Marxism says that capitalists want to exploit the workers as much as possible and make their pay as low as they can. The capitalists do this to create as much profit for themselves as possible, as quickly as possible. Workers, on the other hand, have to struggle to keep their wages up and to keep the "rate of exploitation" low, so that they can live more peaceful lives. This is what Marxism calls "class struggle": where workers and their bosses fight against each other to gain for themselves.
Marxists think that all of written human history has been divided by economic classes. One example is feudal society (a medieval society controlled by feudal lords and nobles). The ruling class got their power and wealth from the labor of peasants (farmers). But as peasants demanded more and more for themselves, small shopkeepers and tradespeople began to appear. Many of these people formed guilds and eventually began to employ workers. These workers were able to gain wealth for themselves at these jobs. These historical events created capitalism.
In this way, Marxists think that history has been pushed forward by class struggle. They think that change will be born from this struggle, just like capitalism was. However, they also think that capitalism will give way to communism; as the exploitation of workers becomes worse it will lead workers to revolt against their capitalist rulers.
The core of Marxist thinking is called Materialism. Materialism is a philosophical view that says that communities develop from the "ground up". It says that the "higher" qualities of culture (like art, manners, customs, and religions) are actually founded on the "lower" or simpler qualities of life. These qualities include having enough of what people need to survive, like food and shelter; who has money and what they have to do to get it; who is allowed to work, and who is forced to work.
Changes in the higher qualities of culture (sometimes called the "Superstructure") are often linked to changes in the lower qualities of life (sometimes called the "Base"). One example is that in medieval times, people thought "honor" or duty to people with more power than them was very important. Today, in Western countries, many people see ambition (being someone who works hard for their own goals) as more important. This is because in medieval times, people worked their entire lives under lords who depended on them not only for work but for war. Today, people work for themselves more, and our society lets some people move up from being poor to being rich. In this case, what people see as good and important depends on how the rulers get value out of their workers.
Marxism recognizes that in earlier time periods, we lived first under rulers who owned everything. Then we lived under lords who owned land with workers who lived and worked on that land. In Marx's time, people lived under governments that allowed many people to own property. Eventually, Marxists believe that we will move to a society where everyone owns everything in common. This will be called communism.
In other words, human society has always been based on the economic forces that human beings can control. For Marxism, this means that each society would take its form based on its "mode of production."
Marxists believe that humans' ability to produce goods and services today means people can move beyond the conflicts of a society that is divided into classes. Many Marxists believe that there will always be revolts and with the right conditions revolutions. In these revolutions, the workers will fight the capitalists. If they win, they will set up a socialist "workers' state" (a form of government where the workers are the rulers of society). This workers' state will only be temporary. Its job will be to take power away from the capitalists, until all the capitalist countries in the world are defeated, and social classes no longer exist.
Marxists believe that if the working class makes itself the ruling class, and destroys the basis for class society (private property, or what Marx called "Bourgeois Property"), there will be a "classless society." In a Marxist society, no social classes are in conflict, and there is no government anymore. The state will no longer be needed. There would be no countries. The world will have no borders. There will be communes around the world. Workers will organize production of goods and services based on what people need, not based on profits.
Some Marxists say that modern "communism" is not communism at all. They say that "communist" countries like the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, Cuba, and Vietnam are really using different forms of capitalism, often with heavily "nationalized" industries. A thinker named Tony Cliff was one of the biggest supporters of these ideas. He wrote that states like the Soviet Union and Communist China (before 1980) were "State-Capitalist."
Not all communists, socialists, or Marxists agree on this question. However, many strong supporters of Marxism agree that:
People use these terms interchangeably but this is incorrect. These concepts have different meanings:
Sacred
The words sacred or holy are sometimes used interchangeably and are often misunderstood to mean "important" or "special" instead of "set apart" and "pure."
According to Websters 1828 Dictionary (the more accurate definition given the spiritual context- Christian and beyond), sacred means "...separated from that which is common, vulgar, polluted, or open... or Holy." Holy, means "Properly, whole, entire or perfect, in a moral sense. Hence, pure in heart, temper or dispositions; free from sin and sinful affections. Applied to the Supreme Being, holy signifies perfectly pure, immaculate and complete in moral character..."
Most religions have sacred books that provide teachings or doctrines associated with the religion. These books are "set apart," from other books published and associated with the religion. There is a deeper connection to these books over the others.
For Christians this book is called the Bible. Muslim peoples have another book, they call the Qur'an. Jews call their book the Torah. Similarly, the Book of Mormon is also considered as a sacred book in Mormonism.
Some religious people deem specific places sacred because of their mention in the sacred books. Jerusalem is seen as sacred by Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Mecca is sacred in Islam, and Ise Grand Shrine in Mie Prefecture is sacred in Japanese Shinto. In Hinduism the river Ganges is seen as holy.
Zürich
Zürich or Zurich ( ; Swiss German: "Züri" ]) is a city in Switzerland. Zürich is the capital city of the Canton of Zürich. About 415,000 people live in the city and over 1.5 million live in the metropolitan area. This makes Zürich the biggest city in Switzerland.
Zürich is located in the north of Switzerland. It is at the northern end of Lake Zürich and is surrounded by hills. The rivers Limmat and Sihl flow through the city. The city is divided into twelve districts (known as Kreis in German), numbered 1 to 12.
The city was first built by the Romans. The Canton joined Switzerland in 1351.
In the city of Zürich, most of the people work in the commerce part of the economy. Zürich is one of the largest financial centres in the world. Many famous banks and insurance companies are located here, for example UBS, Credit Suisse, Swiss Life and Swiss Re.
The airport of Zürich is located about to the north, in a town called Kloten. Zürich Airport ("Flughafen Zürich", IATA:ZRH) is the biggest airport in Switzerland. Zürich Main Station is the busiest train station in Switzerland with many national and international connections.
The headquarters of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) is also in Zürich.