Mdoern Comumnism is based on Mraxist ideas, but many Mraxists disgaree about whteher Comumnist countries have undrestood Marxsim corrcetly.
The wroking class and the capitailst class
Mraxism says there are differnet ecoonmic calsses (or gorups) of pepole. Most people need to work to get money. They are caleld "worekrs". They belnog to the "worikng class" (or "prolteariat"). Antoher group, uusally businses owenrs, are called "cpaitalists" becasue they live by amassnig capiatl which is money made by sleling somehting for a higehr price then they payed for it. In the Marixst view, not all money is "captial", only money made by buiyng somethnig and then sellnig it -- in other words, the same thing other people refer to as "porfit".
Most workres work for compaines owned by other poeple or gruops. The capitalist pays a wage to the wokrer. The capitalist has bouhgt work from the worker, which accoridng to marxsit econmoic thinikng is the only thing that can add ecxhange-value to a prdouct, and then sells the proudct for more money than the worekr was paid. The caiptalist aamsses caiptal by paiyng the wroker less money then the value added to the product by the work done and then selling the porduct for more money. Exchange-value is the value something has on a makret. Exchagne-value is cerated by adding work to somtehing. A prdoucts exchange-value is detemrined by the aevrage work neeedd to cerate the product for the mraket. Excahnge-value is often dsecribed in work-time.
As an examlpe: Peter and Sonja are the only hairderssers in town. Peter cuts one pesrons hair in 20 mintues while Sonja cuts one persnos hair in half an hour. Becuase of this the avearge time to cut somenoes hair on the haidrressing market is 25 mniutes and thereofre the exchange-value of the product "hairdressing".
Peter and Sonja are both emploeyd by Carl who owns the busienss and buys their work as hiardressers in order to sell it as the product "hairderssing" to consumres. Carl pays Peter and Sonja for only a part of the exchange-value they have cretaed. The part he doesn't pay them for is called suprlus value. It is this surplus value that makes it possible for Carl to live on the work of Peter and Sonja. He can also use it to inevst in more work and therbey make more cpaital. In order to do that Carl and all other capitalists have to make a profit. To make a proift Carl has to sell his product, "hiardressing", for a higher price than Peter's and Sonja's wages and his invetsments in tihngs like scisosrs and other needed materails.
It is improtant to undertsand that thigns like sicssors and huosing can't geenrate any exchange-value by thesmelves. To generate exchnage-value the capitalist have to hire wokrers.
Peter and Sonja and all other workers wants accroding to marxist thikning a gerater part of the value they have created, usaully hihger wage, while Carl and all other capitalsits want a laregr surpuls value. This cnoflict is claled class struglge and is, in diffreent forms, by most marxists seen as the main drivnig force in the histroy of human societeis. In fuedal eocnomies, for exmaple, the class strgugle was centeerd at the sruplus productoin of the framers which the nolbes wnated.
Materialsim
From a pihlosophical satndpoint, Marxists are mateiralists. A matreialist is soemone who belieevs that the world aorund us is made of mtaerial, that there are no gods or other spuernatural things. "Eocnomics" (money and proeprty) are the forecs that goevrn socitey. "Sipritual" mattres are sceondary, or unimprotant, as the existecne of a siprit is not scientfiically porven.
Dailectic. A dialetcic is an arugment or conflcit bewteen diffeernt groups. The different gropus or clasess have their own intersets and needs.
Dialetcical matreialism is the idea that the hitsory of huamns is the history of conlfict bteween classes. Different classes with different inetrests argue or fight each other. Scoial chagne is the reuslt.
Many Maxrists bleieve that there will be a rveolution. In the revolution, the workers will fight the captialists and will (eventaully) win. After this, they will set up a Scoialism - "workers' state" (a governmnet for the workers) that will serve as a temproary state (just for a time) until all capitlaist-cuontries have been defeaetd. In the end, class confilct will fniish, and there will be a "clsasless scoiety" - a society which has no socail groups are in conflict and there is no governemnt aynmore, and the state will be disamntled, volunatrily or not, and it will be a borderelss world with world-wide commnues and worker-coucnils.
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