Marx and Freud: Comparing Their Views Of Human Nature Essay

In The commie Manifesto, Karl Marx and Frederick Engels testify their view of hu art object spirit and the effect that the scotch system and economic factors pose on it. Marx and Engels argue gentlemans gentleman nature in the context of the economic factors which they see as driving memoir. Freud, in polish and Its Discontents, explores valet de chambre nature through his psychological view of the military man mind. Marx states that history is the history of manakin struggles (9). Marx views history as being determined by economics, which for him is the source of class differences. History is described in The Communist Manifesto as a series of divergences between oppressing classes and oppressed classes. According to this view of history, massive changes come out in a society when new technological capabilities allow a portion of the oppressed class to destroy the power of the oppressing class. Marx briefly traces the development of this through different periods, menti oning some of the various oppressed and oppressing classes, that points out that in earlier societies in that respect were many gradations of social classes. He also states that this class conflict sometimes leads to the common ruin of the contending classes (Marx 9).Marx sees the modern age as being distinguished from earlier periods by the simplification and intensification of the class conflict. He states that Society as a whole is more and more rending up into two great hostile camps middle class and parturiency (Marx 9). The bourgeoisie, as the controlling class of capitalists, subjugates the proletariat by using it as an object for the expansion of capital. As capitalism progresses, this subjugation reduces a large portion of the population to the proletariat and society works more polarized. According to Marx, the polarization of society and the intense burdensomeness of the proletariat impart eventually lead to a revolution by the proletariat, in which the control o f the bourgeoisie go forth be destroyed. The proletariat will then gain control of the means of outpution. This revolution will result in the creation of a socialistic state, which the proletariat will use to institute socialist reforms and eventually communism. The reforms which Marx outlines as occurring in the socialist state have the common goal of disimpowering the bourgeoisie and increase economic equality. He sees this socialist stage as necessary for only if inevitably leading to the brass instrument of communism. Human beings, which be competitive under capitalism and other prior economic systems, will become cooperative under socialism and communism.Marx, in his view of kind-hearted nature, sees economic factors as being the primary feather motivator for homophile thought and action. He asks the rhetorical question, What else does the history of ideas prove, than that intellectual production changes its character in proportion as material production is changed? (M arx 29). For Marx, the economic status of human beings determines their consciousness. Philosophy, religion and other ethnic aspects atomic number 18 a reflection of economics and the dominant class which controls the economic system. This view of human nature as being primarily determined by economics may seem to be a base view of humanity. However, from Marxs point of view, the human condition reaches its full potential under communism. infra communism, the cycle of class conflict and oppression will end, because all members of society will have their prefatorial material needs met, rather than most being exploited for their labor by a dominant class. In this sense the Marxian view of human nature can be seen as hopeful. Although human beings are motivated by economics, they will ultimately be able to establish a society which is non based on economic oppression.Freud, in Civilization and Its Discontents, presents a conception of human nature that differs greatly from that of Marx. His view of human nature is more complex than Marxs. Freud is critical of the Marxist view of human nature, stating that I am able to recognize that the psychological premises on which the communist system is based are an unwarrantable illusion. In abolishing private property we deprive the human love of aggression of one of its instrumentsbut we have in no way altered the differences in power and influence which are misused by raveningness, nor have we altered anything in its nature (Freud 71). Freud does not believe that removal of economic differences will draw back the human understanding to dominate others. For Freud, aggression is an innate component of human nature and will survive regardless of how society is formulated. He sees human beings as having both a life instinct (Eros) and an instinct for destruction. In Freuds view of human reality, the source of conflict, oppression, and destruction in human society is mans own psychological makeup. Because of Freuds view of human nature as inherently having a wasteful component, he does not believe that a transformation of humans to communist men and women will be possible.Marxs belief that the current capitalist society will evolve into a communist society is not supportable under Freuds conception of human nature because the desires of human beings are too much in conflict with the demands of any civilized society. This conflict does not exist because of economic inequalities, according to Freud, but rather because it is in human nature to have aggressive desires which are destructive to society. Freuds approach to the possibility of reducing conflict among humanity focuses on understanding the human mind, the aggressive qualities of human nature, and how human beings desires can come into conflict with the demands of human society. He does not believe that the problems of human conflict, aggression, and destruction can be solved by a idea reordering of society as the philosophy of Marx su ggests. Instead, Freud looks inside ourselves to explore these problems. At the close of his work, Freud states, The fateful question for the human species seems to me to be whether and to what fulfilment their cultural development will succeed in mastering the disturbance of their communal life by the human instinct of aggression and self-destruction (Freud 111).Freud does not offer any radical solutions to human aggressiveness, but rather sees it as something that humans must continually strive to overcome. He states I have not the courage to rise up before my fellow-men as a prophet, and I bow to their reproach that I can offer them no consolation (Freud 111). Freud can not offer some vision of a human utopia, but can only suggest that there is some possibility for the improvement of the human condition and society, but also warns that our success at overcoming destructive instincts may be limited. Marx offers a radical philosophy which also sees conflict as one of the constants of prior human existence. Unlike Freud, Marx believes that the aggressive and conflict-oriented aspects of human nature will disappear under the communist society which he sees as the inevitable product of capitalism. This is the hopeful element of Marxs philosophy. However, if communism is not seen as inevitable or the possibilities for reducing human conflict before a socialist revolution are considered, then Marxs view of human nature locks humanity into constant conflict. If the future is to be like Marxs version of history, then there is little hopefulness in this view of human nature.Works CitedFreud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. Ed. James Strachey. new-fangled York W.W. Norton, 1961. Marx, Karl and Frederick Engels. The Communist Manifesto. New York International Publishers, 1994.