Stages of Society
By: Cooper Thomas
Karl Marx
Karl Marx was a philosopher who believed that society went through six different stages. Some of these stages have not yet occurred. He just guessed that that's what would happen next.
Stage 1: Primitive Communism
First of the stages is Primitive Communism. This stage was set up as a hunter-gatherer society, in which all males hunted, and all females gather. They followed the animals wherever they went, and gathered crops wherever they could along the way. Then they figured out that they could put the animals in a fence. Then they figured out that they could plant crops wherever they wanted, and they would grow. After that, they decided, "Hey! This land can be mine! So now it is!" This lead them to stage 2.
Stage 2: Slave Society
Stage 2 is when the farmers decided, "I want to make someone else do my work in the field for me." So they started conquering places to earn slaves. They were then split up into groups. Slaves, and Owners. One problem is that slaves' children were not born into slavery. They were freed. So in order to get more slaves, they had to keep conquering, and conquering, until they had a huge empire, which was hard to control. If something happened far away, it would take three months to deliver the message, and another three months to send reinforcements, which would be useless. This leads us to stage 3.
Stage 3: Feudalism
This stage was more based on chivalry than anything else. The peasants payed the King, the King provided them with shelter. There were nations and states, which came from fallen empires. There leaders were more local. Eventually, feudalism began to fall. Merchants ruined the average classes, because they were making as much money as the King and lords were. Afterwards, a revolution. This leads us into stage 4.
Stage 4: Capitalism
With capitalism, private property got a new meaning. All of the production was in the hands of the individual. People began getting payed for their work, but nowhere near as much as their bosses were making, which upset the workers. Imperialism was also occurring, when stronger and bigger countries take over smaller ones to take their resources. Their were also monopolies. They are best for profit. It's when one of the providers offers all of the materials. Back to the angry workers. They were unhappy that their bosses were making three times the amount they were, so they rise up and take over the factories. This leads us to stage 5.
Stage 5: Socialism
Common property is a new concept for the workers. Means of production is run by workers instead of the minority. Planned economy was also new. The economy is planned and organized based on need, not the demands of the system. People also got labor vouchers instead of wages. Socialism is the first step of communism, a practice. If it works, then the leftover pieces of capitalism will be discarded. Now, to our last stage, stage 6.
Final Stage: Communism
Just to mention, communism hasn't happened yet, and will most likely not happen. There is no such thing as a perfect society, which is what communism is. During communism, there are no states, countries, or law. There are no classes, either. Everyone works for everyone. There is no money, either. All goods are available based on need, and assigned based on need. This is supposed to be the "Perfect System". Everything needed is provided, everyone and everything is equal, and there is no government. This is where I conclude.