Marxism
- a secular religion put forward by Karl Marx (1818-1838) who was born in Germany, but spent most of his adult life in England
- the "god" of Marxism is economics. According to Marx, economics or more generally speaking the material conditions of life determine man's culture, social institutions, thoughts, and even his ideals. Hence, Marx believed that whatever man does is determined by the economic structure of his society. Therefore, Marxism is called a determinist philosophy.
Steps to Marxism
I) Violent Revolution of Proletariat vs. Bourgeoisie
II) Dictatorship of the Proletariat
III) Socialist Society
IV) Communist Society
Descriptions of the Steps
I) History is constantly changing. Struggle between social classes over means of production.
eg feudal times - lords vs. surfs
Struggle will end when the workers (proletariats) rise up and overthrow the capitalists (bourgeoisie)
NOTE: Capitalism: It's goal is profit. This is achieved by offering a product and reducing costs by perhaps paying workers less or replacing workers with machines.
II) Dictatorship of the Proletariat (all the people)
- all private property abolished
- last traces of capitalism are removed
III) Socialist Society
- communal ownership of goods
IV) Communist Society
- classless
- no need for government - "state will wither away"
- blissful anarchy
- "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need"
Criticisms of Marxism
1) Marx says history is constantly changing, but history stops changing with communism.
Why will there be no more revolutions?
2) Actually more than two classes in society.
3) Marx says that human nature is good.
4) Marx did not foresee the development of unions, safety laws, or government intervention in the economy.
5) Economics is the basis of life? But what about people's families or spiritual beliefs.
6) Marx gives no practical suggestions on how a governmentless society would run.
7) Communist revolution would occur in a mature capitalist society (i.e. England or Germany) but never in Russia.
Brief Outline of the Russian Revolution
I) Russia Pre-Revolution
A) Society - until 20th Century, 80% peasants (one third landless), illiterate, poor, no middle class
B) Military - large but weak, poor leadership, and poor equipment
C) Industry - slow to develop, low productivity; however, after 1892 Russia industrialized rapidly (Trans Siberian railway, French loans, oil development).
By 1914, Russia was 5th in the world in industrial productivity but there was still a lack of skilled workers, overcrowding in cities, and poverty.
D) Marxism - introduced in 1889 by unions
Political parties though were illegal under the Czar so it was difficult to organize workers.
II) Revolution of 1905
- after Russo-Japanese war loss (1904-1905) general unrest
- Czar refused reforms for government
- Bloody Sunday - Father Gapon led a march with petition to the Czar's Winter Palace in St. Petersburg
- Czar's soldiers fired on crowd and over 1000 were killed
- rioting broke out and the Czar was forced to issue the October Manifesto allowing for a Parliament to be formed called the Duma
- the Duma was weak but was a start - support for the Bolsheviks (i.e. communists) dropped. People were satisfied for a time..
- Bolsheviks arrested by Czar
III) March Revolution
Background: riots over poor living conditions (high inflation), lack of food, WW I, and people wanted a more democratic and efficient form of government
- Czar abdicates his power (March 1917)
- Duma formed a provisional government. Kerensky becomes leader of the government.
- Kerensky made two big mistakes: a) he failed to introduce land reform
b) he did not get Russia out of WW I (maintain commitments to Britain and France with the hope of getting aid after the war)
IV) October Revolution
- Attempts to overthrow provisional government made in April 1917 by Lenin (Bolshevik supporter), failure however (Lenin escaped) and by General Kornilov (anti-Bolshevik / he wanted a military dominated government), failure also.
- Lenin returns promising "peace, land , bread". Peasants seized land, strikes in cities, desertions from armed forces
- Nov. 7, 1917 - Bolsheviks seized power. Kerensky fled to the US - few casualties.
Lenin immediately said: a) give peasants land b) Russia out of WW I
V) Civil War
- Bolsheviks only controlled one quarter of Russia.
Opposing Forces:
1) British at Murmansk and Archangelsk to protect ammunition dumps along the Baltic area
2) Whites: Mensheviks, Social Revolutionaries, Liberals, supporters of the Czar, landowners, Czar generals, were in the southern part of Russia.
3) Japanese, Americans, French, Italians in various parts of Russia
Red Army (Bolshevik / communist forces) led by Trotsky won
WHY?
1) opposing forces not united and occasionally fought each other (different goals)
2) peasants fought with Reds because the Bolsheviks gave them land
3) as the white armies neared Moscow, foreign armies withdrew.
War over by early 1922. Starvation during the war caused several million casualties.
Summary of the Theory of Communism
Politics Made Simple: The bovine model
