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Part of a series on Marxism
Theoretical works
The Communist Manifesto Das Kapital The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon On The Jewish Question Grundrisse The German Ideology Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 Theses on Feuerbach
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Alienation · Bourgeoisie Class consciousness Commodity fetishism Communism Cultural hegemony Exploitation · Human nature Ideology · Proletariat Reification · Socialism Relations of production
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Philosophy
Historical materialism Dialectical materialism Analytical Marxism Marxist autonomism Marxist feminism Marxist humanism Marxist geography Structural Marxism Western Marxism Libertarian Marxism Young Marx
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Karl Marx · Friedrich Engels Karl Kautsky · Georgi Plekhanov Rosa Luxemburg Antonie Pannekoek Vladimir Lenin · Leon Trotsky Georg Lukács · Guy Debord Antonio Gramsci · Karl Korsch Che Guevara · Frankfurt School Jean-Paul Sartre Louis Althusser
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Criticisms of Marxism
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It has been suggested that Classical Marxism be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Any political practice or theory that is based on an interpretation of the works of Marx and Engels may be called Marxism. Despite being less important in the 21st century as the 20th, there is still a presence of Marxist approaches in academic fields of research; these include anthropology, media studies, Theatre, history, economics^{[citation needed]}, literary criticism, aesthetics and philosophy.^[1] The constitution of the Communist Parties and Communist states was grounded in Marxism; the basic difference between Communism in general and Marxism, is that Communism aims at the realization of a "Communist society", while Marxism is a theoretical-practical framework based on the analysis of "the conflicts between the powerful and the subjugated".^[2][3] As a consequence of this, there are many scholars and thinkers who use Marxism as a framework for analysis but do not advocate a communist society.

While there are many theoretical and practical differences among the various forms of Marxism, most forms of Marxism share:

• a belief that capitalism is based on the exploitation^[4] of workers by the owners of capital
• a belief that people's consciousness of the conditions of their lives reflects the dominant ideology which is in turn shaped by material conditions and relations of production
• an understanding of class in terms of differing relations of production, and as a particular position within such relations
• an understanding of material conditions and social relations as historically malleable
• a view of history according to which class struggle, the evolving conflict between classes with opposing interests, structures each historical period and drives historical change
• a belief that this dialectical historical process will ultimately result in a replacement of the current class structure of society with a system that manages society for the good of all, resulting in the dissolution of the class structure and its support (more often than not including the nation state)

The main points of contention among Marxists are the degree to which they are committed to a workers' revolution as the means of achieving human emancipation and enlightenment, and the actual mechanism through which such a revolution might occur and succeed. Marxism is correctly but not exhaustively described as a variety of Socialism. Some Marxists, however, argue that no actual state has ever fully realized Marxist principles; other Marxists, such as Autonomists claim Marxist principles cannot be realized in any state construct seen through the 20th Century, and would necessitate a reconceptualization of the notion of state itself.