23 February 2019
Marxism originates from the discursive conversations of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The basis of Marxist theory as stated by the founder and main theorist Karl Marx is the history of class struggles in a society. The reason Marx reasonates with many is because his work sets the basis of Marxism itself. He’s written many books encompassing his thoughts, and his works are significant because they create a conversation or discourse that others throughout time have developed, added onto, analyzed or even refuted. For example, influential theories such as Foucauldian and Neoliberalism belong to Marx’s discursive conversation further showing how influential Marx was and continues to be.
One of his most monumental works is the Communist Manifesto which is refered to time and time again. He explains that societies are constantly divided by class whether it be “Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guildmaster and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed.”
Marxist theory includes the “Base” which is economic foundation (including the economic system and Bourgeoisie/Proletariat) while the “Superstructure” reflects the Base with ideology such as religion, education, politics, law, culture etc. Marx uses this to analyze societies throughout history, and encourages people to analyze how the Superstructure reflects the Base and what that means for a given society.
Conversations on Marxism 