Questions tagged [marxism]

Questions related to the political and economic theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, later developed by their followers to form the basis of communism.

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Why is communism considered as evil (like fascism and nazism) in the United States?

In this question, a person asks why it's so easy to ban Nazi symbols and so hard to ban communist symbols: Why is banning communism symbols so hard to achieve as opposed to banning of Nazi symbols? ...
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57 votes
8 answers
16k views

Do/did non-dictatorial Communist societies exist?

I've often heard the following two points of view: Communism is a failed philosophy, and it has always failed (e.g. USSR, China, Cuba etc...). Therefore it's simply wrong. Communism has never been ...
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Did Karl Marx ever use any example that involved cotton and dollars to illustrate the way capital and surplus value were generated?

I live in country with a communist ideology, and Marxism-Leninism courses are mandatory in college. As much as I appreciate some basics on dialectical materialism, I can't help but disdain the way ...
Vun-Hugh Vaw's user avatar
24 votes
3 answers
5k views

For what stated reasons (not opinion) is classical communism antagonistic towards the bourgeoisie more than the aristocracy?

I am not extremely familiar with the intricacies of Marxist ideology but many of these articles seem to suggest that classical Communist ideology perceives the bourgeoisie as the 'real enemy of the ...
English Student's user avatar
22 votes
7 answers
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Is it necessary for a communist to be an atheist?

Is it necessary for a communist to be an atheist? Have there been exceptions to this rule where a communist country or leader was comfortable with religion? Since all communist countries persecuted ...
Ever Think's user avatar
21 votes
4 answers
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What are the main differences between different types of Marxism?

Socialism, Communism, Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism, etc are different political idioms with some similarities in ideology. But my question is about their differences: Question: What are the ...
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19 votes
3 answers
6k views

Would Marx consider salary workers to be members of the proleteriat?

I am struggling to map the concepts of "proletariat" and "bourgeoisie" to modern life. They appear to be equivalent to "lower class" and "middle class", but ...
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According to Marx, is Communism a workable system or an unreachable ideal?

I have heard opposing arguments about whether or not Communism was intended to be an unreachable ideal, or a workable system. Has Marx ever commented, either in the communist manifesto or otherwise, ...
Ekadh Singh - Reinstate Monica's user avatar
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4 answers
6k views

Did Marx or some other marxist say something like war benefits the rich at the expense of the poor?

I may be misremembering, but I vaguely recall that somewhere in the marxist (or communist) ideology there was a claim like war (and I mean actual war, not class war) benefits the rich (maybe even in ...
Fizz's user avatar
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15 votes
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What is the fascist argument for Marxism being a Jewish conspiracy?

How do fascists reason that communism is a Jewish conspiracy? To me general fascist / white nationalist rhetorical strategy seems like a complete refusal of approaching communism on its own terms. ...
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Is the economics theory of Karl Marx regarding technological progress realistic to the end?

Marx claimed that the introduction of more and more advanced machinery would lead to unemployment of workers, which decreases the ability of the society to buy things, which is a vicious cycle. ...
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How would a Marxist classify an entrepreneur that starts their own company?

This would probably apply equally to all software engineers that formed their own company, whether it is Mark Zuckerburg, Noland Bushnell, or David Crane. These entrepreneurs started their companies ...
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Why did Marx believe that mass industrialisation was a prerequisite for the proletarian revolution?

Apparently, Marx believed that mass industrialisation was a prerequisite for the proletarian revolution. Why did he believe this?
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Lumpenproletariat In Marxist Theory?

I am having a lot of trouble visualizing Karl Marx's socio-economic class Lumpenproletariat. Marx gives these examples: Alongside decayed roués with dubious means of subsistence and of dubious ...
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What differentiates Trotskyism from Marxism/Leninism?

I understand that the split originated in a power struggle, but I'm more interested in the modern theoretical differences. In the present day, there appears to be an ideological split between ...
Jones's user avatar
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3 answers
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In Marxist Theory, is use-value dependent on the amount of labour that goes into the creation of a commodity?

In Marxist theory, is use-value dependent on the amount of labour that goes into the creation of a commodity? If so, is the relevant labour the amount of abstract social labour or useful-labour? I ...
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2 answers
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Do people self-identify as "cultural Marxist"?

The term "cultural Marxist" has been used extensively in derogatory ways towards leftist political activists, thinkers and movement. Famously, the Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivig used the ...
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2 answers
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What is the origin of "from each according to his ability" formula and why is it considered Marxist/Socialist?

Should anyone here have some sources or reputable background history to the below quotation, would you please consider making it available here? [...] from each according to his ability, to each ...
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3 answers
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What did Marx and Engels mean by "Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes."?

In the communist manifesto what did Marx and Engels mean by "Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes"?
Molossus Spondee's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
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What is the basic difference between Marxism, Socialism and Communism? [duplicate]

Along with the heading, it would be much appreciated if you paste useful links that go in depth of the differences. For this forums scope, I only need to hear the basic difference between these three ...
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3 answers
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What social class would Marx consider himself a member of?

Marx considers various social classes in The Manifesto of the Communist Party, among them: the bourgeoisie, the proletariat, the middle class, and the 'dangerous' classes of social scum. Marx was in a ...
spejamchr's user avatar
6 votes
5 answers
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Did Che Guevara help send Gay people to labor camps also called UMAP?

I recently read this article on Huffington Post about Ernesto Che Guevara and was wondering how much it was true? The main source I've found comes from a Frenchman named Regis Debray who met Che ...
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6 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is there a contradiction between Marxism and post-modernism?

Jordan Peterson, in his Oxford Union address, said, It is obvious that there is a contradiction between Marxism and post-modernism. In what sense is there a contradiction?
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Is (and why is) the original theory of socialism/communism of Karl Marx very unlikely to become the theoretical foundation of any democratic regime?

Nowadays it seems that many young people are embracing Marxism (or some sort of illusion of it. As Obie 2.0 commented below, many of them probably don't really know what the original Marxism really is)...
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Did Karl Marx support taking over the means of production by using force or violence?

If the workers want to have means of production (land or factories) they can: Put money together and buy/build them, step by step. That's how the Amish or the Mennonites are building and growing ...
Joe Jobs's user avatar
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What did Fidel Castro mean by "A revolution is a dictatorship of the exploited against the exploiters."?

"A revolution is a dictatorship of the exploited against the exploiters." said by Fidel Castro. Fidel Castro is a Cuban socialist leader who overthrew a dictator in 1959 and established a Marxist ...
Josh Teal's user avatar
5 votes
5 answers
725 views

Have any countries established socialist democracy specifically based on Marxism?

As far as I know, there are no countries calling themselves Communist that have stayed real democracies, even though Marx wrote that he wanted democracy in Communist society. However, there are quite ...
Stormblessed's user avatar
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1 answer
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Is Chinese Communism with market economy based on any Marxist theory?

Does any Marxist theory allow market economy the way the Chinese have it? Did any Marxist author write anything on this happening in a socialist state? Can a plan economy transform after a while, ...
David Jonsson's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
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Have any Marxists won the Nobel Prize in the last 50 years?

Have any avowed Marxists recently won the Nobel Prize, or any other significant economic recognition award?
Gyula Bartók's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
424 views

Who are modern ideologues/philosophers of Communism and how do they interpret Marx?

Communism remains a popular belief^1, despite the dismal performance of the Communist states in terms of public prosperity and human rights.^2 As far as I can judge, there are three currents in ...
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What did Black Panther, Huey Newton, mean by 'Non-State' in this speech?

In a speech to Boston College, on the 18th November, 1970, Huey Newton, one of the founders of the Black Panther Party in 1966, said: ... But by and large you can see the transformation which was ...
Mozibur Ullah's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
270 views

Are there any major parties identifying themselves with Rosa Luxemburg's ideas?

It's difficult for me to understand why I'm not hearing about any Luxemburgist parties. The ideas of Rosa Luxemburg seem not to have been refuted like some other branches of communist theory have in ...
ymar's user avatar
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1 answer
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Elitist and Marxist theories on the distribution of power

What are the main differences and similarities between the marxist and elitist theories on the distribution of power in Liberal democracies?
user2573's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
272 views

Are modern state governments just a group that administers the businesses of the bourgeoisie? [closed]

I recently read the Communist Manifiesto and in the very fist chapter the authors claim that The executive of the modern state is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole ...
Mr. Stranger's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
240 views

Difference between corporatism and craft unionism

In an essay I came across two political concepts that I'm incapable of distinguishing. What is difference between corporatism and craft unionism? I have read somewhere that the idea of corporatism ...
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3 votes
3 answers
398 views

In Marxism are prices decided centrally?

Are prices centrally decided in Marxism? If so are they based on labour value?
52d6c6af's user avatar
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2 votes
6 answers
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Is Fascism ideologically descended from communism?

Georges Sorel was a Marxist, who later developed Sorelianism, which later became Fascism. To quote Benito Mussolini himself: I owe most to Georges Sorel. This master of syndicalism by his rough ...
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2 votes
1 answer
104 views

Marxism had abolished philosophy. What did Engels mean? [closed]

I read somewhere that Engels has asserted that Marxism had abolished philosophy. What did he mean?
cody's user avatar
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2 answers
666 views

To what extent is Marxism a liberal ideology?

It's been asserted in another answer here that: Marxism is, of course, part of the spectrum of Liberal ideologies, though it is often maligned as being something 'other.' Looking at the SEP page ...
Fizz's user avatar
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1 answer
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Has Marx ever addressed democracy in the context of bourgeois vs. proletariat

I was reading the first chapter of the communist manifesto and Marx seems to talk about how capitalism causes the Bourgeois versus the Proletariat (I’m not saying whether this is true or not, but ...
Ekadh Singh - Reinstate Monica's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
358 views

Why is a sympathizer of a party the party itself

In German Federal elections (my country) there is a radical left-wing party called MLPD (Marxists Leninists Party of Germany). They choose to not stand for election alone, they have joined a league of ...
Grim's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
701 views

Where does the phrase "reason in revolt" originate from?

The phrase "reason in revolt" is commonly used in Marxist/Socialist literature, but I can't figure out where it came from. Who first said it or used it in writing?
yellow-saint's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
281 views

Is democratic centralism limited to Leninism?

Wikipedia describes democratic centralism as follows: The democratic aspect of this organizational method describes the freedom of members of the political party to discuss and debate matters of ...
gerrit's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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Are there analysis of capitalist development as a dialectical process (i.e. not dialectical materialism)?

It is customary to point that one does not escape Hegel’s dialectic easily: opposition (or trying to negate) dialectic would still amount to be playing its game, since negation is a necessary step to ...
Parneix's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
338 views

What is the difference between Marxism and Leninism? [duplicate]

I am really intrigued by the idea of communism, especially Marxism and Leninism. But I am struggling to find the differences between these two communist ideologies. Both of them seem to try to ...
Jøê Grèéñ's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
16k views

What do the terms 'Human Emancipation' and 'Political Emancipation' mean?

What do the terms 'Human Emancipation' and 'Political Emancipation' mean? And which one of these are promoted by capitalism?
djokester's user avatar
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-1 votes
2 answers
552 views

Did Karl Marx ever advocate anything? [closed]

Marx never advocated anything it seems. He never actually said communism was desirable, only that it would happen. The closest thing to advocating something would be the Gotha programme, but even then ...
user avatar
-1 votes
3 answers
376 views

Is there a practical way to implement wealth redistribution that isn't currently implemented?

A common goal of Marxist and other socialists is to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor. Is there a practical way to accomplish this that isn't already being done? We already have an estate ...
user1873's user avatar
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-1 votes
5 answers
818 views

In what ways is Marxism not (left-wing) populism?

On a certain level, Cas Mudde's definition of populism (the most accepted in academia today, it seems), namely an ideology that considers society to be ultimately separated into two homogeneous ...
Fizz's user avatar
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