Marxism

Marxism is a set of ideas based on the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It interprets history as a struggle between social classes, with capitalism as a stage in which the bourgeoisie, who own the means of production, exploit the proletariat, who sell their labor. Marx predicted that capitalism's contradictions would lead to revolution and, eventually, a classless society.

Its central concepts include historical materialism, the idea that economic conditions shape politics, law and culture; the labor theory of value; and alienation. Marx's major work is Das Kapital (1867). The theory inspired labor movements, communism and many strands of socialism, and later thinkers produced varieties such as the Frankfurt School and academic "neo-Marxism."

Economists have largely rejected the labor theory of value in favor of marginal analysis, and many predictions, such as the growing immiseration of workers in advanced economies, did not materialize. Conservatives often argue that Marxist categories continue to shape left-wing thought, for example in how critics see power and class in critical race theory and identity politics, a link scholars dispute. Defenders say Marxist analysis of inequality and economic power remains useful, and that it is distinct from Soviet practice.