What do you think Marx got right? What do you think Marx got wrong?

Marx Option 2: Marx’s Theory of History In the “The Communist Manifesto” (1847) and in the short entry on “Marx on the History of his Own Opinions (a.k.a. “Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy (1859)”), Marx lays out his “grand” vision of history (i.e. the succession of the different modes of production and his account of the transition from feudalism to capitalism) as well as his theory of social change (the base/superstructure model). First, outline Marxs more abstract “model” of social change as laid out in the “Preface.” Here I refer to the role of the “economic structure” (e.g. the productive forces and the relations of production) as the primary drivers of social change and their capacity to condition changes in the “superstructure” (e.g. law and politics and culture and ideas more generally). Provide a concrete example of how this model of social change works in history. Next, summarize Marx’s account of historical change as outlined in the Communist Manifesto. Outline the factors that Marx believes led to the demise of feudalism and the advent of capitalism. Next, explain why Marx calls the bourgeoisie revolutionary, and discuss some of the distinguishing features of modern capitalism. Finally, evaluate Marxs materialist model. Marx makes some large generalizations about how history progresses and about society under capitalism? What do you think Marx got right? What do you think Marx got wrong? Justify your answers.