According to Karl Marx, class struggle is one event in the history that can cause a great change in any civilization. Marx view of history that came to be known as historical materialism that looks for the causes of developments and changes in human societies giving an emphasis, through economic analysis, to everything that co-exists with the economic base of society (e.g. social classes, political structures, ideologies).
One event in history that would fit his belief would have to be the constant struggle of the Plebeians and the Patricians of ancient Rome. Plebs were the general body of Roman citizens in Ancient Rome. They were distinct from the privileged class of the patricians. A member of the plebs was known as a plebeian (Latin: plebeius). The term "patrician" originally referred to a group of elite families in ancient Rome, including both their natural and adopted members
Plebeians were the average working citizens of Rome. They were the farmers, the bakers, builders or craftsmen who worked hard to support their families and pay their taxes. For many of them, Roman life was a daily struggle. But although individual plebeians had little power, there were a lot of them. In bad times, or during political unrest, there was always the risk of the Roman ‘mob’ rioting or rebelling against the upper classes. The Emperor Augustus was well aware of this risk and was keen to keep the poorest plebeians happy enough and reasonably well fed so that they would not riot. The emperor began the system of state bribery known as ‘bread and circuses’.
The Unequal Division of the Public Land (ager publicus) is something that has kept the plebeians in a state of poverty. . This land properly belonged to all the people, and the plebeians believed might have been used to relieve the distress of the poor. But the government was in the hands of the patricians, and they disposed of this land for their own benefit. Although they allowed it to be “occupied,” there is what is known as a nominal rent, by members of their own order. As long as the land remained public, it could not be sold by the occupants; but the longer the rich patricians retained the occupation of this land, the more they would look upon it as their own property. It is a clear showing that they are ignoring the fact that the land belonged to the whole Roman people. So, the common people were deprived of their just share of the land which they had helped to conquer.
As civil rights for plebeians increased during the middle and late Roman Republic, many plebeian families had attained wealth and power while some traditionally patrician families had fallen into poverty and obscurity and these leads to several conflicts. The Roman Empire created The Agrarian Law of Spurius Cassius. To remove this injustice was the effort of the consul Spurius Cassius. This man was both a patriot and a statesman. He loved the people and so he labored to protect their interests. In order to strengthen Rome against her foreign enemies, a strong citizenry must be achieved.
The most famous act of Spurius Cassius was the proposal of the first “agrarian law,” that is, a law intended to reform the division of the public land (B.C. 486). It was not his purpose to take away any private land which legally belonged to the patricians; but to make a more just distribution of the land which properly belonged to the whole state. As a constant struggle for power, the patricians used their influence to prevent its passage when the law was proposed. After his year of office had expired, Sp. Cassius was charged with treason and with the attempt to make himself king. He was tried, condemned, scourged, and beheaded; and thus one of Rome’s greatest patriots suffered the doom of a traitor. But the people remembered Sp. Cassius, and his name was inscribed upon a tablet and placed in the Forum, where it remained for many generations.
Marx class struggle theory is really an event that can change an entire civilization. It is because civilization place strong emphasis on economic factors and emphasize conflict. It is a conflict between the “haves” and “have-nots” in the rapidly differentiating society of a civilization.
One event in history that would fit his belief would have to be the constant struggle of the Plebeians and the Patricians of ancient Rome. Plebs were the general body of Roman citizens in Ancient Rome. They were distinct from the privileged class of the patricians. A member of the plebs was known as a plebeian (Latin: plebeius). The term "patrician" originally referred to a group of elite families in ancient Rome, including both their natural and adopted members
Plebeians were the average working citizens of Rome. They were the farmers, the bakers, builders or craftsmen who worked hard to support their families and pay their taxes. For many of them, Roman life was a daily struggle. But although individual plebeians had little power, there were a lot of them. In bad times, or during political unrest, there was always the risk of the Roman ‘mob’ rioting or rebelling against the upper classes. The Emperor Augustus was well aware of this risk and was keen to keep the poorest plebeians happy enough and reasonably well fed so that they would not riot. The emperor began the system of state bribery known as ‘bread and circuses’.
The Unequal Division of the Public Land (ager publicus) is something that has kept the plebeians in a state of poverty. . This land properly belonged to all the people, and the plebeians believed might have been used to relieve the distress of the poor. But the government was in the hands of the patricians, and they disposed of this land for their own benefit. Although they allowed it to be “occupied,” there is what is known as a nominal rent, by members of their own order. As long as the land remained public, it could not be sold by the occupants; but the longer the rich patricians retained the occupation of this land, the more they would look upon it as their own property. It is a clear showing that they are ignoring the fact that the land belonged to the whole Roman people. So, the common people were deprived of their just share of the land which they had helped to conquer.
As civil rights for plebeians increased during the middle and late Roman Republic, many plebeian families had attained wealth and power while some traditionally patrician families had fallen into poverty and obscurity and these leads to several conflicts. The Roman Empire created The Agrarian Law of Spurius Cassius. To remove this injustice was the effort of the consul Spurius Cassius. This man was both a patriot and a statesman. He loved the people and so he labored to protect their interests. In order to strengthen Rome against her foreign enemies, a strong citizenry must be achieved.
The most famous act of Spurius Cassius was the proposal of the first “agrarian law,” that is, a law intended to reform the division of the public land (B.C. 486). It was not his purpose to take away any private land which legally belonged to the patricians; but to make a more just distribution of the land which properly belonged to the whole state. As a constant struggle for power, the patricians used their influence to prevent its passage when the law was proposed. After his year of office had expired, Sp. Cassius was charged with treason and with the attempt to make himself king. He was tried, condemned, scourged, and beheaded; and thus one of Rome’s greatest patriots suffered the doom of a traitor. But the people remembered Sp. Cassius, and his name was inscribed upon a tablet and placed in the Forum, where it remained for many generations.
Marx class struggle theory is really an event that can change an entire civilization. It is because civilization place strong emphasis on economic factors and emphasize conflict. It is a conflict between the “haves” and “have-nots” in the rapidly differentiating society of a civilization.
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Sources:
“Patrician.” Retrieved 13 September 2008from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrician
“Plebeians.” Retrieved 13 September 2008 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrician
“Rome.” Retrieved 13 September, 2008 from http://www.forumromanum.org/history/morey07.
Marx, K. (2002) Das kapital (Vol. 1, 4th ed.). (Ehrbar, H.G., Trans.) (Originally published in 1890).
Whitehouse, Ruth and Wilkins John (1988) The making of civilization. NY: Alfreda A. Knopf, Inc.
“Patrician.” Retrieved 13 September 2008from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrician
“Plebeians.” Retrieved 13 September 2008 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrician
“Rome.” Retrieved 13 September, 2008 from http://www.forumromanum.org/history/morey07.
Marx, K. (2002) Das kapital (Vol. 1, 4th ed.). (Ehrbar, H.G., Trans.) (Originally published in 1890).
Whitehouse, Ruth and Wilkins John (1988) The making of civilization. NY: Alfreda A. Knopf, Inc.
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