Marxist Basics

An introduction to applying the Marxist approach in the study of humanity.

Photo by Morgan Housel on Unsplash

Karl Marx is best known for writing “The Communist Manifesto” along with Friedrich Engels. “The Communist Manifesto” was published in 1848 and is a critique of the capitalist systems of production that, in the Marxist view, commodifies workers for the benefit of wealthier employers. Marx and Engels’ works examined their understanding of the historical evolution of modern economic systems and highlighted the power imbalances within the capitalist system.

Consider the following scenario: the majority of people reading this work 40 hours every week in order to cover the basic expenses of rent, food, healthcare, tuition, etc. When you work 40 hours every week for an employer, you have 40 fewer hours every week to participate in activism, to raise or educate your children, to create art, to study, to be with loved ones, or to contribute to the wellbeing of your community. Instead of using those 40 hours to create a world that reflects your value system, you’re spending those 40 hours following guidelines set out by your employer (which typically means making them more money — and therefore creating a world in which they are more powerful).

Employers typically hire workers at the lowest possible wage that the worker will accept. In the case of for-profit companies, the workers are then required to…