Similarities Between Karl Marx And Orwell

Both Karl Marx and Orwell suggest that when two conflicting views are each seeking power, the two differing perspectives would negate each other and a third revolutionary option would arise. In particular, Karl Marx believed history rid society of corrupt and immoral systems of government through material dialectic. Richter states, “Marx believed that historical transformations occur through a dialectic of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis, whereby each historical force calls into being its Other so that the two opposites negate each other, and ultimately give rise to a third force, which transcends this opposition (397). Overall, Marx is arguing that throughout history, there is a clash between the old values of society (thesis) and a new set of …show more content…
For Orwell, the synthesis would lie within Democratic Socialism. Democratic Socialism is the ideology that promotes both democracy and social ownership. It states the means of production are not for the individual power, but goes to the people. It is peaceful and most importantly, it is equal. This option is, for Orwell at least, the ideal choice because it promotes individualism while collectively keeping society fair. The way to reach this goal was similar for Marx and Orwell. For both Marx and Orwell, the ones to bring change would be the working class (the proletariat or the “proles”).
While both Marx and Orwell believe in this material dialect and the Proletariat revolution, Orwell has a bleak outlook on whether that would happen. Marx seemed to be more hopeful in that he portrays the Proletariats as the heroes that will bring equality. Orwell, on the other hand, illustrates what happens if the Proletariats or in the case of the novel the “Proles,” miss their calling because of the oppressive forces of capitalism. By setting his novel in the future, Orwell shows a world where any hope for