DOL between the towns

# Concentration of population and capital
# Weaving first to succeed
**change in property relations
# Popularity of manufacturing
**Move from a patriarchal structure of slave & master to a monetary one of
worker & capitalist
**Feudal system deteriorated
#International effects
World trade
Merchants gained political clout
6. How does the role of the state affect property, ownership and laws?
The state exists outside of society as an organization of the bourgeois The
bourgeois support its perpetuation Where class exists, the state is not
independent, as the state merely functions to protect private property The
illusion of the law is that it develops from the will of the people Marx argues it
develops out of interest of the ruling class (& in conjunction with the development
of private property)
7. Who are the bourgeois?
the class of modern capitalists, owners of the means of social production and
employers of wage labour. People who own businesses and pay others to do the
work
8. Who are the proletariat?

The proletariat is a class of common workers who have no ownership or control of

the means of production of the society. They own nothing but the right to sell their
own labor.

9. What is the relationship between the bourgeois and the proletariat?

Marx argued that the capitalist bourgeoisie mercilessly exploited the
proletariat. He described how the wealth of the bourgeoisie depended on
the work of the proletariat. Therefore, capitalism requires an underclass.
But Marx predicted that the continued exploitation of this underclass
would create great resentment. Eventually the proletariat would lead a
revolution against the bourgeoisie. The final struggle would lead to the
overthrow of capitalism and its supporters.

10. Why is the Communist Manifesto important?

The Communist manifesto is important because it was fascinating and
revolutionary at the time it was written yet it is still relevant and applicable in
today's society. It address today's issues such as income distributions, the one
percenters, etc. The relationship and dynamics between the bourgeoisie and the
proletariat are the motivating force behind all historical developments.
11. How did capitalism evolve?
Capitalism may be considered the Fourth Stage in the sequence. It appears after
the bourgeois revolution when the capitalists (or their merchant predecessors)
overthrow the feudal system. Capitalism is categorized by the following:

Market economy: In capitalism, the entire economy is guided by market

forces. Supporters of laissez faire economics argue that there should be
little or no intervention from the government under capitalism. Marxists,
however, such as Lenin in his Imperialism, the Highest Stage of
Capitalism, argue that the capitalist government is a powerful instrument
for the furtherance of capitalism and the capitalist nation-state, particularly
in the conquest of markets abroad.
Private property: The means of production are no longer in the hands of
the monarchy and its nobles, but rather they are controlled by the
capitalists. The capitalists control the means of production through
commercial enterprises (such as corporations) which aim to maximize
profit.
Parliamentary democracy: The capitalists tend to govern through an
elected centralized parliament or congress, rather than under an
autocracy. Capitalist (bourgeois) democracy, although it may be extended
to the whole population, does not necessarily lead to universal suffrage.
Historically it has excluded (by force, segregation, legislation or other
means) sections of the population such as women, slaves, ex-slaves,
people of color or those on low income. The government acts on behalf of,
and is controlled by, the capitalists through various methods.
Wages: In capitalism, workers are rewarded according to their contract
with their employer. Power elites propagate the illusion that market forces

mean wages converge to an equilibrium at which workers are paid for

precisely the value of their services. In reality workers are paid less than
the value of their productivity the difference forming profit for the
employer. In this sense all paid employment is exploitation and the worker
is "alienated" from their work. Insofar as the profit-motive drives the
market, it is impossible for workers to be paid for the full value of their
labour, as all employers will act in the same manner.
Imperialism: Wealthy countries seek to dominate poorer countries in
order to gain access to raw materials and to provide captive markets for
finished products. This is done directly through war, the threat of war, or
the export of capital. The capitalist's control over the state can play an
essential part in the development of capitalism, to the extent the state
directs warfare and other foreign intervention.
Financial institutions: Banks and capital markets such as stock
exchanges direct unused capital to where it is needed. They reduce
barriers to entry in all markets, especially to the poor; it is in this way that
banks dramatically improve class mobility.
Monopolistic tendencies: The natural, unrestrained market forces will
create monopolies from the most successful commercial entities.
12. What is the importance of property to Marx?
12. Marx explains that "the possessing class and the proletarian class
represent one and the same human self-alienation" How does he describe
the effect of self-alienation on these classes? Do you agree with him?
12. Consider Marxs statement that the existence of a class which possesses
nothing but its capacity to labor is a necessary prerequisite of capital.
What does he mean by this? Do you think its true? Why or why not?
Superficially, it can be said that the capitalist and the worker have the same agenda.
When the capitalists business gets bigger more workers are needed, which is good
for the worker. The problem, however, lies in the power relationship between the two
classes. The capitalist having a large majority of the power and the proletariat has
minimal to none. However, collectively the proletariat class has an immense amount
of power because the capitalist needs to be able to exploit their labor in order to
profit.

15. What does Marx mean when he states that the "productive forces" are a
basis for all human history? How does Marx correlate human history with
the productive forces of man? How does this perspective relate to modern
society?
15. What are the strategies of Marx's argument against Capitalism, or how
Capitalism ultimately fails?
15. Marx says when division of labour increases the special skill of the worker
is useless, why?
15. How did the rise of manufacturing change the nature of the division of
labor?

15. How have the bourgeoisie historically played a revolutionary role in the
modern state?
15. What gave rise to the Bourgeoisie?
15. Why does Marx argue that the bourgeoisie has turned family in to a
money relationship?
15. What are the various stages of development the proletariat goes through?
15. According to Karl Marx what effects has the development of industry had
on the proletariat class?
15. Both Socialists and Communists want social change, yet they have
different approaches to achieve it. Explain their approaches and how are
they different?
In a communist society everything is owned by the working class and everyone
works toward the same communal goal. There are no wealthy and poor classes.
Instead, all are equal. Production from the community is distributed based upon
need, not by effort or amount of work. It is expected that basic needs for each
worker are met by the community, and there is no more to be obtained through
working more than what is required.

Socialism is a concept that individuals should not have ownership

of land, capital (money), or industry, but rather the whole
community collectively owns and controls property, goods, and
production. Ideally, in this system all share equally in work and
the fruits of their labor. Ideally this is a Christian version of help
the poor and needy, sharing equally, but in the real world this
can cause some problems as we will see later.
25. Why does Marx view Communism as system which is superior to
Capitalism?