Karl Marx's Influences, Philosophy, and Critique

Karl Marx's Core Ideas and Critique

Karl Marx's most important influences on contemporary anthropological thought come from German idealist philosophy, especially Hegel, the materialism of Feuerbach, French utopian socialism, and great capitalist economic theorists such as David Ricardo and Adam Smith.

Major Works by Karl Marx

His extensive body of work includes: The Holy Family, The German Ideology, The Communist Manifesto, and Capital.

Materialist Philosophy vs. Idealism

Against idealist philosophy, which he saw as speculative, merely theoretical, or false ideology, Marx proclaimed a materialist philosophy: one that is useful, responsible, efficient, and committed to changing the world.

Marx's thought stems from a critical attitude towards a reality based on a specific economic system (capitalism), political system (liberalism), and social structure (bourgeoisie and proletariat).

Influenced by Hegel, Marx believed that humanity had forgotten the real, the concrete. He supported a dialectical logic, but from a materialist conception of history.

The natural human condition is inherently social. What determines the human being at every historical moment can be understood by analyzing this double relationship: the productive activity that relates humanity to nature, and the social activity that relates people to each other. Marx argued that the world needed transforming because it was fundamentally unfair.

Critique of Capitalism and Alienation

Capitalist society, he argued, alienates the worker, treating them as an object through objectification. Marx advocated revolutionary action to end this alienation of human beings. Alienation, for Marx, is the result of the confluence of:

Forms of Alienation

• Philosophical alienation: An accomplice philosophy of injustice (idealism and ideology).
• Religious alienation: A religious metaphysics in the service of power (e.g., Christianity).
• Legal-political alienation: A concerned instrumentalization of law and politics (e.g., the liberal state).
• Socio-economic alienation: An economic system that punishes human flourishing (capitalism).

Socio-Economic Alienation

Of all the forms of alienation that human beings suffer, the most decisive is socio-economic alienation. The worker loses their human condition because: Their activity is treated as a commodity, the property of the capitalist, which leads to the worker becoming poorer while enriching the employer. The nature of work ceases to be creative and becomes dehumanizing and enslaving. The worker becomes absolutely dependent on their labor.