Karl Marx's Influence On American Culture

Throughout the course of time, the concept of culture is one that has been ever changing and has had an immense effect on the manner in which people conduct themselves. This aides people as it provides them with a sense of belonging within the environment in which people associate themselves with as well as provides people with something bigger than themselves in which they can identify with. The concept of culture is something that provides people with a basis of a belief system and helps to separate people into different categories based on what they associate with, which has been incredibly important throughout history as this has caused many significant events and disputes. Throughout this course so far, there have been many important thinkers …show more content…
If this said culture was only evident through one of his pieces, it would become clear that this opinion or constructed thought was one that was not incredibly valid. But in the case of Karl Marx, this is just simply not true. Just like the aforementioned Communist Manifesto, The German Ideology provides many interesting points and springboards that would help people think about the culture that Marx has developed through his sociological theory. For example, in The German Ideology, Marx states the way in which humans differ from animals. Looking at this from an anthropological viewpoint, besides using a strictly sociological lens, it is clear that Marx has a good point in his suggestions on distinguishing animals from humans. He states, “men can be distinguished from animals by consciousness, religion…” (Marx, 1846, p.5) It is also known that culture is one of these things as well. The fact that Marx is able to make based on these distinctions provides a clear and insightful look to the culture that did surround and come out of his work. Another interesting idea that is derived from The German Ideology relates to the above statement that culture is something that …show more content…
Quick’s academic article titled, Marx’s “Universal Class” relations of production, and relation of sex-gender-age looks at the intersection of sex, gender and age besides just the Marxian perspective that looks mostly at class, and social structures that are based on that. Quick makes a very interesting point when he goes on to say, “Marx focused on the relations that result in the production necessary for the physical maintenance of the members of society.” (Quick, 2015, p.115) Quick’s assumption is not wrong in many ways, as this was Marx’s true aim. Through the analysis of his other pieces of work, it is clear that Marx did base his theory and beliefs around these views that production ruled all and those who did not rule production, were not in the spot to be considered worthy enough by society and were then placed into a lower class bracket. This production and class-based society that was constructed mainly by Marx most definitely had an accompanying