Misconceptions of Marxism

As previously examined, the theoretical definitions of capitalism, socialism, and communism are all different from their actual implementations throughout history. While Karl Marx is known as the father of communism, he is often criticized and blamed for the ways in which socialism and communism have been utilized in governments throughout history. I believe that this is unfair criticism, as Marx simply put out his theoretical definition of the two systems. Marx never orchistrated any actual implementation of either system, and the ways in which certain societies have gone about doing that are not inherent to Marxism. In the United States in particular, there is a strong sense of animosity towards the word communism. Since World War II and the Cold War have brought out a lot of hatred toward the connotation we have towards communism as Americans. But, after studying Marx and his beliefs, it is clear that these representations of socialism and communism are not what Marx had in mind, and are actually quite different from Marxism itself. Many if not all of the communist societies we have seen throughout time have been implemented by force, under a corrupt dictatorship in developing countries. This is not even close to Marx's image of how socialism, and eventually communism, would come about. He saw it as a natural process; that the inevitable class struggle within communism would give way to socialism, and eventually, the same would happen in socialism and a communist society would thrive. We have yet to see socialism arrise naturally in a developed nation. It is very difficult to grasp the fact that the theoretical idea of socialism portrayed by Marx is much different than the examples of socialist societies so far.

In Defense of Marx:

Many defenders of Marx claim that to blame the horrors brought about by the likes of Stalin and Mao in Soviet Russia and communist China on Karl Marx, is to blame the dropping of the atom bombs on Albert Einstein for his analysis of mass-energy equivalent. Another one of the main arguments against Marx is that his ideas strip individuals of their freedom. This argument could only be made by someone who has never read anything on Marx. His whole purpose in analyzing capitalism was to allow individuals to realize their full potential and break away from the alienation that labor markets brought upon them. Especially in the United States, there has been an overwhelming amount of propaganda against communism and Marxism. While it is fair to criticize the former "communist" societies for their greed and corruption, it is not just to criticize Marx for their wrongdoings.