The Concept Of Power Between Conservatism And Marxism

This essay will compare and contrast the concept of power between Conservatism and Marxism. Marxism and Conservatism are two ideologies at the opposite ends of the political spectrum, respectively being left-wing and right-wing. The two contrasting ideologies give a good insight to the main aims of the ruling individual and/or political parties and their effects on social structure in the states that adopt them. All political ideologies are about power. It is about the people who have power and how they exercise it. In politics, power has the ability to influence decision-making which means shaping the political agenda. In some cases, it is used as a form of domination or forcing individuals to obey the source of power. Steven†¦show more content†¦Marxist concept of power argues that the class who holds the means of production is the ruling class. By the middle of the 19th century, the ruling class was the bourgeoisie who owned the means of production and whose societal concerns were the preservation and the ownership of capital and the value of property. In the Middle Ages, the bourgeoisie usually was a self-employed businessman. The majority of them were the merchants and bankers and they were considered as middle class. During the 18th century, the bourgeoisie became the supporters of the liberal ideology who were in favor of the minimal government intervention on the economy and against the rule of divine right. Marxists criticize the liberal values, especially liberal democracy which they argue, under capitalist ideology, liberal democracy is class-based and therefore can never be participatory or democratic. It is referred as â€Å"bourgeois† democracy because it is only representing the rights of the bourgeoisie. After the Spring of Nations in 1848, the governments across Europe implemented liberal policies, which helped the bourgeoisie to gain power. Industrial Revolution brought rapid urbanization and development. The peasants working on the lands of the aristocrats, started migrating to the cities to work in the factories. By that time, the bourgeoisie had become the economic ruling class who owned the means of production. This enabled them the employment and the exploitation of the working class.