Chapter 1: Marx, Marxism And (Twenty-First Century) Socialism

In this chapter, I begin by briefly introducing Karl Marx. I go on to address the unique strengths of Marxism, as both an analytical framework, and as a harbinger of a non-exploitative future world. In so doing, I look briefly at some historical challenges to it. I then outline two central tenets of scientific socialism (how Marx’s co-writer Friedrich Engels described Marxism). The first is Marx’s Labour Theory of Value which provides an explanation of the pivotal position of social class as the basis of surplus value and profit under capitalism. The second is the materialist concept of history which stresses how deeply the processes of production affect our lives. I then raise some common objections to Marxism and socialism, and respond to them, concluding with a brief discussion of the defining characteristics of twenty-first century socialism. This discussion is concretized in chapter 11, where I look at developments in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.