Introduction To Marx/Marxsim

why Marx refused to draw up any detailed plan for a socialist society but saw socialism as a historical process created by the working class itself after the overthrow of capitalism

how dialectics is a theory of change through contradiction and how Marx took over this idea from Hegel  and, interpreting it materialistically, made it a cornerstone of his underlying philosophy

why Marx rejected nationalism and called on workers of the world to unite believing socialism could not be realised in one country alone, but also defended the right of oppressed nations to freedom.

explains how Marx rejected the dominant view of the state as neutral or above class, seeing it as fundamentally an instrument of rule by the dominant economic class, and the revolutionary political implications of this.

deals with why Marx believed that in the long run, the rate of profit would tend to fall and how this would make capitalism prone to recurring economic crises.

explains Marx’s core economic doctrine that the value of commodities is determined by the labour-power embodied in them and how this underpins the exploitation of the working class.

This sets out what Marx saw as the main features of capitalism as it developed historically and his analysis of its central dynamic- the accumulation of capital.

argues against the interpretation of historical materialism as a theory of mechanical economic determinism and shows how Marx and Engels stressed that ideas and political organisation also play a vital part in shaping history.

outlines the basic ideas of Marx’s theory of history which sees history as driven primarily not by the deeds and ideas of ‘great men’ but by how the mass of ordinary people produce the necessities of life.

goes further into why Marx considered the working class as the ‘gravedigger’ of capitalism and the class which would liberate humanity.

explains Marx’s view of the class struggle in modern society as polarised between two fundamental classes, the bourgeoisie, and proletariat.

looks at the crucial concept of class and shows how in Marx its meaning, focused on exploitation and social relations, is very different from its use in the media or in sociology.

explains what the concept of alienation, especially alienated labour,  meant to Marx and why it was so central to his critique of capitalism as a whole.

this sets out different basic views of Marx – evil founder of communism, 19th-century economist, etc – and explains the speaker’s view of him as basically a revolutionary and fighter for human freedom. It also briefly outlines the main themes in Marxism as a whole