Marx Communist Ideals - Essay Example

In chapter I, Bourgeois and Proletarians, one is advised to go through the pages of human history. According to communist philosophy, it is the history of class struggles. One finds the pairs of opposites at all levels and in all segments of the society. Whether slave or the master, serf and lord, plebeian and patrician, they are constantly engaged in mind-war situations. The hidden grudge exists against each other at all times. The oppressed class is weak in financial resources to fight back.

It is unable to challenge the capitalists at will. We know from history that when such fights on a large scale occurred, they resulted in a revolutionary reconstruction of the society, and the upper classes faced the total ruin, many lost their lives or forced to give up their wealthy possessions. The subordinate gradations of the society challenged the upper classes. (Mark’s Communist Party Manifesto-1848) In any given period, including the present era of technological and internet revolutions, a clear cut division exists in the society— Bourgeoisie and Proletariat.

The bourgeoisie is clever to adapt to changed circumstances and convert them to its advantage. Its adventurism of profitability and limitless aggrandizement for wealth goes on unabated. Capitalism has done irreparable damage to established national values and national industries and the process continues even now. It denudes the human being, robs him of the values and sentiments, and chisels a production unit out of him. It bears enormous stress on his mental faculties in the game of fierce competition, where marketing of the products is the ultimate goal, no matter how one does it!

A sadistic joy erupts in the business circles by throwing the other man (the competitor) out of the ring. Artificial wants are being created, which in fact are damaging to the health of an individual. Workers are driven to the wall, trade unionism becomes their option to seek their rights, management becomes their sworn enemy and they believe that the unions need to be at permanent war with the management on one pretext or the other. National level union leaders are on record to say, that they are not concerned with the productivity and it is the sole business of the management how to get it from the workers.

Management also devises new strategies to challenge the working style of the unions. In the process, both have unleashed powers, which they are unable to control, without inflicting self-damage. A worker no more finds charm in his work; he is just a screw of the machine that he operates. His future depends on the volatility and mood of the market and he is totally at its mercy. The recent recession is a glaring example. When the market tumbled, the demand for the goods crashed, several millions workers were rendered jobless.

Let the American Constitution swear by capitalism and the concept of free society. The story and discussions contained in the two books, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and Waiting for Lefty (a drama) by Clifford Odets, unfold the ground realities in the country. The writings of Odets are one of commitment to Communist ideology, his Leftist leanings are no hidden agenda, he is quite blatant about his convictions, and he has depicted the conditions obtaining in the American Society of 1930s.

He has provided an able dramatic presentation of the social injustices which is the root cause for an