This paper examines how few bodies of thought have received more attention, aroused more controversy, and wielded more influence
than that of Karl Marx. It discusses how, in the course of his break with Hegelian idealism, Marx developed an orientation toward society and history that he believed opened the way to new social sciences. It looks at how fundamental to his approach is the division of a social system into a material base, or a mode of production and a superstructure. It shows how Marx's analytical framework on industrial
capitalism is rooted in these early ideals and remains an essential part of critical analysis. It analyzes how, given the enormous changes since his time, certain strengths and weaknesses in his
theories have emerged and attempts to understand the existing capitalist exploitation of wage-labor and worker alienation by applying his theories to American society today.