Hello, I'm Mr. Marchin, and I'll be your history teacher for today.

I'm really looking forward to starting our learning journey together, and my role will be to make sure that you can meet today's learning objective.

Welcome to today's lesson, which is part of our unit on the Russian Revolution, where we are asking ourselves, did communism completely transform Russian society? So, a really important thing for us to do across this unit will be considering comparisons between different time periods, so that we can assess change and continuity.

In today's lesson, we are gonna work towards describing the political thought of the philosopher, Karl Marx, and explain its influence on European politics.

This thinking is gonna be really foundational for any consideration of the impact of communism on Russian society.

There are five key words which are gonna help us navigate our way through today's lesson.

Those are communist, capitalist, bourgeoisie, proletariat, and aristocracy.

Something is communist if it relates to the belief that wealth should be shared equally and people should be treated as equals.

Something is capitalist if it relates to a system where some people own industry privately and make profit for themselves.

The bourgeoisie are members of the middle classes.

The proletariat are members of the industrial working classes.

And the aristocracy are the highest social class usually in countries that have a royal family.

So, today's lesson is gonna be split into three parts, and we'll begin by thinking about Marx and class.

Karl Marx was a German philosopher, born in 1818.

In 1848, Marx helped to write "The Communist Manifesto", which would prove to be one of the most influential pieces of political philosophy written in the 19th century.

Marx's book helped to establish the key ideas behind communist ideology.

Marx was interested in inequality between different social classes.

Marx argued that two key social classes existed in industrialised capitalist countries.

These classes were the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.

So, let's think about what we've heard so far.

What type of society did Marx say would be split between the bourgeoisie and proletariat? Was it an agricultural, an industrialised, or a technological society? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was B.

Marx said that an industrialised society would be split between two key social classes, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.

So, let's think about these two key social classes from Marx's thinking in a little bit more depth, and we'll start by considering who exactly the bourgeoisie were.

So, the bourgeoisie were the middle classes, and they owned most of the property in industrialised societies.

They were rich as a result of their property ownership.

When we talk about property, we're not just talking about land, but also industries.

So, things like factories, which meant that they were making most of the profits in these countries as well.

The bourgeoisie in Marx's thinking were also politically powerful, but they did make up a minority.

For all their power and all of their wealth, the bourgeoisie only counted for a small number of the actual population.

The proletariat were the working classes in Marx's thinking.

They owned very little property and they were poor.

So, we can see some very clear contrast here between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie already.

The proletariat were often politically weak.

It might have been because they lacked the vote or they didn't have very much representation in the political bodies that governed industrialised countries.

But the proletariat did make up a majority of the population in Marx's thinking.

Most industrialised societies would count most of their population as being members of the proletariat.

So, let's make sure our understanding of the differences between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat are really secure.

I want you to write the missing keyword in the following sentence.

The blank made up a majority of the population in industrialised societies according to Marx.

So, what's the missing word? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the missing keyword was the proletariat.

The proletariat made up a majority of the population in industrialised societies according to Marx.

This was unlike the bourgeoisie who Marx said would only make up a minority of the population in an industrialised society.

So, let's try another question.

According to Karl Marx, which group was wealthier in industrialised capitalist societies? Was it the bourgeoisie, the proletariat, or the bourgeoisie at first, but then the proletariat later on? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was A.

According to Marx, the bourgeoisie were the wealthier group in industrialised capitalist societies.

This was because they owned most property, so both land and industry, which allowed them to make huge profits.

So, now that we've demonstrated we have a secure understanding of Marx and class, I want us to put all of that knowledge into practise.

Complete the table by writing as many features of the bourgeoisie and proletariat as you can.

You can see that your table has been split into two clear columns.

So, in the left-hand column, you'll write the features that a bourgeoisie that you can recall.

And in the right-hand column, you'll write those features are the proletariat that you can recall.

So, pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your answers.

Okay, well done for all of your effort on that task.

So, I asked you to complete the table by writing as many features at the bourgeoisie and proletariat as you could.

Similar features at the bourgeoisie that you may have written was that they were middle class, owned most property, were rich, politically powerful, but made of a minority of the population.

For the proletariat, you'd essentially be thinking of a lot of opposite features.

So, they were the working classes.

They owned little property and were poor.

They were politically weak, but made up a majority of the population.

So, really well done, especially if you were able to get all of those different features identified correctly.

So, now, we're ready to move onto the second part of our lesson where we are gonna focus on Marx and revolution.

Karl Marx argued that conflict between different social classes like the bourgeoisie and proletariat was an inevitable part of history.

Because of this, Marx argued that a revolution could be expected in all industrialised countries.

So, thinking about that first bit of information we've heard about Marx and revolution, which statement is most accurate? That Marx argued that class conflict was rare throughout history.

Marx argued that class conflict only began following industrialization.

Or that Marx argued that class conflict was inevitable throughout history.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was C.

Karl Marx argued that class conflict was inevitable throughout history.

This included the industrialised societies which Marx was particularly interested in.

In his book, "The Communist Manifesto", Karl Marx argued that all human history had been shaped by the struggles between different social classes.

In this way, Marx argued that class conflict was inevitable.

Marx argued that at moments such as the glorious revolution in Britain or the French Revolution in the 18th century, those countries had undergone a major social change.

In those revolutions, the bourgeoisie had taken power from the aristocracy, and the countries had moved on to a new industrialised capitalist stage in their history.

According to Karl Marx, in industrialised capitalist societies, the bourgeoisie exploited the proletariat in order to make themselves rich and powerful.

These societies therefore suffered from a great deal of inequality between different classes.

In other words, there ended up being huge differences in wealth and power between different social classes.

Eventually, Marx argued that there would be a proletarian revolution as workers fought against the bourgeoisie.

"The Communist Manifesto" said that the proletarian revolution would need workers to create a socialist state.

In this socialist state, the government would use its power to help share property and wealth equally between all people.

In Marx's view, that socialist state would eventually become communist.

Everyone would be treated as equals, and people would work for the good of the whole community rather than just themselves.

There would, therefore, be no further class conflict under communism and no further revolutions according to Marx.

So, let's make sure that our understanding of Marx and revolution is really secure.

I want you to write the missing keyword in the following sentence.

According to Marx, the blank would revolt against the aristocracy, creating a capitalist state.

So, what's the missing word in this sentence? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the missing keyword was bourgeoisie.

According to Marx, the bourgeoisie would revolt against the aristocracy, creating a capitalist state.

This is what Marx said had happened in Britain during the glorious revolution and in France during the French Revolution.

And let's try another question.

Against which group did Marx claim the proletarian revolution would be fought? Was it the aristocracy, the bourgeoisie, or the proletariat? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was B.

Marx claimed that the proletarian revolution would be fought against the bourgeoisie.

Marx said that in industrialised capitalist societies, the proletariat were exploited by the bourgeoisie, and this would help contribute to the proletarian revolution.

And let's try one final question to make sure that our knowledge is really secure.

What conditions did Marx say would exist in a communist state? Was it the exploitation of the bourgeoisie, the beginning of industrialization, a quality between all people, or the creation of a socialist state? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was C.

Marx said that in a communist state, there would be equality between all people.

He also said that as a result of this, there would be no further exploitation and that class conflict would come to an end.

So, we are now in a good position to put all of our knowledge into practise.

Starting with the earliest, I want you to sort the following developments shown in our table into the correct order according to Karl Marx's theories.

You should indicate your answers using the numbers one to five, with one being the earliest event.

So, pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answers.

Okay, well done for all of your effort on that task.

So, I asked you to arrange our developments into the correct order according to Karl Marx's theories.

So, you should have written out your events as follows, that the bourgeoisie revolt against the aristocracy.

This would be followed according to Marx's theories by an industrialised capitalist state being created.

Marx said that following the creation of an industrialised state, there would inevitably be a proletarian revolution.

This would occur as the proletariat eventually revolted against the bourgeoisie for exploiting them.

This would be followed by the creation of a socialist state.

So, you should have had that numbered as four.

And finally, this would be followed by full equality being achieved, and class conflict ended as eventually the socialist state became communist.

So, really well done if you got all of those events listed in the correct order.

And now, we are ready to move on to the third and final part of our lesson for today where we are gonna focus on the socialist movement.

In the 19th century, Karl Marx's ideas spread across Europe and gained many supporters.

Marx's supporters went by a variety of names such as Marxists, socialists, and communists.

Socialist organisations and political parties were established across Europe in the second half of the 19th century.

In Britain, the Social Democratic Federation or the SDF, was founded in 1881 and became the country's first Marxist political party.

However, the SDF lacked popularity, failing to win a single seat In any of the parliamentary elections held in Britain between 1885 and 1910.

Socialist parties were more successful in other parts of Europe.

The German Social Democratic Party or the SPD, was founded in 1875 and committed itself to ending exploitation of every kind and to extinguish all social and political inequality.

In 1890, the SPD won more votes than any other party in German elections, and a year later, declared that the death of capitalism was imminent.

Or in other words, that it was about to happen.

By 1912, the SPD had become the largest party in the German parliament.

Socialist parties were also formed in Russia.

In 1898, the Russian Social Democratic Party was founded.

The Social Democratic Party in Russia accepted Marx's idea that the proletariat in Russia would stage a revolution against the country's leaders.

However, Russia was much less industrialised than either Britain or Germany.

Only about 2% of the population were industrial workers by 1900.

The nature of the Russian economy had led Marx himself to doubt whether socialism could be achieved in Russia in the near future.

As he argued that the country had not properly entered its industrialised capitalist stage of history.

In 1903, the Social Democratic Party split into two smaller groups, the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks.

Both groups wanted a proletarian revolution to take place in Russia, but disagreed over the methods for achieving this.

The Mensheviks argued that Russia was not yet ready for a proletarian revolution, so gradual change was necessary.

In contrast, the Bolsheviks argued that they must organise and prepare for a proletarian revolution as soon as possible.

So, we wanna reflect on everything that we've heard so far and make sure that our understanding of the socialist movement is really secure.

We have a statement on the screen that says, socialist political parties were equally successful in different countries.

Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was false, but we must be able to justify our response.

So, two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that the SPD became the largest party in Germany by 1912, whilst the SDF had failed to win any seats in Britain by 1910.

The second justification says that the SDF became the largest party in Britain by 1912, whilst the SPD had failed to win any seats in Germany by 1910.

So, which one of those two justifications is correct? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was A, the SPD became the largest party in Germany by 1912, whilst the SDF had failed to win any seats in Britain by 1910.

So, we can see that socialism and the socialist movement was more successful in some countries than others.

For example, more successful politically in Germany than it was in Britain at gaining power.

And let's try another question.

Why did Karl Marx doubt that socialism could be established in Russia in the 19th century? Was it because Russia was too far from other parts of Europe, because Russia's government was too popular, or because Russia was not industrialised enough? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was C.

Marx was doubtful that socialism could be established in Russia in the 19th century, because the country was not industrialised enough.

For example, we need to keep in mind that only 2% of the country's population was made up of industrial workers.

Whereas Marx had said, for a proletarian revolution to take place and socialism to be created, the proletariat, the industrial workers, should have made up a majority of the country's population.

And we now have a statement on the screen that says, all socialists shared the same ideas as one another.

Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well then to everybody who said that that statement was false, but again, we need to be able to justify our answer.

So, two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that Mensheviks and Bolsheviks in Russia disagreed over whether a proletarian revolution was a good thing.

The second justification says that Mensheviks and Bolsheviks in Russia disagreed over the timing of any future proletarian revolution.

So, which one of those two justifications is correct? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was B.

The Mensheviks and Bolsheviks were both socialist or Marxist parties in Russia.

They therefore both supported the idea of a proletarian revolution, but they were divided over the timing of that revolution.

The Mensheviks thought that Russia wasn't ready for it yet.

So, supported gradual change.

Whereas the Bolsheviks supported the idea of immediate preparation, trying to make a revolution happen as soon as possible.

So, we are now in a good position to put all of our knowledge into practise.

We have a statement on the screen that says, groups following the ideas of Karl Marx created successful socialist movements across Europe before 1914.

How accurate is this statement? Remember to keep in mind the experience of socialist parties in different countries such as Britain, Germany, and Russia when you're answering this question.

So, pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that task.

So, I provided you with a statement that said, groups following the ideas of Karl Marx created successful socialist movements across Europe before 1914.

And I asked you how accurate that statement was.

Your answer may have included, the statement is only somewhat accurate.

Socialist movements began in many European countries before 1914.

Political parties like the SDF in Britain, the SPD in Germany, and Social Democratic Party in Russia were set up to support Marx's ideas.

However, not all of these parties were successful.

Although the SPD became the largest party in Germany by 1912, the Russian Social Democratic Party split within just five years.

This shows that the success of the socialist movement was uneven across Europe.

So, this answer is really strong, because it balances its overall judgement against the experience of groups in different parts of Europe, and that's very impressive.

So, really well done if your answer looks something like that model, which we've just seen.

And that means we've now reached the end of today's lesson.

So, we're in a good position to summarise our learning.

We've seen that Karl Marx developed the idea of communism.

Marx's theories suggested that class conflict was inevitable, such as between the proletarian class and a bourgeois class who exploited them.

Marx argued that the proletariat would revolt against the bourgeoisie in industrialised capitalist societies and create a socialist state.

Marx's ideas inspired socialist movements across Europe, but these varied in success.

So, well done for all of your effort during today's lesson.

It's been a pleasure to work through it with yourselves, and I look forward to seeing you again in future as we think further about the Russian Revolution and the impact that communism would have on Russian society.