Karl Marx

Karl Marx, 1818 - 1883 was a German philosopher and political theorist who is considered the father of Communism.


Marx originally studied law and then philosophy before becoming interested in revolution. He was a journalist and editor for many radical newspapers across Europe, however his revolutionary ideas led to him being forced out of many countries before he settled in London, where he stayed until his death.

Marx believed that his approach to politics was economical and scientific. He thought that you could explain everything by analysing the way economic forces society in social, religious, legal and political processes. Marx's friend and the co-author of The Communist Manifesto Fredrich Engles believed that Marx achieved a fusion of Hegelian philosophy, British Empirical economics and French revolutionary politics, particularly the socialism aspect. Marx himself linked much of his work to that of Charles Darwin, however Darwin himself is said to disputed this.

Many of Marx's theories appear to have been influenced by Hegel, though he dismissed and changed many of Hegel's ideas. The Hegelian theory of the dialectic is clearly the one with which Marx is most concerned with. As I have previously explained http://josh-tyler.blogspot.com/2011/03/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel.html, Hegel felt that change occurred when one idea (the thesis) was contradicted by another (the antithesis) to create a new idea - the synthesis. Marx liked this idea as a way for history to progress, however, whereas Hegel believed that history was guided by a 'geist' spirit towards an absolute end, Marx believed it was more practical and political, dismissing Hegel's idea as idealist nonsense.
Marx saw the real dialectic not as a geist, but  in economic life, particularly in class struggle. His theory of history is therefore known as 'Dialectic Materialism'. Indeed in changing Hegel's key philosophy (as well as disagreeing with his love of the state and belief in God) Marx demonstrates his belief in using other ideas as only an outline to create your own: 'the philosophers have only interpreted the world - the point however, is to change it'.

The idea of class struggle is the main driving force of the Communist Manifesto. Marx outlined that society was now separated into two classes; the working Proletariat and the Bourgeois. He believed that though the Bourgeois were in themselves a revolutionary force, they did so solely for capital and greed, turning all professionals into mere paid wage labourers. He criticised globalisation and industrialisation for placing property and ownership into just a few wealthy hands and as a result creating political centralisation of power.

This society, with all its new machinery and processes reduced the lower middle class to working class and as a result united the low paid worker, creating a more unified Proletariat. Marx actually has 'workers of the world, unite' on his tombstone. Marx felt that this was a clear example that capitalist society and the Bourgeois who created it were doomed to fail and were simply 'digging their own graves'.  As the Proletariat had nothing to lose and everything to gain, it was they who could act as the antitheses of the dialectic and drive change in, Marx saw this change as socialism and eventually Communism. Marx envisioned this as a society of equality, justice and the fulfilment of a truly free individual.

Marx outlines in The Communist Manifesto ten main policies that the Communist party would enforce;
1. Abolition of Private Property
2. A heavy graduated income tax
3. Abolition of inheritance right
4. Confiscation of rebel and emigrant property
5. Centralisation of banks
6. Centralisation of transport
7. Extension of factories
8. Combine agriculture with manufacture (to establish a more balanced difference between cities and countryside)
9. Equal obligation of all to work
10. Free education for all children and abolition of child labour.

Once this measures were in place Marx believed that class distinctions would disappear and the public would lose its political character. This would mean that the dictatorship of the proletariat (a socialist process that Marx felt was necessary for the laws to be implemented) would become redundant.
After this a free and equal society would prevail, a society where man was not alienated from one another, were we value each other over gain and possessions and behaved From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

The manifesto ends with a Rousseau inspired slogan to encourage the working class to rise up and end the oppression of the Bourgeois:

Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communist revolution. The proletarians having nothing to lose but their chains.

  

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Hegel was a German philosopher who lived from 1770 to 1831 and is often credited as the culmination of the German idealist movement that began with Kant. 

Hegel had a belief in the unreality of separate parts. He felt that nothing was completely real except the 'whole' and saw everything as a complex system that could only be considered when seen as a whole. He felt that 'whatever is, is right'. Hegel refers to the whole as the 'absolute' and considers it spiritual. As a result of this it appears that God is the absolute, a pure being.

Hegel's view on spirituality is an interesting one, that comes from his idea of the 'dialectic'. Hegel believed that everything had a thesis (a proposition) and an antithesis (contradictions to this). The result of these two ideas led to the Synthesis - a combination of opposing points of view that in turn created a new idea. When linking this to his idea of spirituality, Hegel believed that we as humans moved towards the 'absolute, pure being' (God) through a series of dialectic transitions. He referred to these periods of transition as 'geists' and suggested that these were guided by an external force rather than through our own actions. Hegel believed that we will become an absolute being once we have self knowledge of our spirit.

Hegel's political views were also based upon his dialectic theory. He thought that world history repeated the transitions of the dialectic and that it too was guided by a geist in moving towards an eventual end. Using War, for example helps to explain Hegel's theory. If we consider one nation as the thesis and one as the antithesis, the result of the conflict would be the synthesis - and this is how change occurs throughout history.

 Hegel was a great lover of change however there does appear to be some contradictions in his own political beliefs. In his later life he was very pro-German, however he was also a great supporter of Napoleon and was said to have welcomed his defeat of the Prussian army.

Hegel's glorification of the state in his later life could also be seen as a contradiction. He felt he was a great lover of change and freedom, however he also felt that there was more freedom to be found in a monarchist rule than in a democracy. This would suggest that he was both a lover of freedom and obeying the law, Bertrand Russell describes this contradiction perfectly by arguing that what Hegel really believed in was 'the freedom to obey'.

Hegel's theory leads nicely on to my next History and Context of Journalism study - that of Karl Marx. Marx's relationship with Hegel's theories appears to be an interesting on, with Marx dismissing Hegel's views on the hidden geists as idealist nonsense,  but appearing to agree with Hegel's theory of the dialectic as a process to drive change and he perhaps applied this theory in a much more realistic and empirical way than the ideals of Hegel .

Comb Overs and Cricket - Hampshire County Council Meeting

The old saying 'a camel is a horse designed by committee' is one which I wholeheartedly agree with. As a result of this I was somewhat sceptical about sitting in on the latest Hampshire County Council meeting, lavishly held in the grounds of Winchester's Great Hall. Indeed this feeling was somewhat increased upon seeing the selection of councillors entrusted with the decision making of the county, without wishing to be unkind they could all be found queueing in the post office on a Thursday morning. I wouldn't like to guess at the total age of the predominantly male council but 1,204 wouldn't be far off. The original conversations that I overheard concerned stereotypical comments on cricket and the weather. Given that 'broadband' was also on the agenda I questioned how much knowledge the room would possess on this, especially as there were technical issues from the start and the speaker questioned why his voice was 'so echoey' after inadvertantly turning his microphone on.

The first issue discussed (and at over an hour in great detail),  was 'The Contribution Policy for Adult Social Care'. The proposal was to adapt the current system in order to consider each case individually, potentially leading to 1/3 of disabled adults having to pay more for social care (although 40% would still pay nothing). It was agreed that the maximum weekly charged of £440 per week be removed whilst plans to raise the expense to 100% of net income and charge carers for their service were rightly rejected.

After this came the discussion on improving broadband in the Hampshire area. Far from being the technological neanderthals I was expecting - most of the council proved to have a detailed knowledge on 'computers' with one gentleman even flashing an i-phone and all agreeing that faster broadband should be provided in rural areas.

The next item on the agenda was a brief discussion on the budget, with special emphasis on the expense of gritting the roads during the snowy weather and the financial costs of restoring the Gosport village green. The meeting was then over for us as the next item was not available for public viewing - stirring up all sorts of images of what was being discussed.

In all seriousness however, the people at the Council were very welcoming, giving us a tour around the building, refreshments and ensuring that everything that was discussed was explained so that we could understand and I would like to thank them for their generosity.