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MARX AND ARNOLD - INDIVIDUAL IN THE CLASS STRUGGLE VERSUS HUMANISM

Karl Marx was one of the most influential ideologues of all times . His ideas fired men to revolutions and empowered them as a class denoted by the proletariat to wage struggle against domination by the bourgeois (Marx . Engels . Et Al :1998 . His ideology of individual empowerment contributing to class control over society holds sway amongst a large swathe of humanity even to this day . While Marx was a powerful believer in individual power , it was through its regulation that change in society was

brought about . This change was not the way a person d or sought it to be but on the basis of history and as per existing circumstances (Marx . Engels : 1986 . In the struggle of the classes Marx believed that it was individual influence as denoted in labor power which had been undermined over the years by the bourgeoisie . The control granted to individuals through their work denoted labor power which comprised of the prime energy which created a vital force in nations (Marx : 1999

Marx values labor power as it is the only means which can produce more value than its worth , thus this is the productive value of individuals (Marx : 2003 . Class struggle as per Marx begins with individual power generated by personal toil which is coagulated to destroy those elements which work against their interests . Thus Marx believed that the exploitative nature of individual power particularly amongst the bourgeoisie will be brought to an end through collective authority of individuals of the proletariat (Karl Marx : 2006 . Marx states that each man in a capitalist system works in his own interest and thus ultimately results in the destruction of the organism as a whole (Aron : 1965 . The ideal structure for harnessing individual power is thus felt to be the communist system wherein the power of each individual can be channelised for the collective good . An individual 's role is related to his role in class and economic relations and thus his power is also channelised in that direction (Marx : 1999 . The view of individual power held by Marx is thus of production , material creation and contribution to the class struggle . The individual soul loses its power in the collectivity of the class to which he belongs

Arnold was a poet in the Victorian era who is said to have guidance and rationality in an age which was increasingly industrialized and when individuals were losing their moorings to increased vocationalisation of human activity . By adopting the analogies of the Barbarians , Philistines and Populace wherein individuality was subordinated , Arnold attempted to bring back a sense of power to the individual (Arnold EB : 2006 Arnold 's philosophy of individualism was based on the ability of the individual to change society by following a contrarian approach rather than just blindly following reality . Arnold abhorred the average man who he believed failed to contribute to quality in society . It is the individual who is not average , the , remnant ' as he called...