Marxism and Pluralism Theories - Admission/Application Essay Example

December Assignment “Power is the capa to restructure actual situations,” said I.C. Macmillan. Political power is the power thatis held by a group of people or even an individual, which allows him or them to govern the administration of public resources. These representatives of power are held as the sovereign aspects of a nation and are able to, more often than never, influence society with respect to conduct and carrying out actions. Since the inception of various theories of the State, a number of political beliefs have stemmed which divide society in different ways with respect to the sharing or accumulation of political power. This paper helps to provide an insight into two of these theories – Marxism and pluralism, and how power is dealt with among the two. The Marxist theory, laid down by Karl Marx, is an ardent follower of a class structure within the state. Marx said that there remained a vast demarcation between the capitalist and the socialist structures of society and in order for the weaker sections to rise; there normatively should be a revolution on part of the working class. The capitalist society exploited the working classes with respect to power and wealth and used the labour in order to gain more and more resources and climb the social ladder. They were not concerned about the plight of the working class at all. Thus, all the political power rested within the hands of the capitalists. The questions however remained, could the working class not rise and abolish the suffering that it was subjected to by the capitalists, overnight? “Certainly, on paper, the working class could do away with the state However, this would be only a formal, juridical act to the extent that the workers had not seized power in a society already so rich and with such an abundance of material goods and services that social conflicts as such, that is, centring on the distribution of these products, could disappear; and that the necessity for arbiters, watchdogs, police, to control all that chaos disappeared at the same time as did the relative scarcity of goods. This has never happened in the past and it is hardly likely that it ever will.” (Mendel, Ernest) The main reason for Marx’s theory was to establish how power was divided between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ of society; how there was a competition for the scarce resources that existed and how the politically powerful capitalists were the ones that had gained access to everything. The working class could only hope to gain some important by abolishing the existing state in order to themselves regulate the conflicts that existed among the various members of society. Pragmatically however, this was an impossible task because it is rare that one finds their desires coinciding with those of other individuals. Nonetheless, for the proletariats or the working class to be able to gain access to political power, they should also be able to have a good hold on economic power as well as intellectual and moral power within society. The reason that the capitalists were able to rise to the occasion and garb on the political power was because they already held onto the economic and intellectual parts of it; no social class can ever rise if it is still oppressed from various parts of society in terms of economic wealth and social morals or intellectual behaviour. Therefore, in order to develop its intellectual potential, it became imperative for the working class to get out of its monotonous environment; which was either in a factory working as labourers, or on the shop floor, providing unskilled manual expertise. Political power can only be possessed by those aspects of society that have access to the resources that need to be distributed among the people. Since the social workers could not rise against the capitalists, they, already being wealthy, formed the political prowess of society. “During the early years of Soviet power, Lenin, armed with a theoretically correct although slightly incomplete formula, said, “Today engineers work for the bourgeoisie; tomorrow they will work for the proletariat; for that they will be paid and, if necessary, they will be forced to work. The important thing is that they be controlled by the workers.” However, a few years later, shortly before his death, Lenin, drawing a balance sheet of that experience, asked himself the question: Who controls whom? Are the experts controlled by the communists, or is the reverse happening?” (Mendel, Ernest) “pluralism is not just tolerance, but the active seeking of understanding across lines of difference. Tolerance is a necessary public virtue, but it does not require Christians and Muslims, Hindus, Jews, and ardent secularists to know anything about one another. Tolerance is too thin a foundation for a world of religious difference and proximity. It does nothing to remove our ignorance of one another, and leaves in place the stereotype, the half-truth, the fears that underlie old patterns of division and violence. In the world in which we live today, our ignorance of one another will be increasingly costly.” Pluralism is all about getting to know the people around you in an open environment where the political and social structure is developed. In politics, it is essential to have a wholesome understanding of how the total structure works. Everything has to be aligned properly and in the right structure, otherwise it will not work out. Conclusion: Pluralism is a theory which characterises the availability of a power struggle where the one who is able to maximise the structure of the political situation stands out to be the leader. With pluralism we have been able to distinguish that there is always a power struggle and the leaders stand out before the public since they are identified in such a way by the people themselves that they gain massive following on its own. Along with the lines of pluralism there is also a theory that the society is divided into different classes and each class has to be respected on its own by the people who are part of such a society. It is imperative to have the basic courtesy and respect and also the openness which categorises this class and community divide among different people at different times Works Cited Mendel, Ernest. "Marxist Theory - The Proletariat in Power." International Viewpoint - News and Analysis from the Fourth International. Web. 01 Dec. 2011. . What Is Pluralism?" The Pluralism Project at Harvard University. Web. 04 Dec. 2011. . Read More