ENGL 200 D: Reading Literature: Literature in the Marketplace

“Up till now violence, war, pillage, murder and robbery, etc., have been accepted as the driving force of history. Here we must limit ourselves to the chief points and take therefore, only the most striking example-the destruction of old civilization by a barbarous people and the resulting formation of an entirely new organization of society.” (Marx 151-152)

At this part of the reading Marx is speaking about the division of labor and the separation of town and country.  He is making the point that labor results in ownership and the value of the things you are able to own is based off of the level of labor you are at. This statement on violence follows the discussion of ownership and implies that the want and need for higher levels of ownership have resorted in violence and war in the past. Many events or trends in history are noted because they were a large enough issue that they are considered an effective part history that can be learned from. Marx is saying that the countries history has been guided by negative issues, that typically came about because of the want for more valuable ownership of some type of property within society. Throughout his article, Marx makes it clear that without being the owner of some type of property that is valuable to the society, you cannot be considered a contributing member of that society, and even further a man. This is what pushes people to work to having something of their own, the need to be a man and a citizen.

Although the core driving force is having a negative impact on history, it is vital that the positive aspects of those issues are the key points that are looked upon to grow and build a substantial base for the new organization for the civilization. Violence is necessary for a society to grow and learn from their mistakes, as well as constantly build upon the security and procedures of that society. The lack of violence would mean there was a lack of drive in a civilization, so Marx is ultimately making the point that violence and war are necessary for the growth of a society.