Karl Marx und Marxismus

Karl Marx was one of the founders of modern socialism and communism. A German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist and journalist, he is best known for his ideas on historical materialism and class struggle which are central aspects of Marxist philosophy. Marx believed that human history progressed from primitive societies to feudal society and finally to capitalistic society. He viewed capitalism as exploitative because it takes advantage of those who create its wealth – the workers. According to Marx, this leads inevitably to revolution. With Friedrich Engels, he wrote ‘The Communist Manifesto’, which advocated violent revolutionary action against governments, business and religion, pointing out that they have all been enemies of real democracy. Marx's theories were based on economic principles, specifically labor theory of value which stated that the worth of goods was derived from their production costs rather than any intrinsic value. This idea led him to criticize existing forms of government for being corrupt and ineffective in providing fair distribution of wealth. As such, he promoted a form of government where everyone would share equally in the fruits of their labor and there would be no private property. His work greatly influenced world politics during the mid-to late twentieth century.