sociology of karl marx Essay

SOCIOLOGY OF KARL MARX:
IN RETROSPECT


                                                  By

                                       


IGWE STANLEY C. (B.Sc., PGDE)
                        Indus. Relations & Personnel Mgt. (M. Sc.)
                                  Department of   Sociology,
                                    University of Port Harcourt,
                                                        Nigeria
                                        Phone: 011 234 8063352193

                                              May, 2009




                 


                            Sociology of Karl Marx: in Retrospect

          1.1 Introduction
Marxism is complicated by the fact that Marx is by no means the only influence on this critical school; indeed, given the various sorts of political movements that have been inspired by this thinker (socialism, Trotskyism, communism, Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism, radical democracy, etc.), one despairs at trying to provide a fair and lucid introduction at a review. Add to that the fact that Marx himself changed his mind on various issues or sometimes expressed opinions that appear mutually exclusive, and proponents filling in the gaps altogether tends to increase the number of rivers one has to cross.
Karl Marx who may be aptly described as chiefly a political economist, sociologist, and social philosopher, however remains one of a handful of thinkers from the last two centuries who has had a truly transformative effect on various spheres in the study of society, and on our very understanding of ourselves.
Although there exists a large number of critics claiming an end to Marxist thought (and even an end to his ideology) especially after   the fall of the communist system in the former Soviet Union and relaxation of the cold war Marxist thought has continued to have an important influence on critical thought, all the more so at the present with   the rise of globalization studies and...