BASIC IDEAS OF MARXISM:

1. CAPITALISM IS ANTI-HUMAN: it systematically destroys and distorts

human life; the only future it offers humanity is economic crisis, war and
global warming i.e. barbarism; it has to be got rid of for the human race to
survive and develop.

2. CAPITALISM IS DRIVEN BY PROFIT NOT HUMAN NEED: capitalists are

driven to make profit by competition; profit is made by exploiting labour

3. EXPLOITATION DIVIDES SOCIETY INTO CLASSES- EXPLOITERS AND

EXPLOITED: Slave owners and slaves, lords and peasants, capitalists and
workers; historically these are the main forms of exploitation and class
division history is the history of class struggle

4. TODAY CAPITALISTS (BOURGEOISIE) AND WORKERS

(PROLETARIAT) ARE THE MAIN CLASSES IN SOCIETY: capitalists are
those who own control business, finance etc and employ labour; workers are
those who live by selling their labour power.

5. THE WORKING CLASS IS THE REVOLUTIONARY CLASS: the working

class is the class that has the power to overthrow capitalism; the working
class has to do this itself.

6. THE WORKING CLASS IS THE SOCIALIST CLASS: the working class

struggle is a collective struggle, it can only free itself by taking collective
control of the state and the means of production and abolishing class
divisions.

7. THE WORKING CLASS STRUGGLE IS INTERNATIONAL: capitalism is an

international system and the struggle against is international; socialism
cannot be built in one country, workers of all countries need to unite.

8. THE TASK OF SOCIALISTS IS TO ASSIST AND DEVELOP THE

WORKING CLASS STRUGGLE: our job ii to relate to workers struggles and
in the process raise their confidence, political consciousness and unity,
combating everything that divides them (racism, sexism, nationalism etc) so
as to lead the working class to take political power.

Communism vs Marxism
The two communism and Marxism are the same with not much
difference between the two. Communism is really based on Marxism and the
two cannot be separated. However, one can see that Marxism is the theory
and Communism is the practical implementation of Marxism.
Communism is the realisation of a Stateless society where all are equal. On
the other hand Marxism is the framework by which such a state is developed.
While Marxism is a political ideology based on Karl Marxs ideas, communism
can be called as a political system, which is based on Marxist ideology.
Marxism is a system that analysis the different aspects of a state where
there exists no difference between the rich and the poor. And Communism
can be termed as a political system where all become one and the same.
Communism aims at establishing a class less, egalitarian and stateless
society based on common ownership, which promotes equality and fairness.
Marxism is a philosophy, which bases itself on the materialist interpretation
of history. It says that history was driven by the materialistic approach of the

people, which means the life of a person was driven by what he needed to
survive. The Marxist ideology is to prepare the society for communism.
Marxism views that just as society transformed from feudalism to capitalism,
it would transform itself to socialism and eventually to communism. Well, the
method by which the transformation takes place is what differentiates the
communists from Marxists. The Communists believe that the transformation
will take place through revolutionary means.
It is hard to make out a difference between Communism and Marxism. These
two are so closely related that it is hard to make a distinction between the
two. Communism would not have born without Marxism. Last of all, it can be
said that Marxism is the theory and communism is the actual practise.

Summary:
1. Marxism is the theory and Communism is the practical implementation
of Marxism.
2. Communism is the realisation of a Stateless society where all are
equal. On the other hand Marxism is the framework by which such a
state is developed.
3. Marxism is a political ideology based on Karl Marxs ideas, communism
can be called as a political system, which is based on Marxist ideology.
4. The Marxist ideology is to prepare the society for communism.

Marxism in International Relations:

The various theories of international relations relate to the way the world is
organized. The theory of International Relations Marxism discusses the
separation of the classes. Through this worldview, emphasis is placed on the
economics of a particular country, placing economic status over any other
aspect of civilization. Those who follow the Marxist line of thinking feel that

the more popular theories of realism and idealism are self-serving theories
that are used by the economic elite to justify the inequalities of the world.
The Basic Principle of Marxism
The most basic premise of international relations Marxism is the division of
the world based on economic status, rather than political motivations.
Marxists theorize that it was the wealthy capitalists who created the state
system as a way to ensure their wealth would continue to grow. From this
basic premise, two separate international relations theories were
established: world-systems theory and dependency theory.
World-Systems Theory
Through the world-systems theory, the world is divided into core countries
and periphery and semi-periphery countries. The core countries are those
that are responsible for higher-skill work and production of the most capital.
The periphery and semi-periphery country are the poor areas of the world,
providing manual labor, as well as raw resources, to support the wealthier
core countries. The status of individual countries is not static, though.
Countries are able to change between core and periphery countries and vice
versa. Immanuel Wallerstein expanded on this theory with his world-systems
analysis. His system essentially states the world is built on a premise where
surplus materials are distributed from the periphery countries to the core
countries.
Dependency Theory
The dependency theory of international relations Marxism is similar, but
there are differences as well. Like Wallersteins theory, dependency theory
focuses on the redistribution of raw materials from poor countries to the
wealthier countries of the world. This creates benefits for the wealthier,
industrialized countries and takes away from the resources of the
underdeveloped countries. While some theories indicate that
underdeveloped countries are simply in a position of the earlier stages of
developed countries, dependency theory believes differently. According to
this theory, the poor, underdeveloped countries simply have their own

structure. These countries are dependent upon the wealthier countries for
their sustainability. The industrialized countries control this dependency with
military force and economic regulations.
Marxism in History
One of the greatest real-world examples of Marxism was the introduction of
this theory in the USSR. In 1917, Vladimir Lenin led the October Revolution in
the USSR, creating a workers state with the introduction of Marxism. He
attempted to spread these ideas throughout the world, stating that Marxism
could not exist within one country alone. These attempts failed, however.
Lenin died before he saw Marxist ideas take hold, which widely took place
after World War II.
With the end of the Cold War, Marxism lost much of its hold throughout the
world. The ideas that were introduced through this theory have been widely
deemed obsolete, turning to other international relations theories to
establish balance in the world. Although this theory is no longer widely used,
it still contributes a great number of questions relating to international
relations, offering students and those working in this field much to consider.

Conclusion:
Marxist and Neo-Marxist international relations theories are paradigms which
reject the realist and liberalist view of state conflict or cooperation, instead
focusing on the economic and material aspects. It purports to reveal how the
economy trumps other concerns, which allows for the elevation of class as
the focus of the study. Realists and liberals criticize Marxist conflict theories
for ideological and consequentialist reasons. Postpositivists disagree with
Marxists' elevation of class conflict as the most significant aspect of human
life and the key to understanding all human history and behavior.