Marxism In The 21st Century

Marxism is based on the theories of Karl Marx. Karl Marx was a political activist in the 19th Century, who challenged many social and political issues. In the Enncarta Reference Library, Marxism is defined as “a theory in which class struggle is a central element in the analysis of social change in Western societies” (REF: 1). This means that according to Karl, there is a definite definition between the social classes. As a result of the different social classes Marx claimed that the “Free Economy” (REF: 2) can never exist. Thinking along these lines Marx came to the conclusion that if capitalism was to vanish then so would social classes. When it comes to Marxism in the 21st century, there is plenty of evidence around us that indicates that …show more content…
It also discusses many issues such as globalization, over production, the state and the exploitation and oppression of women. Everything discussed in this book is in some way or form still relevant today. Take society as an example. We no longer have ‘social classes’ such as ‘the working class’ or ‘upper class’ however people are still segregated into different sections of society. Until we get rid of capitalism, class structure will always be in existence in one form or another. Therefore Marxism continues to be relevant. The new age working class is much stronger and more structured. It has a louder voice and far more power than it had in the 19th century. In other words, even though the social class definitions have changed, they are still applicable in the 21st century, and we can see this from the segregation of the different social groups and the divide that exists between the different groups in society. Taking another example, the exploitation and oppression of women, the definition of what this means has changed drastically since Marxism came into existence, however it is still just as relevant, although with a different meaning, as it was back in the 19th century. In Marx time women’s rights didn’t exist, and when they did appear they were severely curtailed. Women were treated as second class citizens, and expected to follow the rules and expectations of the men in their …show more content…
As Marx was saying in the 19th century, we need a new society however this is what is difficult to get across. This is why there are many different opinions on this topic and why it has caused the biggest bone of contention within the political sphere. Many iconic figures have been seen to praise Marx’s analysis, of capitalism. However nobody is really talking about what is going to replace capitalism if it is ultimately dissolved. Capitalism is in crisis not because it has deviated from the normal description, but because it is working as it should. Just as Marx predicted in 1848 there is a problem with overproduction, not as everyone would like to believe, with overcapacity. Overcapacity is where there is too much space being allocated to something, it can be done by an over site by a company/ relevant people. Whereas over production is where one produces too much of one or other of a particular commodity. In this case major companies throughout the world have an over production, which is causing the owners of these corporations to have a huge excess of capital which they can’t be forced into re-investing. In a private system, it is not possible to balance profits and wages, due to the fact that it is private property the investors are in total control of the allocation and distribution of funds. There is no equality or fairness within this system and therefore, no matter what way