NationStates

Do you think Karl Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto to be taken literally, or to be built onto for various situations per region?

Hvalfyurden wrote:Do you think Karl Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto to be taken literally, or to be built onto for various situations per region?

I think he wrote it to be applied in the time period he wrote it in. Its a horrific outdated ideology that should be left in the dust bin of history alongside other horrible systems like fascism and divine right monarchy.

Second Blazing wrote:

Hvalfyurden wrote:Do you think Karl Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto to be taken literally, or to be built onto for various situations per region?

I think he wrote it to be applied in the time period he wrote it in. Its a horrific outdated ideology that should be left in the dust bin of history alongside other horrible systems like fascism and divine right monarchy.

Marxist philosophy still has applications to the modern world, though his conclusions about how to apply that philosophy are definitely outdated. Class divisions between Proletariat and Bourgeois are still relevant and Marxist theory of class conflict and class consciousness still hold true. Ideas such as the Dictatorship of The Proletariat should definitely be left forgotten.

I guess I'm saying a lot of his observations were correct. His solutions to observed problems, however, were shit.

I was hoping for "...is still alive and in hiding with Elvis, Tupac, and Shergar?"

He wanted to take OVER THE WORLD....and a billion dollars! Dr. Evil's pinky finger touches his lips...

Ifreann wrote:I was hoping for "...is still alive and in hiding with Elvis, Tupac, and Shergar?"

He's hiding on Mars, leading the Martian Communists in war against the Moon Nazis.

Ifreann wrote:I was hoping for "...is still alive and in hiding with Elvis, Tupac, and Shergar?"

That makes two of us

I think he liked bigger threads.

Dude, socialism/communism megathread.

Arbolvine wrote:Dude, socialism/communism megathread.

We have enough damn megathreads. Let this one flourish rather than shoving it into one of those shitshows.

Second Blazing wrote:

Hvalfyurden wrote:Do you think Karl Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto to be taken literally, or to be built onto for various situations per region?

I think he wrote it to be applied in the time period he wrote it in. Its a horrific outdated ideology that should be left in the dust bin of history alongside other horrible systems like fascism and divine right monarchy.

Capitalism hasn't changed since then either, yet it is outdated and horrible.

I think he wrote it pissed and as a dare.

Tescopolis wrote:I think he wrote it pissed and as a dare.

As is traditional for all great thinkers.

Bratislavskaya wrote:

Second Blazing wrote:
I think he wrote it to be applied in the time period he wrote it in. Its a horrific outdated ideology that should be left in the dust bin of history alongside other horrible systems like fascism and divine right monarchy.

Capitalism hasn't changed since then either, yet it is outdated and horrible.

You really don't see any changes between 1870 and now?

Karl Marx, whilst adopting a triumphalist tone in much of his writing, would have written the Manifesto with the intention that it would be taken literally. Though it does require some contemporary exposition to apply it to modern capitalism, I think that the arguments remain largely the same.

It is an odd work. Marx wrote it with the intention of making it accessible to the working class, as a result it bears little resemblance to monstrosities like Capital.

Second Blazing wrote:

Bratislavskaya wrote:Capitalism hasn't changed since then either, yet it is outdated and horrible.

You really don't see any changes between 1870 and now?

There were changes in laws, more regulations. In some nations. In others there aren't. Capitalism is the same now as it was then, only some nations laws have changed.

A lot of what he said is no longer relevant or even true. Historical Materialism has been debunked many times any ways.
But he wasn't an asshole by any means.

New Werpland wrote:A lot of what he said is no longer relevant or is even true. Historical Materialism has been debunked many times any ways.

Would you care to elaborate?

Second Blazing wrote:

Hvalfyurden wrote:Do you think Karl Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto to be taken literally, or to be built onto for various situations per region?

I think he wrote it to be applied in the time period he wrote it in. Its a horrific outdated ideology that should be left in the dust bin of history alongside other horrible systems like fascism and divine right monarchy.

What's wrong with fascism? Or monarchism?

Benian Republic wrote:

Second Blazing wrote:
I think he wrote it to be applied in the time period he wrote it in. Its a horrific outdated ideology that should be left in the dust bin of history alongside other horrible systems like fascism and divine right monarchy.

What's wrong with fascism? Or monarchism?

Not enough time before I get back to work, I'll let someone else handle that one.

Chartist Socialist Republics wrote:

New Werpland wrote:A lot of what he said is no longer relevant or is even true. Historical Materialism has been debunked many times any ways.

Would you care to elaborate?

The Primitive Communism that Marx and Engels referred to never existed, there never was a time when farms were collectively worked. As well as that there have been frequent occasions on which people have shown that Economic setups have been directly effected by cultural/religious beliefs, such as the whole protestant work ethic stuff that you should probably know about already. I've never read Marx admittedly, but I think I know enough to confirm that he's wrong on quite a few things.

Bratislavskaya wrote:

Second Blazing wrote:
You really don't see any changes between 1870 and now?

There were changes in laws, more regulations. In some nations. In others there aren't. Capitalism is the same now as it was then, only some nations laws have changed.

Technology? automation and wages have changed, along with globalization. yes, at the expense of laws, but what construct changes without force?

Benian Republic wrote:

Second Blazing wrote:
I think he wrote it to be applied in the time period he wrote it in. Its a horrific outdated ideology that should be left in the dust bin of history alongside other horrible systems like fascism and divine right monarchy.

What's wrong with fascism? Or monarchism?

Both didn't work

His ideology is one that was formed as a reaction to the unequal society in his time. The ideology is outdated and useless in today's globalized world where poverty is being eradicated rapidly thanks to economic liberalization in the developing world.

Marx, you were a smart man, but your ideology was a crock of shit.

Fenexia and holochrome wrote:

Bratislavskaya wrote:There were changes in laws, more regulations. In some nations. In others there aren't. Capitalism is the same now as it was then, only some nations laws have changed.

Technology? automation and wages have changed, along with globalization. yes, at the expense of laws, but what construct changes without force?

Not everywhere. Most of the world still lives in the conditions of the 1870s. Many still work in them. I've got nothing wrong with laws, but they are what has changed, Capitalism is the same system.