Ideology is the frame of reference through which an individual sees the world. Ideology is roughly defined in sociology to be the total sum of a combination of values, attitudes, beliefs, and aspirations. Ideology exists in the community, in organizations, and between individuals. It influences our ideas, behaviors, and relationships, as well as what occurs in the community as a whole. Ideology is inextricably linked to the social framework, economic output system, and power system. It both arises from and affects these entities. This work was written with the aim of comparing the ideology of Marx and Waltz.
Marxism, established after Karl Marx, is a sociological, economic, and ideological position. It investigates the impact of capitalism on employment, efficiency, and economic progress, and it advocates for a labor revolt to demolish bourgeois and replace it with communism. According to Marxism, the fight between social classes—specifically, the bourgeoisie, or entrepreneurs, and the proletarian, or employees economic ties in a capitalist system and will eventually lead to radical socialism. Marxism is a political and social ideology that includes Marxist class conflict theory as well as the Marxian economy. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’ publication The Communist Manifesto, which lays out the idea of class struggle and revolutions, was the first to openly define Marxism. Marxian economics concentrates on the critiques of capitalism that Karl Marx published in his article Das Kapital.
Waltz’s important work, Man, the State, and War, was his first contribution to the subject of international relations. It divided theories of war’s causes into three groups or methodological approaches. He called to those levels of analysis as pictures, and he used the works of one or more great political thinkers to illustrate the key themes of each picture. Each visual received two paragraphs: the first utilized traditional thinkers’ texts to convey what that image implies about the origin of war, and the second generally had Waltz examine the picture’s advantages and faults. Waltz’s wife was instrumental in conducting the research that served as the foundation for the publication. Waltz develops many of the key concepts of neorealist social theory, taking a systemic approach that distinguishes him from prior classical realism.
Significant variations in the origins of each mode of philosophy, Marxism, and Neo-realism have many parallels. A fundamental resemblance is their idea of dominance and the maintenance of international order. In contrast to ordinary Realists, Neo-realists consider authority as something that emerges from the cumulative capacities of the state rather than the degree of military powers. Rather than focusing exclusively on military might, neo-realists investigate power distribution to better comprehend the global order. Governments must aim to gain the power to assure their survival. As a result, a hierarchy of states arises, divided by degrees of authority. States at the top of the international order become hegemonic powers, with the ability to influence the policies of other nations in their sphere of influence.
Whereas neo-realists think that the state is the major player in international relations, certain strains of Marxist thought believe in breaking down the strict idea of sovereignty. In conclusion, the contrasts between Neo-realism and Marxism are much more important and vital than their parallels. Marxism contrasts from neo-realism primarily in that Marxists think that the character of international relations changes based on economic conditions, but neo-realists think that the patterns of international affairs always stay the same.