Marksism

Marksism is a term sometimes used to refer to the body of thought associated with Karl Marx and his followers. In scholarly and most common usage, the standard term is Marxism, and marksism is typically regarded as a misspelling or a regional variant rather than a distinct tradition. When encountered, it usually signals the same broad project: a critical analysis of capitalism and a theory of social change grounded in historical materialism.

Core ideas associated with Marxist thought include historical materialism, which contends that economic and technological conditions shape social structures and political institutions over time. Capitalism is analyzed as a system based on private ownership of the means of production and the extraction of surplus value from the working class, leading to class conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Other central concepts include alienation, commodity fetishism, and the notion that economic forces eventually drive social transformations, potentially toward a socialist or communist order.

Over time, Marxist theory has diversified into several currents, such as Leninism, Trotskyism, Maoism, and various strands of Western Marxism and radical democracy. While differing in methods and emphasis—ranging from vanguard party leadership to autonomous, non-revolutionary approaches—they share a critical stance toward capitalist development and a goal of reorganizing society along more egalitarian lines.

Critics challenge certain Marxist predictions and methodological approaches, arguing issues such as economic determinism or historical outcomes not aligning with theory. Proponents, in turn, argue that Marxist analysis remains a powerful tool for examining inequality, exploitation, and social change.

See also: Marxism, socialism, communism, dialectical materialism.