Can Marxism function in a modern-day world?.
Marxism is the political and economic theory of Carl Marx, a German socialist writer (1818-1883), on which communism is based. Marxism proposes that, as history develops, feudalism gives rise to capitalism, then socialism, and finally the ideal classless society is realised. Lenin and Stalin were not true to the Marxist ideals but were corrupted by power, yet the Marxist dream of an egalitarian classless society is one we should still strive for.
History has taught unequivocally that Marx was simply mistaken. It was not the most capitalist countries (Britain, Germany, the US) that became socialist by revolution but Russia, which was less advanced. The regimes of Lenin and Stalin made it clear that a "classless society" is not the result of these forms of socialism. Instead the "first among equals" are inevitably corrupted into despotism by the power that they have over the masses.
But still even if the classless society is still a far-off dream, we can endorse the Marxist analysis of the "class struggle"; we can see that the working classes should rise up against the exploitative capitalists to demand redistribution of wealth and the ownership of the means of production by the workers. The capitalists will not give this up voluntarily, so a specialist revolution is necessary. .
On the other hand it can be argued that the Marxist analysis of the "class struggle" is outdated and unrealistic. In a modern capitalist state everyone can be a shareholder and can receive dividends from the company they work for or own a share in, no matter how modest their income. There is no longer an owner-worker divide as was seen at its greatest in Communist Russia. History has proven that gradual change, rather than revolution, has been the most successful route to a fairer and more affluent society. .
Some say that we should endorse the Marxist view that there is no rally individual property and that we are all dependent on society at large for our livelihood and security.
