Karl Jaspers

In 1848, a sudden wave of coups swept across Europe as masses of people in country after country rose up against their governments. Coincidentally, this was the same year Karl Marx released Communist Manifesto, the end of which declares: “Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Working men of all countries, unite!” Why did Marx’s words grip the oppressed working class of Europe like they did?…

other countless restrictions. Restrictions that are still upheld today, but there is a fine line, and corporations are pushing the barriers. As a Capitalist state the populous are not seen as people; to the corporations, we are seen as dollar signs. Karl Marx, a visionary, a man who lived in a…

Karl Marx’s Manifesto of the Communist Party instigated a social revolution determined to end class divisions and form a self-governing, proletariat, economy called Communism. This manifesto helped the Russians realize that the constitutional monarchy cared nothing for the needs of the people; and, therefore, sparked a revolution that would end the reign of the monarchy and begin the reign of Communism in Russia. This revolution transformed Russia and lead to the formation of the Soviet Union of…

Music and politics are two subjects that seem like they have nothing to do with each other, yet they are often intertwined very deeply. At the tail end of the colonial era of India, as the Communist Party was gaining a footing and creating a cultural movement, the Communists used music as a way of spreading their politics and reaching out to the peasant folk. This was a very troubling, uncertain period for the people of India, with wars, famine, riots, and the eventual independence and…

Marx uses his theory of historical materialism to justify his idea that class systems lead to conflict. “Historical materialism” is an approach to the study human beings that understands economic conditions as the real drivers of the development of human society. Society changes as the economy changes. As Marx states, "the previous feudal or guild organization of history…now no longer sufficed for the growing wants of the new markets”1. Therefore, a new class system can be formed as people use…

In the next chapter, Commodity, Emerson discusses how man uses nature to his own benefit. Emerson explains how man views nature as raw materials to be changed and manipulated into “valued” goods that can be sold for monetary gain. To express this view, Emerson applies imagery and similes in this chapter. One such quote is “To diminish friction, he paves the road with iron bars, and, mounting a coach with a ship-load of men, animals, and merchandise behind him, he darts through the country, from…

In Ancient Law, Sir Henry Maine explores the development of law and social structures while simultaneously examining historical findings and their implications. His famous claim, “the movement of the progressive societies has hitherto been a movement from Status to Contract” (Ancient Law, final sentence of Chapter 5), posits the stark contrast between law in the archaic world, which is based off “status” and law in modern world whose epicenter is “contract.” These differences aided in explaining…

Traugott’s Organizational Hypothesis In his book, Armies of the Poor, Mark Traugott looks at the revolution in France from February 1848 to June 1848. Traugott’s goal is to explain his organizational hypothesis reasoning behind the Revolution of 1848. Traugott draws on the works of Tilly, Lees, and Chorley for his analysis. Traugott’s main argument is that the organizational hypothesis he puts forward can account for most, if not all the similarities and differences between the two groups…

Self Presentation The Sociologist and writer, Erving Goffman are widely known for his social theories presented in his book “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life”. His work created a basis for sociology which is the study of a functioning human in society and for modern America. In this essay, his different theories will be discussed through a personal experience I had in my life while engaging in interpersonal communications. I will first start out with who I am and how I…

Socialism: What It Means Socialism needs to be clearly defined because the meaning of socialism gets confused with many other different classes of economic systems. The main mistake people make about socialism is that people confuse it with communism. Some people even think it is part of a capitalist form of economics. A good example of a socialist government, is the government of Cuba. In Cuba, the government owns the businesses, however the state hires the employees. As stated by Richard…