Theory Within the Community of Pocatello

Karl Marx's Theory Within the Community of Pocatello

The research conducted in this paper looks at the key works of Karl Marx theories and how they can be correlated to mental health issues within the community of Pocatello and the effects it may lead to such as substance abuse, and violence. Within the research paper, several websites were used along with discussions with a person involved within the community of Pocatello such as local police Captain Roger Schei to validate the paper. Several points will be acknowledged throughout the paper including a description of Karl Marx and contribution to social theory, description of a local issue within Pocatello, applying the theorist's concepts, the way Marx would address the problem, and a how Marx might fail addressing the problem in modern society.

Ryan Gray, 349 Buchanan Ave, Grayryan@isu.edu, Information within this research paper has several websites and people who assisted with aiding this papers research solidification such as, Anon. 2018. Your Guide to Karl Marx: Who Was He, What Was the Communist Manifesto and Why Was He Important, Rosenthal, Rosen. 2017. A Marxist Theory of Mental Illness, Munro, Dan. 2015. Inside the $35 Billion Addiction Treatment Facility, Pocatello Police Captain Schei, Roger. 2018. & ISU Professor Hearn, Gesine.

Karl Marx was born May 5, 1818 in Trier, Germany and died in 1883 at the age of 65. He involved himself in many occupations such as being a philosopher, economist, politician, intellectualist, historian, and a revolutionist. His parents were Henrietta and Heinrich Marx who were both from a Jewish background before converting to Lutheranism. Marx studied at the University of Bonn, Germany before transferring to the University of Berlin where he finished with his doctorate.

Marx published several books and manuscripts but arguably his most impressive works were The Communist Manifesto and The Capital Volume 1. The Communist Manifesto focused on the overthrowing of capitalism and how the common working class would someday rise and seize the means of production, and The Capital Volume 1 publication focused on the system of capitalism and how it worked within. Marx married Jenny von Westphalen in 1843. They emigrated to Paris where they were later banished for Marx's political beliefs. They later settled in London for the rest of their lives.

Marx developed an interest in the idea of communism during his life in the 19th-century, and poverty seemed to be encumbering during this

time. He believed that the working class would eventually be pushed too far and would overthrow the system. He believed the needs of society would eventually overcome the system and the system would soon be outcasted causing oppression to stop. Even with Marx's belief in communism he still saw himself as a Democrat and did not believe in totalitarian dictatorship despite his beliefs possibly sparking the rise of Russian communism involving Stalin's mass murders and incarcerations.

He believed that officials should still be elected and paid the same amount as the common worker. Marx hoped for society to become more humane and claimed how capitalism only sought to maximize profit which would eventually end horrifically due to the lack of concern for the overall satisfaction for the common working class. Marx envisioned a communist system in which high levels of industrial production would ensure a good standard of living for the entire population (History Extra, 2018).

One of the regional problems occurring in the community of Pocatello is mental health. Local police Captain Roger Schei says that one of the issues within the community is, mental health. It's one of the things we deal with most. Bad mental health can be caused by various reasons, but the use of hard drugs and alcohol are certainly some of the main reasons for mental health and violence in Pocatello. The abused substances that are usually involved with mental health include hallucinogens, methamphetamines, opiates, and alcohol. Captain Schei stated, Methamphetamines is the hardest drug that is highly trafficked.

Labs have gone down locally and most of it is coming from Mexico. Obviously, these substances should be consumed in moderation (alcohol) or not at all, but the drugs and alcohol are usually abused tremendously causing long/short term mental issues and a relentless dependency that can cause ordinary people to commit actions that they normally would never do in a sober state of mind. Many house robberies involving drugs occur due to severe addiction. Drug abusers needing their next fix are willing to do unimaginable things to sell stolen items for the purchase of their next batch of abusive substances.

Furthermore, the consumer can possibly be on an adrenalin type of high seeking out to fix their needs with violent acts such as robberies. Unfortunately, mental health incidents can sometimes lead to domestic violence and other problems. The act of house robberies can lead to violence, but many accounts can be claimed within the consumers own household. Since alcohol is not illegal for purchasing, many households suffer from an alcoholic within the family, but alcohol and drugs can be correlated with each other. Due to the use of abused substances, mental breakdowns or violent outbursts can possibly cause violence towards friends, family, or partners. Making the call to the local police, like Captain Schei, is how they show up and sort out the problem.

Many recovering substance abusers are put into drug rehabilitation to allow them a chance to recover from their drug dependence and mental health issues. The men and women recovering from their problems are often met with an abundance of drug and mental health counseling, therapy, and prescriptions. These methods are intended to help the user to get off the abused street drugs in a safe manner. Unfortunately, medical prescriptions have their own addiction to the user and sometimes it can be difficult for the recovering user to stop the urge of consuming the prescribed substance.

In addition, prescribed substances are often expensive, and Marx would argue that capitalistic systems use pharmacies to their own advantage allowing pharmaceutical organizations to gain power and in return, capitalism gains its own profit. The seemingly never-ending cycle of drug addicts suffering from mental health issues coming in and out of rehabilitation centers allow pharmacies to profit off patients. Furthermore, conventional recovering users go through a 12-step program but within the program AA counseling has unfortunate success rates only helping 5-10% of people (Lance Dodes, par. ?). Meaning that many users fail to recover from using abused substances and find themselves back in a repeating pattern going in and out of rehabilitation. On another note, many long-term abusers who use can often form other medical issues such as high blood pressure, anxiety, motor impairment, exedra. Leading them back to the pharmacy for additional prescriptions.

In addition, many substance abusers do suffer from mental health problems but often, just as many do not. Abusers who suffer from addiction are often convinced that they suffer from mental illness when in fact they do not, allowing them the excuse for more prescriptions that they may need. This falls along the lines of Karl Marx's theory on how capitalism only has one motive which is to maximize their profit.
While it is complicated, an abundance of money comes out of pocket for prescribed substances. Additionally, many people may be medically insured through various ways such as, government jobs, certain governmental programs, or people who pay enough out of pocket to reach a certain cap in which the rest is free. Regardless, pharmacies are profiting their money back in the end.

Marx would argue that many substance abusers are often in a lower class and were never given the chance to succeed in life as fairly as others. People in lower classes are often more susceptible to involve themselves with abusive substances. The capitalistic system allows a group of classes to flourish while the other half is dealt with the left overs of society. Marx believed in a working class that is paid fairly throughout society by distributing the good of society evenly regardless of the workers position. In addition, Marx would state if pharmacies did not aim to profit in a capitalistic way and allowed pharmaceutical prescriptions to be a reasonable price positive changes would be made. By making true efforts not convincing users prescribed substances when it may not be needed, society would be treated with true concerned treatment allowing future progress to be increased.

Furthermore, Marx believed that productive activity will keep people happier. Many people suffering mental illness from substance abuse within Pocatello are often left with having under paid jobs, lower class jobs, and nothing to be particularly proud of. Inevitably, these factors lead to having them resort to hard substances trying to fill what is missing in their lives. With high productive activity for the people in Pocatello should allow them to be more involved with the community.

Earning jobs one can be proud of and allowing less time for them to spend consuming harmful substances, allows mental issues to decrease within Pocatello. Moreover, people are naturally social and when involved within jobs people have more opportunity to express themselves. This allows them to establish friendships in a productive and safe manner. Even when people become sick of one another they can fully realize who they are as an individual and fully establish themselves within the community. People within Pocatello have different talents in the workforce and have potential to flourish in different ways. If a system were to be established where one's preferred talents could be applied in a beneficial way to the community, many people would find themselves abundantly more satisfied with society. This will allow people to find themselves feeling the need to give back and be more productive.

Even though Karl Marx's theory inspired millions that life will not forever be miserable as a continues vicious cycle of inequality, he failed to address a few problems in today's modern society. One being the limited resources society is dealt with, but Marx pushed for high levels of production that would secure a satisfactory style of living for all. Studies from History Extra stated with limited resources in the world, not every person can be satisfied without an inescapable diminishing of the world and its goods and resources. This strategy may ruin the planet to the point of a potentially very hazardous living. Since society is dealt with limited resources, people are limited to having jobs. With less jobs decreasing the satisfaction of people in the workforce, increases the likelihood of mental illness issues when people are dealt with less high productive activity.

Furthermore, Marx did not consider the rate of overpopulation and the attempt to efficiently satisfy the needs of every person. With his theory put into a realistic perspective, his idea for world-wide equality becomes drastically more difficult if not impossible to accomplish. With over population and limited resources being accounted for, his theory as a high industrial production communistic society for pure equality seems to become very farfetched. With over population being accounted for, people will find themselves struggling more to find productive activities increasing the use of abusive substances and mental illness issues.

However, History Extra stated that he did account for at least one issue. That the people who do profit from the capitalistic system such as the pharmaceutical industry would attempt to keep the system as it is for as long as possible. Having no regard to the outcome of overall satisfaction and needs for the current and future civilizations. This problem is happening presently in American society. With people in charge of capitalistic systems allowing companies to stay as they are, allows others to suffer. With this system in place, people will suffer from lack of opportunities in the workforce and productive activity further increasing mental health issues.

Marx also argues that many people turn to religion to change their lives for the better. Marx has stated that people are real with real problems and they need to handle their situations in a practical way with human reason. He believed that religion was an invention created to distract people from real issues that needed practical reasoning rather than the fear of doing wrong and being banished to hell in the afterlife. Although his belief is agreeable in some respects, many people who turn to religion regardless of their faith, are trying to efficiently better themselves. Whether it is believing in a higher power or not the method is worth consideration in modern society. If religion effects the individual in a positive manner, in the end, it is bettering society all together.

Karl Marx had many ideas to help solve struggles by attempting to better society. His theory consists of numerous positive ideas intended to satisfy the overall population and to diminish the capitalistic systems and its ideals. When Marx's theory is applied to Pocatello and its issues on mental health, it has potential to address many aspects in a positive way. He addresses the issues people experience when positive productivity is diminished through capitalistic systems and negative effects that occur from their money profiting intents. Marx failed to mention a few key issues in present time, but his theory is still driven with positive intent to better society and help the satisfaction of the population. When his theory is correlated with the mental health issues due to substance abuse, an abundance of positive outcomes can be made due to increase of high productive activity, diminishing capitalism, and satisfaction for all in society.

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