(Part )
1) Background to the philosophy of Marx (continued).
c) The Karl Marx's revolutionary activism led him to abandon his native Germany, through France before arriving in England, where he met the economic theories of Adam Smith (considering it as a leading theorist of capitalism) and such as Robert T. Malthus, and others like David Ricardo . Smith discussed in his studies the economic and social conditions that fostered the balance and growth of economies industrial, and concluded that the State should be limited to arbitrate in all economic transactions, not to participate or control beyond what is strictly necessary. Malthus, meanwhile, had stated that "the power of population growth is infinitely higher than the power of the earth to produce the means of subsistence for man: indeed, if left unchecked the population, it increases in geometric progression, while increasing resources in arithmetic progression. " Which meant that world poverty was due to purely demographic reasons, ie, problems of excess population.
Marx rejected the capitalist thesis demographic Smith and Malthus, the first stressed the need for state regulation for the proper functioning of the economic system, since the free market can lead to excesses and perversions. Regarding the second criticism of Malthus that had relegated to the background (or omission practice) social and economic conditions (the distribution of wealth and class struggle) which, according to Marx, are fundamental to the spread of poverty and inequality, while slowing the responsibility for the situation of demographic reasons.
d) regard to the political currents Marx also analyzed key systems at the time. A look at the top will give an overview of the type of prevailing ideologies and the change he wanted to enter the German philosopher.
The oldest, conservatism, argued for maintaining the values, procedures and traditional norms, typical of the ancien regime that preceded the Revolution, namely the dominance of the monarchy, the influential role of the Catholic Church, formula estates of privileges, etc. Another was the prevailing system liberalism, economic "directed" by the ideas of Adam Smith and politically represented by JS Mill, based in turn on ideas already proposed by John Locke in the seventeenth century. Liberalism calls for a clear division of powers, endorse all kinds of freedoms of the individual (private property, for example), permitting the election (or revocation), by the people, representative government. Liberalism, of course, supports capitalism, a system he sees as the guarantor of the wealth of peoples and states.
These two ideologies are joining others in times of Marx, remained in opposition. For example, the French democratism Alexis de Tocqueville, who advocated the desirability of universal suffrage and better distribution of goods, while safeguarding private property and capitalism. The idea was to achieve equality (if not of wealth, access itself the conditions for obtaining it) keeping somewhat liberal values. The anarchism , meanwhile, sponsored by the abolition of the state, bypassing any state power over the proletariat and other social strata. Moreover, he argues that to achieve social and economic equality is essential to establish a socialist system of ownership, a thesis that reflects the political system of that name, socialism, which calls for eliminating all forms of class or economic inequality. Rejects property Private and procedures of the free market, demanding government intervention in the economy to a better distribution of resources and wealth. From that socialism will be born, of course, the theses of Marx, but yours will be a "scientific" socialism as it provides the reasons (or laws) of the final collapse of capitalism and a theory of historical development in terms materialists.
2) Structure of Marx's philosophy.
" Philosophers have devoted so far to interpret reality, time is already change." This phrase embodies the intent Marx of his philosophy. Aware of the precarious economic and working conditions of workers, Marx wanted his philosophical system had a clear cut practical, applicable, from the same intellectual conception, the prevailing society. Their mood is that philosophy serves not only to understand the world, but to transform it into a better than today.
There were two basic motivations in the Marxian philosophy. On the one hand, given that it was a scientific socialism, was the desire to offer a scientific explanation reality. In this sense, science refers to a rational procedure that reveals the creation of the universe, of being humans, their societies and history that it generates. This was all theoretical, and was completed by another, more practical (and propaganda ...), which ensured the inevitability of a future communist society and fall of capitalism. The intent of this proclamation Marx was to achieve greater unity of the proletariat, to revolt by their circumstances and make joint force for the establishment of a socialist society.
But all social action would be futile, and Marx knew, if previously there was no coherent philosophical system would strongly theoretical to practical action. Marx knew that any wording was destined to fail intellectually naked, and it built a monumental philosophical edifice, which opens in two main parts: 1) the materialist explanation about the world, man, society, etc.. we have mentioned, which was the colleague of Marx, Friedrich Engels, his lead author, summed up in the label dialectical materialism (discussed in the next installment in this series), and 2) historical materialism, which explains in turn, all social and economic problems in times of Marx and final strength and importance of history and the collapse of the capitalist system and the formation of a communist society.
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