Weakening the Iron Fist of Marxism

Marx’s brainchild depended entirely upon class struggle and the willingness of the working class to rise up against the bourgeoisie. “We have seen above that the first step in the revolution by the working class is to raise the proletariat to the position of the ruling class, to win the battle of democracy. “The proletariat in Europe, however oppressed by the bourgeoisie, was not ready for such a revolution. Marx claimed that the bourgeoisie produces “…its own gravediggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable….” Things may have been bad, but they had seen a lot of improvement in their lifetime; they had seen the passage of the Ten Hours Act, child labor was being addressed, and some countries had even acquired universal male suffrage. They had seen the evolution in Europe with industrialization and the inventions and money that came with it. They saw opportunity and they saw hope. Revolution was seen as an act of desperation and inappropriate when hope remained. Marx jumped on the idea of the oppressed rising up against the oppressors, but he failed to realize that the oppressors were giving back just enough that the proletariat was not willing to cross the line that is revolution.

Marxism had many other critical weaknesses, among them was the lack of education among the proletariat that allowed them to be easily manipulated by the church, the bourgeoisie, the conservatives, and the state, all of which saw no benefit in Marxism. Many new “isms” evolved in the 1800’s, such as Liberalism, Radicalism, Republicanism, Socialism, and Conservatism, all of these “isms” were in fierce competition with Marxism. With people being pulled every direction by the propaganda and politics of each “ism,” the mass of followers needed to achieve the goals of Marxism could never be attained. This in addition to the proletariat’s unwavering loyalty to the church, the growing the sense of nationalism across Europe led to a weak push for any form of radical revolution and resulted in weak support for Marxism. Despite all Marx’s brilliance in devising such a masterpiece as the Communist Manifesto, he failed to foresee all its weaknesses and therefore pushed for revolution from a class that was not ready for a radical means of change.