Karl Marx as the Founder of Many Social Concepts - Essay Example

He was against the concept of looking elsewhere for powers or remedies that know no concrete existence in the world. He believed in the power of the self and advocated the views that man was ultimately powerful within his own domains.

Marx believed, "Man makes religion, religion does not make man" (1844). And subsequently followed his concepts wherein he concluded that man is not an abstract entity, but the purpose of creation himself. All answers are only to be found within the visible means available, which are predominantly all available within the society. Hence he came to the notion that society was the one thing that empowered man, as it entailed all its norms, ideals and resolutions. With the infamous saying, "[Religion] is the opium of the people" (Marx, 1844), he generated the idea that collective goals and solutions are within the reach of man and society themselves; they should be accessed at any other level.

Intangibles and subjective reality were a hoax in his perception, and he declared that a thinking collective force was the ideal way out. Marx searched relentlessly for the truth and put the responsibility upon the shoulders of history to come up with a plausible answer. He emphasized the repeated inter-criticisms of heaven, earth, law, theology and politics upon each other, which gave rise to nothing else but a vicious circle. Truth, he believed, should be eternal and the answer must lie within.

It should not be in man-made systems, organizations and norms, which are as arbitrary as any other man-made substance. A very powerful and potent concept given by Marx was, "The weapon of criticism cannot, of course, replace criticism by weapons, material force must be overthrown by material force, but theory also becomes a material force as soon as it has gripped the masses" (1844). This line alone can be termed as the synthesis of the communist school of thought. Appreciating and identifying with the power of the people, when together, was the crux of Marx's theories.

He repeatedly proclaimed that man is at the root of all matters, and if men combine, the foundation becomes so strong that it can counter and overcome any force on earth. In all, Marx believed vehemently in the power of man that was present within himself. He knew that all answers could be sought after if the man knew what and where his strength was. Take this strength of one man, and pool it in a society where every man knows his own, this creates such a dynamic and practically invincible force that is stable to the extent of envy. For him, a realization of this power was essential, and communal behaviour was the response to all the unresolved miseries of man.