Marxismisaradicalphilosophy,arevolutionarytheoryofsocialchangeauthoredbyKarlMarx,themostimportantofallsocialistthinkers.ItisafusionofGermanphilosophy,mainlythedialecticsofHegel,Frenchsocialism,andBritishpoliticaleconomy.ThiscombinationmakesMarxismuniqueamongotherphilosophiesinhistory.Thefusionitselfdidnothappenquicklyoutinathinair.ItwasatediousprocessoutofMarx’scriticalobservationofsocietyandhistoryusingthescientificmethod.Itisrevolutionarybecauseitisdialectic,andwasbornoutofhisinvolvementoftheclassstruggleshappeningatthattimeinEurope.

　　KarlMarxwasborninMay5th,1818,intoamiddleclassJewishfamilyinTrier,Germany.Hisfather,arespectablelawyer,laterconvertedtoChristianityforsecurityreasons.At17,MarxenrolledintheUniversityofBonntostudylaw.TherehemethisfuturewifeJennyvonWestphalen,whosefatherhadinterestedhiminromanticliteratureandintheutopiansocialismofSaint-Simon.Thenextyear,hisfathersenthimtotheUniversityofBerlin.HeabandonedhispursuitonromanticpoetryandbeganfocusingonthephilosophyofG.W.F.Hegel,themostinfluentialthinkerinBerlinatthattime.MarxbecameinvolvedwiththeintellectualswhocalledthemselvestheYoungHegelians.TheHegelianswerenotaunifiedgroupbutcomposedoftwocompetingtendencies,theLeftandRightHegelians.MarxjoinedtheradicalLeft,whoacceptedHegel’srevolutionarydialecticalmethodbutrejectedhisconservativeviews.

　　Hegel’sdialecticsexplainedthattheworldisacontradictoryprocess,aprogressionofopposingelementscalledthethesisandtheanti-thesis,resultingtotheriseofthesynthesis.Asaprocessoftwocontradictoryelementsinaunion,thedialecticsis,alsoviewedastheunityoftheopposites.Hegelsuggestedthathistoryisacontradictoryprogressionofideaspassingthroughdifferentstages,whichwouldfinallyarriveatthetruth,ortheAbsoluteIdea.TheAbsoluteIdeaishisotherwordforGod.Marxtookthedialectictheory,butrejectedHegel’sconclusionasidealistic.HesaidthatHegel’sdialecticswas“standingonitshead”,notonitsfeet.Toputthedialecticsbackonitsfeet,Marxarguedthattounderstandtherealdrivingforceofhistory,onehastolookcriticallyatsociety,theworld,nature,andtheuniverse.Byusingthescientificmethod,criticalanalysiswillleadtobetterunderstandingoftheworld.Thisisthedialecticalmaterialistapproach.

　　AccordingtoMarx,humans,intheirdriveforsurvivalhavetomeettheirbasicneedsfirstbeforeeverythingelse,beforetheycouldpracticereligion,politics,culture,andetc…Tomeettheirmaterialneedsistoproduce.Thus,productionisthedrivingforceofhistory.Whenproduction,atonepointintime,failstoprovidethemajorityofpeople’sneeds,societyfallsintoacrisis,whichcausessocialconflicts.Marxandhisco-author,FriedrichEngels,wroteintheCommunistManifesto(1848)that“thehistoryofallhithertoexistingsocietyisthehistoryofclassstruggle.”Marxismitselfisaphilosophybornoutofthecontradictionwithinthemoderneconomicsystemcalledcapitalism.Withoutcapitalism,therewouldhavebeennoMarxism.

　　CapitalismwasborninEuropeinthe18thand19thcenturyoutoftherevolutionarystrugglesofthenewemergingclass,thebourgeoisie.Beforetheirrise,theChurchdominatedpolitics,econo