Marxist philosophy

A philosophical tradition rooted in Karl Marx’s writings that explains history and society through material conditions, social relations, labor, and conflict over change.

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Historical materialism: An approach that explains historical development through material production and changing social relations. It provides Marxism’s central framework for understanding how societies change.
Forces of production: The labor power, tools, technology, and knowledge used to produce goods and services. Changes in productive capacity can strain established relations of production.
Karl Marx: A German philosopher, economist, and political writer whose analysis of capitalism shaped Marxism. His writings are the tradition’s principal source and continuing point of debate.
Western Marxism: A diverse tradition of Marxist theory that emphasizes philosophy, culture, and ideology, often apart from Soviet orthodoxy. It develops Marxist critique through questions of culture and consciousness.
Communism: A political and social ideal of a classless society with common ownership of productive resources. Marxist theory presents communism as a possible outcome of overcoming class divisions.
Dialectical materialism: A materialist philosophy that interprets reality and change through interacting contradictions and processes. It became a prominent framework for presenting Marxism as a systematic philosophy.
Relations of production: The social relations governing control of production, including ownership and the organization of labor. They define class positions and shape who controls the productive process.
Friedrich Engels: A German philosopher and political writer who collaborated with Marx and helped develop and disseminate Marxism. His collaboration and later editorial work helped shape Marxism’s early formation.
Analytical Marxism: A late twentieth-century approach that uses analytic philosophy and social science to reconstruct Marxist arguments. It tests Marxist claims with explicit models and arguments rather than inherited dialectical formulations.
Proletarian internationalism: The principle that workers across national borders share interests and should cooperate politically. Marxism links workers’ emancipation to solidarity that crosses national boundaries.