Introduction to Political Economy Instructor: Professor Michael E. DeGolyer

1. He was from Germany

2. He was the author of
Das Kapital

3. In China, “go to see XXX(his
name)” means
DEATH

4. Come on!
Who the hell is he !

5. That is
he !!

6. Karl Marx
—— A great prophet ?
By Eric Wei

7. Full name Karl Heinrich Marx
School/tradition
Hegelianism, Marxism, socialism
Main interests
Politics, Economics, Philosophy,
Sociology, class struggle
Notable ideas
Co-founder of Marxism (with
Engels),
alienation and exploitation of the
worker,
The Communist Manifesto,
Das Kapital,
Materialist conception of history

8. 1.Biography
• Born in born in Trier, Kingdom of Prussia, in
1818
• Educated by his parents at home until 13 years
old
• Studied philosophy and history in University of
Berlin in 1836
• Married
Jenny von Westphalen, in 1843 with
keeping their engagement a secret for seven
years.

9. Biography
• Wrote the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts
after reaching Paris
• Expelled from paris, Marx moved to Brussel where
he issued the The German Ideology, whose main idea
was that "the nature of individuals depends on the
material conditions determining their production."
• Published The Communist Manifesto on February
21, 1848
• Moved to London in 1849 and remained there for the
rest of his life having only written 3 of the planned 8
volumes of Das Kapital

10. 2.Marx & Marxism
2.1 Influneced on Karl Marx:
•Hegel's dialectical method and historical orientation
•The classical political economy of Adam Smith and David
Ricardo;
•French socialist and sociological thought, in particular the
thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Henri de Saint-Simon
•Earlier German philosophical materialism, particularly that
of Ludwig Feuerbach
•The solidarity with the working class of Friedrich Engels

11. 2.2 Marxism
Marxism is the political philosophy and
practice derived from the works of Karl
Marx and Friedrich Engels, presenting a
materialist conception of history, a non-
capitalist vision of capitalism and other
types of society, and a non-religious view
of human liberation. It includes three
complementary parts as following :

12. 2.2 Marxism
1). The dialectical and materialist
conception
of history.
2) The critique of capitalism .
Marx’s grave
in London
3) The theory of revolution.

13. 3.Marx’s influence
• The emergence of tremendous marxists that
changed the human history : Lenin Stalin Trotsky
Mao Castro……
• Establishement of the Second Internation, a
base for continued political activism.
•Russian Revolution of 1917 headed by Lenin
and Trotsky, caused the creation of the Soviet
Union, the first socialist country
•The foundation of the People Republic of China
and other socialist states.

14. And now ?

15. H e is
b a c k !!!

18. Capital’s crisis, Marx’s shadow

19. “Owners of capital will stimulate the
working class to buy more and more of
expensive goods, houses and
technology, pushing them to take more
and more expensive credits, until their
debt becomes unbearable. The unpaid
debt will lead to bankruptcy of banks,
which will have to be nationalised, and
the State will have to take the road
which will eventually lead to
communism” -------(Das Kapital, 1867)

21. Is Marx a great pophet ?

23. The development of Modern Industry,
therefore, cuts from under its feet the
very foundation on which the
bourgeoisie produces and appropriates
products. What the bourgeoisie,
therefore, produces, above all, are its
own grave-diggers. Its fall and the
victory of the proletariat are equally
inevitable.
—(The Communist Manifesto)

24. The capitalism will be
replaced by socilaism?

25. Ask the God !!

26. Marx’s works(selection)
•On the Jewish Question, 1843
•Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844, 1844
•The Holy Family, 1845
•Theses on Feuerbach, 1845
•The German Ideology, 1845
•The Poverty of Philosophy, 1847
•Manifesto of the Communist Party, 1848
•Theories of Surplus Value, 3 volumes, 1862
•Value, Price and Profit, 1865
•Capital, Volume I (Das Kapital), 1867
•The Civil War in France, 1871
•Capital, Volume II [posthumously published by Engels], 1885
•Capital, Volume III [posthumously published by Engels], 1894

27. Recommended websites for
futher imformation
•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx
•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism
•http://www.marxists.org/
•http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/marx/
•http://myy.cass.cn/
•http://www.lib.whu.edu.cn/dh/mks/mksdh.htm
•http://mz.pspm.whu.edu.cn/mks/index.html
•http://marxist.org.cn/
•http://www.internationalviewpoint.org
•http://www.cpim.org/

28. Recommended websites for
futher imformation
•http://rethinkingmarxism.org/cms/
•http://www.zeno.org/Philosophie/M/Marx,%20Karl
•http://www.socialistproject.ca/
•http://www.marxist.com/
•http://www.wyzxsx.com/Article/Class17/200902/71537.html
•http://economics.gmu.edu/bcaplan/museum/musframe.htm
•http://economics.gmu.edu/bcaplan/museum/comfaq.htm#part10
•http://www.cctb.net/
•http://bright.ustc.edu.cn/
•http://mks.nchu.edu.cn/

29. Reference
Karl Marx ( 1867,October ). Das Kapital. Hamburg
Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels ( 1848, Feburary). The Communist
Manifesto. London
Karl Marx . In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved July 19,
2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx
Marxism. In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved July 19,
2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism
Francis Wheen . Why Marx is Man of the Moment Retrieved July
19, 2009, from
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0717-28.htm