and contemporary contexts as a

setting for Woyzeck.

Marxism is a collection of Karl Marx’s ideas, which were

added to by his closest collaborator, Frederick Engels, after

Marx’s death. This was subsequently added to and

enriched by the writings and living experience of Lenin and

Trotsky who led the 1917 Russian Revolution.

Marx’s ideas have recently become more popular. Having

been voted ‘the thinker of the Millennium’ in a BBC poll in

2000, Marx has now been taken up by university

professors and City analysts as offering one of the most

modern ways to understand globalised capitalism.

• Believe that capitalism can only thrive on the exploitation

on the working class.

• Believe that there is a real contradiction between human

nature and the way that we must work in a capitalist

society.

• Have a dialectic approach to in life in that everything had

two sides.

• Believe that capitalism is not only an economic system

but is also a political system.

• Refer to the profit difference between what goods are

sold for and what they actually cost to make as a ‘surplus

profit’.

• Believe that economic conflict produces class (lower,

middle and upper) and inherently class produces conflict.

• Describe the historical process of the class structure as

becoming increasingly polarised-pushed to two ends with

nothing in the middle. They claim that classes will soon

disappear and be absorbed into either the Bourgeoisie

(the capitalist class who own most of society's wealth and

means of production) or the Proletariat (the working

class).

• Believe that a key part into the control of the Proletariat is

the use of alienation in all aspects of society, including

the family, the education system and the media. This

provides the Bourgeoisie with a supple mass of workers

who don’t mind working for the external rewards of a

constant wage.

• Believe that deviance is any behaviour that differs from

the social norm. It’s seen as deviant because, as a

society, we do not accept it. Deviance can vary from

simply odd behaviour to behaviour that can harm society,

or is considered dangerous or disrespectful.

• Woyzeck= college student who has been kicked out of his

parents’ house for knocking up Marie, and is close to being

kicked out of college.

• Andres= high school friend who is exceeding at college, and

so is fed up of Woyzeck’s poor grades/inability to work well.

• Captain= head professor at college, who is ensuring Woyzeck

does enough extra work to deserve to continue attending

college.

• Doctor= drug dealer testing new drug on Woyzeck, this is how

he makes his money to support Marie.

• Marie=high school dropout and kicked out of her parents’

house due to pregnancy, so lives with Woyzeck in a

motel/small council flat.