Rousseau and Marx

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the writings of French educator and philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, particularly his "Discourse on the Origin of Inequality Among Men," written in 1755, as well as Karl Marx's theories, which he expounded in his "Communist Manifesto" in 1848. The paper compares and contrasts their theories and looks at the reasons why Rousseau's views were not embraced at the time he wrote his work, while Marx's views were accepted when he wrote his work.

From the Paper:

"As Marx's ideas fueled the Russian Revolution, Rousseau's writings helped inspire France to start an armed rebellion against being dominated by a tyrant. The working class people of the French Revolution stormed the Bastille with his battle cry on their lips, protested oppressive armies seeking to keep them poor and without rights, and controlled the course of the Reign of Terror. This revolution took down the French government and guillotined Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, their king and queen. The Russian Revolution toppled the tsar in a bloody social and economic war, resulting in the Bolshevik party led by Vladimir Lenin forming the Soviet Union in 1922-3. In both the French and Russian revolutions, violence and extremism turned an enlightened philosophy based on reason and equality into an era filled with death. As it had in France, the long battle for the rights of the working man turned bitter and violent in Russia, as Stalin took over and, violating their own Marxist beliefs, formed new classes and forced the mass of people into servitude."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Fiero, Gloria K. "Faith, Reason, and Power in the Early Modern World." The Humanistic Tradition, Vol. 4. Boston: McGraw Hill. 1998.
• Fiero, Gloria K. "Romanticism, Realism, and The Nineteenth Century World." The Humanistic Tradition, Vol. 5. Boston: McGraw Hill. 2002.
• Marx, Karl. Communist Manifesto. 1848.
• Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Discourse on the Origin of Inequality Among Men. 1755.

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• Term Paper # 125787 : "Rousseau and Marx"
• Analytical Essay # 138389 : "Rousseau and Marx on the Bourgeious Classes"

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