Karl Marx: The Great Debate on

Socialism vs Capitalism

Lillian Do
Junior Division
Individual Website

Process Paper
Upon hearing the topic of leadership and legacies in history, I began to rack through the
many leaders that I knew. My brother had told me about a man named Karl Marx and how he
philosophized the theory of socialism, later becoming communism. I was quickly intrigued,
knowing that many people today have different opinions about how communism works. He too
had his own opinion, creating a new idea brought upon in todays government. I decided that I
would like to have my own opinion by learning Marxs perspective. His side would show me
how each type of government affects different types of people. That was when I knew I had to do
my NHD project on him.
Karl Marx was quite a well-rounded person. He had written newspapers and many books
documenting his ideas, so it wasnt difficult to do research on him. I first searched the internet,
typing in key words relating to my topic. In Yales Lillian Goldman Law Library, I managed to
find pages from Marxs book, The Communist Manifesto. Another website, called the Marxists
Archive, helped me find many articles from the newspaper he wrote and interviews conducted at
that time. Later, I went to a library finding books written about Marx. Jesse Jarnow had written a
book called Socialism: A Primary Source Analysis. In it, she stated how each system worked and
how Karl Marx and fellow partner, Friedrich Engels, helped lead these ideas into our society.
Another book was called Why Marx Was Right written by Terry Eagleton. I was very thankful to
be able to interview Andy Blunden from the Marxist Internet Archive over the e-mail. I thought
it was fascinating how some people seemed to just despise Marx, and some people honored his
idea.
I decided to create a website for my NHD project. By creating a website, I would be able
to add a variety of multimedia. I believe that a website can portray lots of information in a clear

way. A website will be able to deliver more freedom and creativity. I enjoy creating many digital
projects, so when I got the choice to pick a category, I immediately went to choose a website.
Karl Marx is easily one of the most influential people who affected our society. Marxs
theory of socialism lead to a new way we look at our government. We live in a society of
opinions. Many people could say Marx was an honored leader, while others could say his idea
had no contribution whatsoever. Either way, he led to a working class movement against the
bourgeoisie. There is evidence stating that capitalism is a seed of destruction, proving Marxs
idea of socialism to be the better choice. However, there is evidence stating the complete
opposite. Whatever side youre on, you would have to agree that Marx contributed to an idea that
still impacts our government and society. This shows that he was a leader, and his legacy still
continues to this day. (497 words)