PRESIDENCY

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UNIVERSITY
S0CIOLOGY
PROJECT

A CRITICAL ANALYIS OF MARXIST IDEA OF

SOCIETY WITH SPECIALBY
REFERENCE TO ITS
RELEVENCY IN MODERN ERAR.SRIMUGAN
20191BAL0080
TO
KAMALESH Sir
(ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN SOCIOLOGY)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

I would like to
express my heart full thanks to The Assistant Professor
of Sociology – KAMALESH, who agreed me to take the
current topic
“A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF
MARXIST IDEA OF SOCIETY WITH SPECIAL REFERANCE
TO ITS RELAVENCY IN MODERN ERA”
Finally, I would like to
thank to those who helped in submitting the projects
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.NO TOPIC
INTRODUCTION
1
MARXISM
2
DEFENITIONS OF MARXISM
3
THe dictatorship of the Proletariat
4
MARXIST IDEA OF SOCIETY
5
MARXIST VIEW ON SOCIETY
6
MARXISM – RELEVANCY IN MODERN
7 SOCIETY

Implications
8
A DETAILED VIEW OF MARXISM
9
CONCLUSION
10
 SYNOPSIS:
The project gives a detailed summary on the
Marxism view , it also tells about the view of Marxism in the
society with its view it come to one conclusion of that in this
society in the world. The idea of Marxism on the society tells
about the way of expression of its light towards the darkened
world, leaving its traces to be followed by the generations to the
generations . It gives a way of influence over the relevancy in
the modern age of the young world. The implications in the
present world tells about the road that till now how it was
followed through ages over periods and years, but its implication
are giving the knowledge of its goodness by its practice………..
 INTRODUCTION:
Marxism analyzes the
material conditions and the economic activities required to fulfill
human material needs to explain social phenomena within any
given society.

It assumes that the

form of economic organization, or mode of production, influences
all other social phenomena—including wider social relations,
political institutions, legal systems, cultural systems, aesthetics,
and ideologies. The economic system and these social relations
form a base and super structure.

As  Friedrich
Engels said: "Then the capitalist mode of appropriation in which
the product enslaves first the producer, and then appropriator, is
replaced by the mode of appropriation of the product that is
based upon the nature of the modern means of production; upon
the one hand, direct social appropriation, as means to the
maintenance and extension of production on the other, direct
individual appropriation, as means of subsistence and of
enjoyment".
 ackno

MARXISM
Marxism Is an economic and social system
based upon the political and economic theories of KARL MARX and
FRIEDRICH ENGELS. It is a system of economic, social, and political
philosophy based on the ideas of economic base that view social
change in terms of economic factors. A central tenet is that means
of production is the economic base that influences the political life.
Under Marxism, outdated class structures were supposed to be
overthrown with force (revolution) instead of being replaced through
patient modification. It held that as capitalism has succeeded
feudalism, it too will be removed by dictatorship of the workers
(proletariat) called socialism, followed quickly by a classless society
which governs itself without a governing class or structure.

MARXISM is developed in 19 th century jointly

by the two German friends named KARL MARX (1818-1883) and
FRIEDRICH ENGELS (1820-1895) and it forms the foundation for the
communism.

KARL MARX believed that the society was

made up of two classes, the bourgeoisie or business owners who
control the means of production, and the proletariat, or workers
whose labour transforms raw commodities into valuable economic
goods. The bourgeoisie’s control of the means of production gives
them power over the proletariat, which allows them to limit the
workers ability to produce and obtain what they need to survive.
 DEFENITIONS
OF
MARXISM

The term 'Marxism' doesn’t

have one exact meaning. It is a multifaceted term. It has been, interpreted
differently by different theorists of different times. Before Marx and
-Engels, the socialist thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, Babeuf, Robert Owen ,
Fourier, Saint Simon etc. have given their own views on political economy,
history, revolution and class struggle: After Marx, the thinkers like Lenin,
Stalin, Kosygin, Li-Tao-Chao, Mao Tse-Tung developed their own ideology of
Marxism. Even the Western writers and philosophers in the 20th century -
Althusser, Walter Benjamin, George Lukacs etc. have brought a new
development in the theory of Marxism. Thus, the different social, political
and economic situations of different times have shaped the term Marxism'
differently suiting to the needs of social, political and economic situations
of those times. For comprehending these different interpretations of the
term 'Marxism' it is essential to glance at some of the definitions of
'Marxism'. In this regard the following definition will help us to develop a
certain attitude for understanding the ideology of 'Marxism':

“Marxism is the highest

development of humanism, it is the form in which the age-long
contradiction between human advance and human subjection is resolved, it
is the last rebellion of the oppressed, and the only one in which success is
possible. It takes its origin from the rebellion of man against inhuman
conditions and its single aim is the recovery of man's lost humanity. This is
the very essence of humanism and Marxism is humanism in its
contemporary form”. (John Lewis)
 The dictatorship of the Proletariat:
The dictatorship of the
proletariat is one of the basic aspects of Marxism. Marx, in his theory,
speaks of the dictatorship of the proletariat also. "The proletariat". The
Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines as "lowest class of community"
or the "wage earners esp. those without capital and dependent on daily
labour for subsistence." Thus, the proletariat means landless and property
less masses, they are being exploited mercilessly, will overthrow the
capitalists and establish a dictatorship, which will live for some time only.
The concept of the 'dictatorship' has been well explained in the Concise
Oxford English Dictionary as "Communist ideal of domination by the
proletariat after the suppression of capitalism and the bourgeoisie." The
ultimate aim of the dictatorship of the proletariat is to bring about a
classless society. For establishing a classless society all capitalist property
will be seized by the proletariat. They will abolish all rights of inheritance.
They will centralize means of transport & communication. In this type of
ruling system labour charges will be paid according to his work. The
proletarian dictatorship is different from earlier dictatorship because this
type of dictatorship provides for the first time in history, majority control.
Marx says that the government of the proletarian dictatorship is far more
democratic than other governments have been. This includes even the
bourgeois democracy of capitalism. For the time being, such a ruling of
system’ will work as an exploiting class. However, its purpose is not to
continue permanently its own power but its main purpose is to eliminate
oppression permanently. For the elimination of oppression, for abolition of
private property and for carrying out a programme that will take society
towards the perfect (communist) society, a careful use of coercion or force
is inevitable in the early stages of the proletarian dictatorship. Because at
this time the strength of the remaining elements of the capitalist will be
greatest especially in terms of numbers and the influence of its ideology.
Hence, to protest this much strongly and boldly, the power of the
proletariat dictatorship must be employed. Here, Marx wishes to bring in
liquidation the capitalist class and the influence exercised by that class.
After the capitalist class and the remnants of its super structural elements
are abolished, there will be a need of using force of coercion. With the end
of capitalism, there will be only one class, the proletariat. This class will
live according to its own ideas. Here, one class means no class at all and a
classless society will be established. At this time, only the state which was
in the process of withering away from the time of the completion of
revolution will also disappear absolutely. Thus, men will have new and
perfect communist society.
 MARXIST IDEA OF SOCIETY

Marxism believed in economic conflict

produces class (rich, middle and poor) and inherently class produces
conflict in the society. It tells that if the working class makes itself as
an ruling class and then it starts to destroy the basics of the class
society private property that means bourgeois in the term of Marxist
writings. It destroys the class society and there will be only a classless
society. According to Marxist society there should be no classes in
conflict (disagreement or fight) and there is no government anymore.
Marxist see society as being divided by conflict between the social
groups, or classes who make up society. Marx believed that social
change ids the natural order of societies. In each form of the society
there are those who control property and those who control property
and those who work for them. Due to the divide between the
bourgeoisie(owners) and the proletariat(workers). Marx also stated
that capitalism is the key and the main problem in most of the
societies as it causes the inequality between the owner and the
worker by making the owner(bourgeoisie) as the top or head of the
society and making workers(proletariat) as the lower or the bottom of
the society. Those who had economic powers controlled the all other
institutions. In Marx’s days there was some evidence to suggest that
this was true eg: Voting was restricted to the men only those who had
property the mens without property are not allowed to vote and Press
barons used papers to spread their propaganda had education also
had restrictions like the children of the wealthy families are only
 MARXIST VIEW ON SOCIETY


 Under capitalism there were two basic classes:

a. THE BOURGEOIS
b. THE PROLETARIAT

The relationship between these two classes of

the society was exploitative because of the amount of money that the
owner pays to the worker is less than the total value of goods that that the
worker produces and the difference between those are called as surplus
value in economic terms. So that Marx’s says about the capitalism as it
extracts surplus value. According to Marx’s, Profit is basically the
accumulated exploitation of the workers in the capitalist society.

Control of the economic base is also

known as the control of the superstructure. Marx’s stated that “those who
have economic power’s had control all other institutions”.  During Marx’s
day there was some evidence to suggest this was true – Voting was
restricted to men with property; Press Barons used their papers to spread
propaganda; and only the children of the wealthy could get to university.

The Bourgeois use their control of

institutions to keep the masses ignorant of their exploitation, this is known
as ideological control. According to Marx this was mainly done through the
Mass Media and Religion. Ideological control results in false
Consciousness, individuals not being aware of their true class position or
their exploitation by the ruling class. They are in a state of illusion .

Capitalism causes alienation Under

Capitalism the worker becomes alienated from the process of production,
from the people he works with and from the products they produce. This is
because he lacks control over his work and becomes a ‘machine’, and thus
work appears as ‘alien’ to him.
 Marx’s ideas on Capitalism
and social change Competition leads to increasing levels of exploitation,
Marx argued that the Capitalism had within it the seeds of its own
destruction, it would eventually create the social conditions that would
lead to its downfall. In order to stay competitive, Capitalists would have to
sell goods at lower prices, which would mean reduced profit. This would
then encourage Capitalists to seek to reduce wages and increase efficiency
making the working conditions of the proletariat ever worse. Marx
theorised that increasing numbers of increasingly exploited proletarians
crammed into ever expanding cities would eventually lead to a violent
revolution in which the proletariat would throw off their oppressors.

Revolution and
communism, Marx argued that following the overthrow of the Bourgeois
society would eventually organise itself along Communist lines where the
means of production are collectively owned and everyone has equal
wealth. Marx was vague about exactly what the Communist society would
look like but argued that in this society ‘each would give according to their
ability and take according to their needs’ and that there would be a lot
more free time for all.

The point of ‘Social

Research’ according to Marx  Marx spent the last decade of his life sitting
in the British Library analysing how Capitalism worked and discovered that
over time, the degree of exploitation of workers increased. He thus
theorised that Capitalism would gradually lead to an increasing amount
human misery and exploitation and that it must, one day come to an end.
 MARXISM – RELEVANCY IN
MODERN SOCIETY

Karl Marx was born a little over 200 years

ago in Trier, Germany. After the fall of the Berlin Wall on the outer side of
Germany, Marx teachings seemed to have become obsolete. But in the
beginning of the 21st century, it appears that Marx philosophy and some of
his economic ideas have remained relevant, and might even be revived.

Twenty years ago as the Berlin Wall came

tumbling down the bourgeoisie in the west was euphoric, rejoicing at the
“fall of communism”. Twenty years later things look very different as
capitalism has entered its most severe crisis since 1929. Now a majority in
former East Germany votes for the left and harks back to what was
positive about the planned economy. After rejecting Stalinism, they have
now had a taste of capitalism, and the conclusion drawn is that socialism is
better than capitalism.
Implications:
Following Marx’ thought that our socio-
economic, material conditions shape our thinking, digital technology might
also generate new technologies and ideas how to regulate our societies
and economies. And as Marx showed that our tools shape our thinking, the
increased negative connotations of social media and smart phones, or the
increased power and wealth of big tech, might revive interest in Marxist
anthropology, sociology and philosophy.

A general misconception about Marx is that he

claimed the communist state was the finalization of history. In fact, Marx
claimed that states are only a temporary moment in the development of
history, necessary for the privatization and equal distribution of wealth and
property. As our needs and preferences are determined by our historical,
material conditions, the state should abolish itself as soon as there is
perfect equality, as no human being in the communist utopia would feel
the necessity to own private property or exploit others. As Marx’
conception of capital as the most abstract form of material conditions has
the radical tokenization of our worlds as its anti-thesis, Marxist philosophy
would embrace a de-central network economy as a solution to the problem
of alienation. As such, it might fit into the state ideologies of China,
Singapore or Russia.

Countries that follow Marxism in the present world are;

 CHINA
 CUBA
 VENUZELA
 LAOS
 VIETNAM
 NORTH KOREA
 
China is a highly regulated society, though some of their social and
economic practices are not strictly Marxist communist. Other nations,
like North Korea, have grown out of Marxist-Leninist ideology. Today, North
Korea practices Juche (or "self-reliance") as a rejection of the traditional
Marxist-Leninist form of Communism. Other nations may consider
themselves to be socialist or practice socialism in the form of universal
access to healthcare, education, and a minimum wage as a means of
providing for the people and the state.

Outside of economics, Marxism has become a favored

theoretical framework in the social sciences. The study of present-day
class inequality as well as the studies of race, ethnicity, gender, and
disability have all experienced major shifts with the introduction of Marxist
theory. Marxism no longer solely applies to economic class struggle, but
that experienced when any segment of society is systemically oppressed.
For this reason, Marxism has become a significant force in academia
today.

Many of the tangible examples of socialism (and Marxism)

that one might experience today pass by in such a way that we do not
readily identify them as being socialist. If your country has any of the
following, you've experienced socialism to some degree:

 Government-provided support for the young,

elderly, and disabled, such as Social Security in
the United States
 Universal healthcare
 Free education
 Subsidies on housing or utilities
 Public libraries
 Public roads and highways
 Emergency services like police and the fire
department
 Government-provided support for the
impoverished, like the food stamps program in
the United States
A DETAILED VIEW OF
MARXISM:
CONCLUSION:
I think that Marxism is completely
relevant for understanding capitalism now. It’s an error to think
that capitalism has changed and that therefore we have to
change Marxism. Marx grasped the nature of capitalism; and,
although capitalism has changed in some of its forms, but its
essence remains the same. Capitalism is a system based upon
the exploitation and deformation of wage labourers for the
purpose of profits for those who own the means of
production. That has not changed.