¶ … Materialism: What does it mean in Marx?
Marx's writings and philosophies extend through various disciplines of history, economics, political science, literature, philosophy, political economy, sociology and even - arguably - mathematics. There are several common strings throughout his writings, many of which we have explored this semester, but a constant beacon, a constant guideline, is Marx's concept of historical materialism.
In historical materialism, economics is key. Economics has always motivated people through history, and can be isolated as an independent force, separate from the religious or ideological.
For Marx, social necessity is uniform: What differs among men is economic power, ability and desire. One gets what one deserves, and in the ideological or religious, this is not necessarily the case, but in the economic, it certainly is, or at least should be.
In "Historical Materialism and the Economics of Karl Marx" by Benedetto Croce, Croce writes, "Historical materialism is what is called a fashionable subject. The theory came into being fifty years ago, and for a time remained obscure and limited; but during the last six or seven years it has rapidly attained great fame and an extensive literature, which is daily increasing, has grown up around it." The reason it has increased in popularity has been increased attention to its relevance to economic theory. Interestingly, historical materialism's popularity has grown in inverse proportion to the worldwide success of Marxism in general: "From the moment Marx and Engels penned this theory, it proved false on every front. Over the course of the second half of the 19th century, the standard of living of workers in Europe, far from falling, roughly doubled -- a trend that continued apace until the outbreak of World...
For John Locke, government "…should be limited to securing the life and property of it citizens"; and government should allow freedom of religion and freedom of conscience. He was opposed to "hereditary monarchy" and supported human rights (especially in his more mature years). As to how these political theories connect with environmental policy in the U.S.: first, the environmental policies in the U.S. are under attack by the Republicans in the
For example, one can consider the following quote from Hobbes: "The right of nature... is the liberty each man hath to use his own power, as he will himself, for the preservation of his own nature; that is to say, of his own life." (Harrison, 2003, p. 67). In other words, Hobbes is saying that every person has within them certain rights, yearnings and liberties; as such, the individual
Thomas Hobbes' Philosophy in the Leviathan The subject area concerning political theories is both vast and complex. Political theories come in the form of ancient philosophies and new age rhetoric. This discussion will focus on the philosophy of The Leviathan. The Leviathan written by Thomas Hobbes, explores the matter, form, and power of a commonwealth. In the Leviathan Hobbes discusses the responsibility of the sovereign and the subjects. Hobbes philosophy contended that
Justice, Gender, And the Family Much of what needs to be done to end the inequalities of gender, and to work in the direction of ending gender itself, will also help equalize opportunity from one family to another" (Okin, 17). Therein lies the central message that Okin attempts to convey within her book, Justice, Gender, and the Family. Through her analysis of contemporary theories of justice, and a discussion of the
Plato and Aristotle's political theories The most capacious account of Plato's established philosophical views has been published in "The Republic" as a comprehensive handling of the most basic values for the behavior of human life. As it deals with a large number of matters, The Republic can be interpreted in a lot of diverse manner: as a discourse on political conjecture and observation, as an academic manual, or the manner
The 'Debates in Political Theory' module serves as an essential component in the study of political science, inviting students to explore the rich variety of arguments that have shaped political thought throughout history. Political theory is not a fixed body of knowledge, but a dynamic field of competing ideas and perspectives. This essay will explore some of the central debates within the module, examining how they contribute to our understanding
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now