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Marxism is the philosophy, social theory and political practice based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century German, Jewish, socialist philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary. Marx, often in collaboration with Friedrich Engels, drew on G.W.F. Hegel's philosophy, the political economy of Adam Smith and David Ricardo, and theorists of 19th century French socialism, to develop a critique of society which he claimed was both scientific and revolutionary. This critique achieved its most systematic (albeit unfinished) expression in his most famous work, Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, more commonly known as Das Kapital. He believed that a revolution would be the catalyst in the transformation from capitalism to socialism. Since its inception and up to the present day, Marxism has been situated largely outside the political mainstream, although it has played a major role in history. Today, Marxist political parties of widely different sizes survive in most countries around the world.
Marxism and the world
Since Marx's death in 1883, various groups around the world have appealed to Marxism as the theoretical basis for their politics and policies, which have often proved to be dramatically different and conflicting. One of the first major political splits occurred between the advocates of 'reformism', who argued that the transition to socialism could occur within existing bourgeois parliamentarian frameworks, and communists, who argued that the transition to a socialist society required a revolution and the dissolution of the capitalist state. The 'reformist' tendency, later known as social democracy, came to be dominant in most of the parties affiliated to the Second International and these parties supported their own governments in the First World War. This issue caused the communists to break away, forming their own parties which became members of the Third International. The contemporary meanings of these terms was initially quite different: Lenin, for example, was considered a social democrat until the mutation of the latter movement.
Although there are still many Marxist revolutionary social movements and political parties around the world, since the collapse of the Soviet Union and its satellite states, very few countries have governments which describe themselves as Marxist. Although socialistic parties are in power in some Western nations, they long ago distanced themselves from their direct link to Marx and his ideas. As of 2005, Laos, Vietnam, Cuba, and the People's Republic of China had governments in power which describe themselves as socialist in the Marxist sense -- to a certain extent, also Venezuela. However, the private sector comprised more than 50% of the mainland Chinese economy by this time and the Vietnamese government had also partially liberalised its economy. The Laotian and Cuban states maintained strong control over the means of production. To Marx, the notion of a socialist state would have seemed oxymoronical, as he defined socialism as the phase reached when class society and the state had already been abolished. Instead, Marx would have described such self-proclaimed "socialist" states as the Soviet Union or China as workers' states, a transitional stage between capitalism and socialism. Once socialism had been established, society would develop new socialist relations over the course of several generations, reaching the stage known as communism when bourgeois relations had been abandoned. Such a development has yet to occur in any historical self-claimed Socialist state. Often it results in the creation of two distinct classes: those who are in government and therefore have power, and those who are not in government and do not have power — thus inspiring the term State capitalism. These statist regimes have generally followed a command economy model without making a transition to this hypothetical final stage.
More on [ Marxism ]
Marx, Karl :: Political Philosophers
The myth of global warming, along with the EPA, have become the hammer and sickle of eco-Marxism
ScottThomson1 (Scott Thomson) Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:10:18 -0000
The myth of global warming, along with the EPA, have become the hammer and sickle of eco-Marxism
RT @adamsbaldwin "Defining Deviancy Down": http://bit.ly/5uvEaK & "Defining Deviancy Up": http://bit.ly/4OnhCC ..(Cultural Marxism)?
LostBoyGoonie (Richard Hudson) Sun, 13 Dec 2009 09:54:35 -0000
RT @adamsbaldwin "Defining Deviancy Down": http://bit.ly/5uvEaK & "Defining Deviancy Up": http://bit.ly/4OnhCC ..(Cultural Marxism)?
The myth of global warming along with the #EPA have become the hammer and sickle of eco-Marxism: http://is.gd/5lDeh #climatechange #COP15
makiwa (Neil Wilson) Sun, 13 Dec 2009 09:42:33 -0000
The myth of global warming along with the #EPA have become the hammer and sickle of eco-Marxism: http://is.gd/5lDeh #climatechange #COP15
The myth of global warming along with the Environmental Protection Agency have become the hammer & sickle of eco-Marxism: http://is.gd/5lDeh
makiwa (Neil Wilson) Sun, 13 Dec 2009 09:41:09 -0000
The myth of global warming along with the Environmental Protection Agency have become the hammer & sickle of eco-Marxism: http://is.gd/5lDeh
having a good convo wit my brother about communism and Marxism....knowledge is beautiful! God is love! Rev Run lmao jk
Patrickishype (Patrick McAllister) Sun, 13 Dec 2009 07:07:45 -0000
having a good convo wit my brother about communism and Marxism....knowledge is beautiful! God is love! Rev Run lmao jk
@NickDeringer Marxism is inherent coercion--ordering reality to fit one's fantasy of how reality should behave. Horowitz was kind. #tcot
ConservativeLA (ConservativeLA) Sun, 13 Dec 2009 05:50:33 -0000
@NickDeringer Marxism is inherent coercion--ordering reality to fit one's fantasy of how reality should behave. Horowitz was kind. #tcot
Arguments for a Workers' Republic - Documents relating to the Marxist movement in Ireland and its history.
ClassicNotes: Communist Manifesto - Full summary and analysis of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx written by Harvard students. Includes a biography, message board, and background information on the Manifesto.
Meta Description: [ Full summary and analysis of Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx written by Harvard students. Includes a biography, and background information on Communist Manifesto. ]
Communist Manifesto Study Questions - Study guide for the Manifesto.
Darwinian Evolution and Human History - A talk broadcast on BBC Radio Three in association with the course, 'Science and Belief: Darwin to Einstein', 1980, regarding the connection between Marxism and evolution.
Meta Description: [ In the late 1970s and early 1980s I was very involved in trying to make both scholarly and libertarian Marxist ideas available to a wider public than the academic one in which I had been trained and in which I worked until 1975. I was at that time deeply involved in the 'Crucible: Science in Soci... ]
Das Kapital - Quotes, biographies, movements and major texts from the Marxist movement.
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Economarx - Web site devoted to Marxist Economy, text in French and English. Contains large bibliography of Marxist Economics.
Encyclopedia of Trotskyism On-Line (ETOL) - A resource center for the study of the international Trotskyist movement.
Meta Description: [ History of Trotskyism ]
GegenStandpunkt - Publishes books, a quarterly journal, and sponsors lectures/discussions advancing the Marxist point of view of capitalism and democracy.
Historical Materialism and the Economics of Karl Marx - An essay written in 1896 by Bernedetto Croce.
Kalayaan (Philippines) - An activist political organization with common principles and vision, and a comprehensive program and strategy for social transformation.
Liverpool 47 : Socialism on Trial - The Liverpool 47's own official history of Liverpool Council's battle against the Thatcher government 1983 - 1987.
Meta Description: [ Socialism on trial: the Liverpool 47 councillors' own official history of Liverpool Council's battle against the Thatcher government 1983 - 1987 ]
Louis Proyect - Proyect's home page includes links to his essays on Marxism, Trotksyism and the American left. Proyect is an ex-Trotskyist with a critical view of the movement and particularly the idea of a revolutionary party.
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Marx and Marxism - Selected texts and commentaries on Marxism written for lay people instead of academics.
Marx Memorial Library - Subscription lending library in London dedicated to Marxism and labour movements. Overview of collections, lecture programme and membership rates.
Marxism at the Millennium - Lynn Walsh, editor of Socialism Today examines the relevance of Marxism at the beginning of the third millennium.
Marxism Made Simple - A very accessible introduction to Marxist ideas.
Meta Description: [ Marxism Made Simple is a website designed to make Marxism as simple as possible., education ]
Marxism Page - An older page with links to Marxist writings and some contemporary material. Webmaster is sympathetic to the International Socialists tendency.
Meta Description: [ Introduction to Marxism and resources for understanding Marxism ]
Marxism, Mariategui and the Feminist Movement - Document from the Communist Party of Peru written in 1976.
Marxist Criticism - An academic summary of current Marxist criticism covering George Lukacs, Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althuser, and other major critics and thinkers in this school. 1993 hypertext database.
Marxist Media Theory - These are lecture notes for an undergraduate course on Media Education by Daniel Chandler. Discusses the Frankfurt School, Gramsci, Althusser and Stuart Hall.
Meta Description: [ These are lecture notes for an
undergraduate course on Media Education by Daniel Chandler. ]
Marxist.net - Marxist discussion and analysis resource material to guide the building of the revolutionary party and the socialist revolution. From the Committee for a Workers' International (CWI)
Meta Description: [ Marxist discussion and analysis resource material to assist in the building
of mass socialist parties with clear marxist leadership and the achievement of the socialist revolution ]
Marxists Internet Archive - The most complete database of Marxism hitherto made. The archive is divided into three major sections: Marxist writers, Marxist history, and reference materials. Marxist writers has information on Marxists from Karl Marx and Frederick Engels to Che Guevara to Vladimir Lenin to Rosa Luxemburg.
Meta Description: [ The most complete library of Marxism with content in over 40 languages and the works of over 400 authors readily accesible by archive, sujbect, or history. ]
Militant Esthetix - Esther Leslie and Ben Watson plunge the into theory and art conspired into existence by the praxis of Walter Benjamin, T.W. Adorno, Kurt Schwitters, Hannah Höch, Trotsky, Rosa Luxemburg, Frank Zappa, J.H. Prynne, and every avant-garde movement from Baudelaire through Dada, and Vorticism onto Punk and the DIY Esemplasm.
Meta Description: [ militant esthetix, Militant Esthetix by Esther Leslie and Ben Watson plunges the experiencer into theory and art conspired into existence by the praxis of Walter Benjamin, T.W. Adorno, Kurt Schwitters, Hannah Höch, Trotsky, Rosa Luxemburg, Frank Zappa, J.H. Prynne, and every avant-garde movement... ]
Pathfinder Books - Socialist publisher's complete catalogue with online ordering. Authors range from Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky; to Malcolm X, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, James P. Cannon and Farrell Dobbs.
Red Revolution - Dedicated to spreading the Communist philosophy by providing outlines of Marxist thought and concepts, history of communist movements, and links to communist parties, periodicals, and organizations.
REDS - Die Roten (English) - German-English site mostly carries material associated with Tony Cliff and the International Socialist Tendency.
Meta Description: [ REDS - Die Roten: Bilingual German-English site for Marxists and all those interested in socialist ideas. - Zweisprachige deutsch-englische Seite für Marxisten und alle, die sich für sozialistische Ideen interessieren. (English version) ]
The Betrayal of History - An overview of the philosophy and praxis of communism in a review of Dreamworld and Catastrophe.
Meta Description: [ Book review of Susan Buck-Morss' book Dreamland and Catastrophe ]
The Communist Think-Tank - A collective concerned with the development of revolutionary communist theory.It is neither Leninist nor anarchist.
The Giant Awakening: Is China Approaching True Socialism? - Information on ordering the book by Dr. Jamal S. Shrair. First chapter is available for free download.
The MarX-Files: Resources on Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels - An annotated web guide containing links to the major works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels as well as other Marxist resources.
Meta Description: [ An annotated web guide containing links to the major works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels as well as other Marxist resources. Prepared by Derek Stanovsky for his courses, Marx for Beginners and Marx's Capital, taught at Appalachian State University for Watauga College and the Department of Int... ]
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