Marxism

Socialism/Marxism
Sunday, November 1, 2015

 Thandolenkosi Ndlovu
 Elvis Shoko
 Rudo Mutisi
 Beatrice
 Sanelisiwe

OVERVIEW
1.0 Background
2.0 Major proponents
3.0 Main ideas
3.1 Concept of class
3.2 Nature of reality
3.3 Nature of knowledge
3.4 Nature of values
4.0 Marxism and education
4.1 Aims of education
4.2 Curriculum
5.0 Criticism
6.0 References

BACKGROUND
• Marxism is a movement founded by Karl Marx and Frederick
Engels which fights for the self-emancipation of the working class,
subjecting all forms of domination by the bourgeoisie, its
institutions and its ideology, to theoretical and practical critique.
• In terms of practical political struggle, Marxism arose in the mid-
nineteenth century in opposition to three main opposing tendencies
in the workers’ movement which are Anarchism, Utopian
socialism, and overtly bourgeois tendencies.
• It stood for the destruction of the capitalist state by the organised
working class

MAJOR PROPONENTS
• Karl Heinrich Marx (1818-1883)
• Friedrich Engels (1820–1895)
• Karl Kautsky (1854-1938)
• Paul Lafargue (1841-1911)
• Georgi Plekhanov (1856-1918)
• James Connolly (1868-1916)
• Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919)

MAIN IDEAS
Concept of class
• Marx believed that class identity was configured in the relations with the
mode of production.
• class, is a collective of individuals who have a similar relationship with the
means of production.
• he Identified several social classes in capitalist societies, including
primarily the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.
• the proletariat are those individuals who sell their labor power and do not
own the means of production.
• the bourgeoisie are those who own the means of production and buy labor
power.

Nature of reality
• They believed that true reality lies in matter/the material world.
• matter is reality that is unconscious while mind is reality that is conscious.
• unconscious reality exists before conscious reality and exists independently
of the mind.
• motion and development of the material world are governed by laws which
are capable of being discovered and used by man, but are not directed by
any mind.
• They understand society as fundamentally determined by the material
conditions at any given time.

Nature of knowledge
• the ruling class has influence over what counts as knowledge and this is
exercised through institutions such as education, or the media.
• they rule as thinkers, producers of ideas that get noticed and control what
goes by the name “common sense”.
• they give their ideas the form of universality and to represent them as the
only rational and universally valid ones.
• Ideas change according to the interests of the dominant class in society.

Nature of values
• It emphasises on discipline and character development
• Respect for authority
• Respect for public property

MARXISM AND EDUCATION
• Karl Marx, according to Burke(2000), never wrote anything directly on
education but several educational implications have been drawn from his
work.
• The education system is a reflection of the economic base and serves to
reproduce it.
• ideas arise from and reflect the material conditions and circumstances in
which they were generated.
• The views of the students should be given a voice.

Aims of education
• to transform undemocratic forms of society into free and democratic
socialist societies.
• involve everyone in the process of revolutionary transformation.
• education aims to bring people together and create a better life.
• produce men and women who are able to create and maintain a viable
economy.
• to prepare individuals to be able to stand against the oppressive ruling class.
• to teach respect for dominant ideas.

Curriculum
• school rules, detentions and rewards should in a way that teach students to
conform to the society.
• educators should make use of productive work and teach practical activities
of life.
• history should be studied.
• competence in vocational fields should be encouraged.
• education should encourage students to develop critical consciousness about
reality e.g. study of humanities.

CRITICISM
• Marx lacked interest in the natural conditions of human existence.
• his ideas about education are teacher centered
• there is no academic freedom for students.
• there is absence of corporal human existence in his vision of the world.
• takes little or no account of the fact that people are born and die, that they
are men or women, young or old, healthy or sick; and that all these
circumstances affect social development irrespective of the class division,
and set bounds to human plans for perfecting the world.
• As his argument with Malthus showed, he refused to believe in the
possibility of absolute overpopulation, as determined by the earth’s area and
natural resources.
• it is more concerned with economic and political themes than with
education.

REFERENCES
Althusser, L. (1953) Early writings: The spectre of Hegel. Paris: Verso.
Burke, B. (2000) Karl Marx and informal education, the encyclopaedia of
informal education. http//:www.infed.org/thinkers/et-marx.htm.
Hobsbawn, J. (1975) The age of capital. New York: Charles Scriber’s sons.
McClellan, D. (1971) The thought of Karl Marx. London: Macmillan Press.
McClellan, D. (1995) Karl Marx: A biography. London: Macmillan Press.
Stones, R. (1998) Key sociological thinkers. London: Macmillan Press.
Wheen, F. (1999) Karl Marx, London: Fouth Estate.

Marxism

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