The Events Leading Up to the
Russian Revolution
Review
• Communism
– an economic system characterized by the
absence of social classes and common
ownership of the means of production
– Everyone receives according to his or her
needs
• Socialism
– favors equality and public ownership of major
economic institutions
– Cooperation is the best way for people to
coexist
• Resources are owned by the people
• Everyone works for the good of everyone
else
• The government decides how wealth
should be distributed to everyone
• Capitalism
– private ownership of businesses, open
competition, and production for profit
– Competition brings out the best in people
– Everyone works for his own wealth
• The government is not allowed to interfere
with the individual’s dealings except to see
that laws are being followed
Class System
• Proletariat
– working class in Industrialized Europe
– The “have-nots”
• During the Industrial Revolution, the
working class wanted to share the wealth
the factory owners were enjoying
The Origins of Marx’s Ideas
• Georg Hegel: dialectics
– Thesis a problem is intentionally created
– Antithesis opposition to the problem is
created
– Synthesis the desired result is brought in as
a solution
Opposing force
(Thesis)
Change
(Synthesis)
Opposing force
(Antithesis)
The Origins of Marx’s Ideas
• John Locke: no man has the right to more
than another man
• Marx lived in Europe during the industrial
revolution
– Witnesses the horrible living and working
conditions of the working class
• History advances through conflict, and
economics is a major force for change
Class Struggle
1. Once people were able to produce more than
what they needed, exploitation began
2. From this point on, class struggle occurred
3. Capitalism is only a temporary phase in
which the productive people, the proletariat,
are exploited by the bourgeois
Class Struggle
4. Eventually, the bourgeois and proletariat
will clash; the proletariat will seize control
and abolish classes and private ownership
of property
5. Finally, the state will wither away, no
government will be needed and
communism will exist
• Vladimir Lenin, a leader of the Russian
Revolution, followed the teachings of Karl
Marx.