The Marxists By MAJ Reed Burggrabe 31 JUL 15

Agenda BLUF Biography Context Content Impact on current doctrine

Why Study Marxists? ~30% of the world’s population is influenced by Marxism “Mass uprising, revolutionary war, guerilla detachments everywhere – that is the only means by which a small nation can overcome a large one, by which a less strong army can be put in a position to resist a stronger and better organized one.” – Fredrich Engels

Biographies Karl Marx Rhinelander, Jew, son of a lawyer “the Economist” Joseph Engels Rhinelander, Middle class, son of a cotton mill owner “the General” Fredrick Engels Met in Berlin as part of the Young Hegelians Engels provided the financial backing of Marx Both settled in London after exiled from France and Belgium for their views

Context Marx Born Engels Born Marx Death Engels Death Mao Born Lenin Born Communist Manifesto (1848) Das Kapital (1867) Franco-Prusso War Hegel Death Marx/Engels Meet Revolutions of 1848 American Civil War Napoleon Exiled Crimea War Exiled to London

Hegel Dialectic

Capitalism Capitalism is an economic system and a mode of production in which trade, industries, and the means of production are largely or entirely privately owned. Private firms and proprietorships usually operate in order to generate profit. Central characteristics Private Property Capital Acclumination Wage Labor

Socialism Socialism is a social and economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and co-operative management of the economy, as well as a political theory and movement that aims at the establishment of such a system. Social ownership is defined as: Cooperative enterprises Common ownership, State ownership citizen ownership of equity or any combination of these

Marxism “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles” – Karl Marx, Communist Manifesto 2 main classes Bourgeois: rich, property owners, who owned the means of production Proletariat: the laborers, does not own what they produce “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it” – Karl Marx

Communism Classless society with no personal property “The Theory of Communism can be summed up in one sentence, Abolish all personal property” – Karl Marx

Impacts on Doctrine States that are created utilizing some form of Marxism, understand that war and the state/politics go together These states have tight control of their military Leaders would take the basis of Marxism and create their own version Leninism Stalinism Maoism Trotskyism Libertarian Marxism Neo-Marxism

Questions?

Bibliography Boden, Michael A. “First Red Clausewitz”: Friedrich Engels and Early Socialist Military Theory.” Command and General Staff College MMAS Thesis. Fort Leavenworth: USA CGSC, Gat, Azar. A History of Military Thought. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Marx, Karl. Marx/Engels Selected Works, Vol One, Translated by Samuel Moore in cooperation with Frederick Engels, Proofed by Andy Blunden, Moscow, Progress Publishers, Mehring, Franz. Karl Marx: The story of his life, Translated by Edward Fitzgerald, Covivi: Friede publishers, Neumann, Sigmund and Mark von Hagen. “Engels and Marx on Revolution, War, and the Army in Society.” In Makers of Modern Strategy from Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age, edited by Peter Paret, Gordon A. Craig, and Felix Gilbert, Princeton: Princeton University Press, Semmel, Bernard. Marxism and the Science of War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981.