Marxism

Marxism purports to offer a scientific account of human history based on the economic and material conditions through which societies pass. Marxism is a species of communism in that it holds that the best society is one in which all property is held in common. Specifically, Marxism holds industrial communism to be the highest and final stage of social development. Its founder, Karl Marx (1818–1883), believed that this final stage of history was rapidly approaching, and he worked tirelessly to advance [Page 319]both his social theories and the revolution that they entailed. Many others had argued for communal property, but the enormous influence of Marx's thought guaranteed that modern communism will always be most closely associated with him and his system, especially in light of ...