Help with an essay.

[Martin]

Hey there,

Currently doing a sociology essay on Marx with the question "How According to Karl Marx will the revolution happen and how is it inevitable." Now with only having a basic knowledge of Marx I would be thankfull if someone could give me some basic pointers on where to look for information and references on the subject.

Thanks a lot.

[ZeroNowhere]

He didn't say 'how a revolution will happen', and he didn't say that it was inevitable. He did suggest that the method would have to vary by location, and was firmly against minority uprisings ("But those revolutions will be made by the majority. No revolution can be made by a party, but by a nation." Also opposition to Blanquists, leading the the use of the term 'dictatorship of the proletariat' to contrast with the Blanquist 'educational dictatorship of a minority'), and said that self-government of the commune would be an important part. But as it is, he didn't put forward any outlines or anything of revolution, or socialism.

In summary, you're fucked.

[Nils T.]

Well, he did say that the communist revolution is necessary as the capitalists tend to increase their profit margins by exploiting their employees as much as what it is possible on a short-term. But as the proletariat's tolerance for its exploitation is greater on the short run, and as the passive means of control (like ideology, religion...) are not efficient on industrial workers, the struggle between the proletariat and the capitalist class will bring a revolution.

[mykittyhasaboner]

While ZeroNowhere is correct in saying that Marx never said exactly "how the revolution will happen, and that its inevitable"; you aren't fucked. Marx did outline how he predicted the proletariat will over throw the bourgeois, and that one class will be victorious, or they will mutually destroy each other. Marx made it clear that the proletariat (industrial working class) were diametrically opposed to the bourgeosie (the capitalist class). The fundamental difference between these two classes is: the proletariat (which makes up the overwhelming majority of industrial society) labors for their survival, as they have no property besides their own labor power; while the bourgeoisie owns means of production (factories, land, etc) and they employ workers to labor for them, they then live off of the labor of others, thus exploiting them.

These two classes are stuck in a ever growing class struggle, which will eventually lead to the victory of the proletariat, overthrowing the bourgeoise. (According to Marx, and others...including me :))

Everything you want to know about Marx as well as many other revolutionaries can be found here (http://marxists.org/).

[Martin]

Well thanks for your help. I'm doing ok 500 words on historical materialism and i'm justgoing on to talk about class struggle. Any other ideas what I could write about?

You help has been helpful, thanks again.

[Rjevan]

If you don't only write about historical materialism you could also talk about dialectical materialism, too, and hint on Hegel.
Even without Hegel this is an extensive topic to talk about. ;)
The criticism of religion by Marx is also interesting.

[mykittyhasaboner]

No problem, once your done with it you could submit it to our articles section so other members could give you advice and constructive criticism.

If I was writing a paper on class struggle/historical materialism, I would talk a lot about various revolutions and struggles that have taken place throughout history. Start with the firsts: Paris Commune, Great Railroad strike of 1877/St. Louis commune, then work your way up to more contemporary revolutions like the October, Chinese, Cuban revolutions; as well as the failed German, Spanish and Hungarian revolutions. You actually should probably dedicate one whole section on the October revolution, since that was the first successful proletarian revolution.

[ComradeOm]

Hey there,

Currently doing a sociology essay on Marx with the question "How According to Karl Marx will the revolution happen and how is it inevitable." Now with only having a basic knowledge of Marx I would be thankfull if someone could give me some basic pointers on where to look for information and references on the subject.

Thanks a lot.Really, the best introduction to all this remains the Manifesto. In particular, Chapter I (http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch01.htm) lays out the Marxist conception of history, the interaction of classes, the role of the proletariat, and the conditions for the demise of bourgeois rule. Marx commented on all this, and more, in much greater depth elsewhere but this is as good a starting place as any

[ZeroNowhere]

While ZeroNowhere is correct in saying that Marx never said exactly "how the revolution will happen, and that its inevitable"; you aren't fucked. Marx did outline how he predicted the proletariat will over throw the bourgeois, and that one class will be victorious, or they will mutually destroy each other. Marx made it clear that the proletariat (industrial working class) were diametrically opposed to the bourgeosie (the capitalist class). The fundamental difference between these two classes is: the proletariat (which makes up the overwhelming majority of industrial society) labors for their survival, as they have no property besides their own labor power; while the bourgeoisie owns means of production (factories, land, etc) and they employ workers to labor for them, they then live off of the labor of others, thus exploiting them.

These two classes are stuck in a ever growing class struggle, which will eventually lead to the victory of the proletariat, overthrowing the bourgeoise. (According to Marx, and others...including me :))
He actually didn't say that this struggle would inevitably lead to socialism. Certainly not the later Marx, when he wasn't writing as much propaganda with rhetorical flourishes, and had begun his analysis of capitalism. Marx was a determinist, not a fatalist.