Marxuism AKA Communism

 

       Karl Marx was known for many things while he was alive including being a philosopher, sociologist, and economist. Although, it seems to be a common view that he best known for being a revolutionary communist, as well as one the most influential thinkers of all time. Some view him as the father of communism; this is because he wrote a book called “Communist Manifesto.” This book served as an inspiring way of thinking for the lower class rebels of Cuba. This ideology became known as Marxism, a system of social and economic analysis, and a corner stone in Cuban Revolution. Marxism was developed during the middle and late 1800s; a time when there were still slaves and women had barely any rights, if any. This was such a big deal for the lower class and poverty levels of Cuba because Karl Marx and this idea of Marxism preached a class-less society. Karl Marx’s whole idea behind Marxism was to take control of the entire production process and to make it work for everyone, rather than just enriching a tiny minority of capitalists. During this era, it was known that about half of the population practiced Marxism. It wasn’t very surprising to read that the high and middle class citizens of Cuba were not particularly enthused about the revolution because they feared losing their social status. As I read the beginning of this chapter I couldn’t help but think about how different our everyday lives would be if we weren’t divided into three classes; if we didn’t strive to obtain that next class and being where we are now was just a stepping stone to the high class and higher living. I began to wonder if under this idea, would people even continue to work, knowing that they would be all considered one class. It would be difficult to move forward with your working goals, knowing that you cannot move up.

     On the other side of those who believed in Marxism and communism, were obviously those against it. These were a majority of the middle and upper class locals as I stated before, the Latin American army, and of course the United States. The national security doctrine was signed which pretty much made the alliance between the United States and Latin American armies against the communism official. The mix of strengths between the two armies meshed well. The United States used their naval and air power to keep the revolution from spreading outside of Cuba, while also giving aid to the Latin American army which was focusing on the up close and personal side of the struggle. The book stated that the national security doctrine was popular also for its offering of a “glorious mission.” When I think about the words “glorious mission” I think about how we as people in today’s world love that glory, that fight for what is right feeling, and when enough people with a similar ideology get together, they can change the course of history. I also thought about how both sides of this revolution were fighting for what they believed in and what they believed was right.

 

 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marxism

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/marx/

http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/progress/marxism.html