Civilization Week 19 The french Revolution of 1830 and Karl Marx’s Economic Beliefs

Question 1: What happened in France during the revolution of 1830?

In 1930 the liberals of France were very unhappy with the ideals and ruling style of Charles X. Charles was an ultra, the political opposite to the liberals of the time. He started out favorably, but his popularity thinned with the laws he introduced (such as a death penalty for anyone profaning the Eucharist). The Chamber of Deputies wrote up a vote of no confidence in the government, and Charles shot back by shutting down the Chamber of deputies, largely limiting freedom of press, and drastically lowing the number of eligible voters. People began protesting, and the number of liberals throughout France skyrocketed. Charles was overthrown and soon after fled, making way for a new king in the form of Louis Philippe. Philippe was a lot more middle ground in his political opinions, and although having several faults he was much more popular with the people than Charles X.

Question 2: Why did Karl Marx think socialism was superior to capitalism?

Karl Marx believed that with central planning done by the government we’d be able to more adequately make use of the work force. He believed the three main flaws of capitalism were: people remaining unemployed, factory owners milking their workers without providing equivalent payment, and people tiring of their jobs and thus working less efficiently. His solutions for all of these complaints was strict central planning. He said that instead of having one job your entire life it’d be better if the government switched everyone around from job to job. Everyone would do a different job daily, and this way no one would ever develop a spite or loathing for their job. The government would also own and pass around all the equipment, so instead of there being a single factory owner the factory equipment would be jointly owned. Because everyone is apart of the working force and no one is freeloading or commanding without actually contributing, Marx said that things would be produced better and faster. He also said people would be able to work less, since everyone would be contributing equally.