Carl Marx

Carl Marx (1818-1883)

We will discuss Marx in class when we get to the chapter on political philosophy and social philosphy in Does the Center Hold? (November 20). Use the list of questions below to help you see what you should remember from the chapter on Marx from Sophie's World that you read for November 4.

Both Kierkegaard and Marx were influenced by Hegel. Each disagreed with Hegel on some issues, though. How did Marx differ from Hegel? Contrast Maxian materialism with the materialism of the ancient world and of the 17th-18th centuries. What does it mean to call Marx a dialectic materialist? What did Marx mean by the basis and the superstructure of society? What did Marx mean by what he called the three levels of the "bases of society"? Conditions of Production Means of Production Production Relations Who did Marx think sets the standards for whether a particular act is right or wrong? How did Marx (and Hegel) view work? Is it positive or negative? What did Marx mean when he said that in a capitalist society workers become alienated from their work? When was the Communist Manifesto published, and who were its authors? What did Marx mean by exploitation? How do Social Democracy and Leninism differ? How did John Rawls define a just society?