Liberalism And Marxism Similarities

Ideology can be defined as a set of beliefs, attitudes, values, and ideas that characterises the consciousness of a class, at a given historical moment. (Markedbyteachers.com, 2015). This set is determined by social, economic, and historical factors. Liberalism and Marxism are two very different ideals, and some would even go as far as saying that they are opposite to one another. Due to this common opinion, I will look at the two from another point of view, and focus on some of their similarities. Before one can compare Liberalism and Marxism, both ideals must be defined in order to understand what they are. Although some similarities will be highlighted, Liberalism and Marxism are still very different ideals and various differences will …show more content…
Liberalism believes in exponential economic growth, and a liberal sees a country as simply an economy to exploit, and not a traditional society. Marxism also looks with scorn on the nation and the people, by seeing "nation and race as a bourgeoisie prejudice." (Fisheaters.com, 2015). If a profit can be made out of people, then a Liberalist is happy. This is seen through a variety of examples, such as, big corporations supporting cheap labour. Liberalism and Marxism support internationalism, and not nationalism. Marxism supports an international 'dictatorship of the proletariat' (Fisheaters.com, 2015), while Liberalism supports an international economy, in which the one and only value that matters, is how much profit you can make. Liberalism and Marxism have similar beliefs and values in a standard Family household. Karl Marx, in The German Ideology states that patriarchal men see their Wives and Children first as property to be exploited. Freidrich Engels', (Engels and Leacock, 1972) claims that all discrimination against women comes from patriarchal males, and he supports bringing the female sex into the workplace. Liberalism also has this lack of respect for motherhood and the traditional Family, seeing this as a worry to the amount of profit that can be accumulated. Our global capitalists see women as a form of production that can be liberated from the Husband, Children and …show more content…
When examining the various differences, it is seen that Marxism is a theory while Liberalism is an ideology. This is the first major distinction between the two. Marxism talks of a social transition and in contrast Liberalism deals with the individual state of being. (Difference Between, 2015). Whilst Liberals argue for an attempt to achieve a state that grants us the most freedom, Marxists argue that the state itself is the problem and that humanity will at some point, grow tired of its oppressor, and revolt to defeat the state, leaving the survivors better for it. (Mellor, 2015). Marxists believe that all private property should be confiscated by the state, because it is said that privately held property should really belong to the State. For example, US Liberals say that part of the obligation of being a citizen of The United States of America, is to be willing to let the government use some of your salary in order to create a stable, social structure. Creating a stable social structure includes various actions. For example, so of the many actions include, providing for those who cannot care for themselves and providing people with a quality education. This will be ultimately beneficial to the government, as the citizens will become employable and productive. This will eventually lead to a greater profit for the country. This supports the idea that, as long as a profit is made, a Liberalist is happy.