Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, though the name "Marxism" has been used by many with political perspectives those men would likely reject. Marxism is a political-economic theory that presents a materialist conception of history, a non-capitalist vision of capitalism and other types of society, and a non-religious view of human liberation. At its core, Marxism holds a critical analysis of capitalism and a theory of social change.

The original Marxian vision consisted of three complementary parts, each of which is hard to separate from the other two: 1. The dialectical and materialist conception of history. Marx interpreted the history of any society as being the result of conflicts within society, including those between social classes (e.g., bourgeoisie and proletariat) and between the development of the forces of production (technology, the labor force, etc.) and the relations of production (institutions).

Accordingly, a society's possible futures are interpreted in terms of these conflicts. 2. The critique of capitalism. Capitalism is seen as a society in which a small minority of the population (the bourgeoisie or capitalists) dominates and exploits the vast majority (the working class or proletariat).

In Marx's labor theory of value, workers typically have no choice but produce more value and more output than is necessary to pay the cost of their reproduction as people in society over time. They do this under conditions that they do not control, i.e., under the direction of the supervisors and threatened by unemployment or poverty the rather than following democratic decision-making, and thus give the surplus-product to the owners, the bourgeoisie. The capitalists then use this surplus (also called surplus value) to accumulate more wealth and power for themselves.

Often, this accumulation goes 'too far', causing an economic crisis. 3. The theory of revolution. In Marx's conception, workers under capitalism are alienated since they do not control a major portion of their day (the working-day) and must follow orders, producing goods or services that they do not own and cannot choose to avoid producing.

They are alienated from their own true selves as members of society and from nature. The solution -- which Marx saw as existing below the surface of actual bourgeois society -- was for workers to unite in labor union and political parties, to take political and economic power away from the bourgeoisie. In fact, he saw this kind of collective self-liberation as the only true liberation of the working class.

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