Question

who was Karl Marx? what were his view about capitalism

Answer 1

Karl Marx (5 May 1848 - 14 March 1883) was a German sociologist and political thinker often credited as the “father of communism”. Alongside his friend Friedrich Engels, also a sociologist, the two formed the basis of Marxism, a socio-economic theory of thought named after Marx himself, which states that the workers (proletariat) of capitalist society will one day revolt against the system and seize from the upper classes (bourgeoisie) the means of production (factories, tools, etc.). They will bring the means of production into public or common ownership, rather than into private hands, and create a socialist system which will aim to dissolve the remaining remnants of the capitalist class system to achieve socio-economic equality. Once this has been achieved and the means of production have been set so that they are able to produce an abundance of goods (hence the term “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”), society will transition into full communism, where there shall be no states, no central government, no class systems, no private property and no currency system. Just self-sustainable direct democratic communities of equal beings.

Answer 2

Karl Marx was a German philosopher, economist, historian, political theorist, sociologist, journalist and revolutionary socialist. Born in Trier to a middle-class family, Marx studied law and Hegelian philosophy.Karl Marx saw capitalism as a historical stage, once progressive but which would eventually stagnate due to internal contradictions and would eventually be followed by socialism.