Question

Tell something about Marxism

Answer 1

the political and economic theories of karl marx and friedrich engels

Answer 2

Answer:

Definition: Marxism is a whole world view and this view has been explained by a method or principle which is called dialectical materialism.

In general terms, Marxism is the worldview of social, economic and political conditions.

About founder: Karl Marx has interpreted the facts that he has collected during his lifetime in the background of the particular idea or thought or what may be called philosophy. He studied the social, economic and political conditions of the various countries and especially the capitalist states of the world and on the basis of his study and investigation, he drew certain conclusions. Behind every conclusion there are facts. 

Key features of Marxism:

According to Korsch, there are few important features of Marxism:

1. All the tenets of Marxism are particular and not general. It has not built up any general theory which is applicable in all places. Marx’s concept of “base” and “superstructure is a real concept, but its application differs from place to place. The only statements that are valid are particular descriptions of particular phenomena at a given stage of history”.

2. Marxism is not science or philosophy. It is simply a critical and practical analysis of existing society. Naturally, it can be called a praxis. Marxism is based on exact and verifiable knowledge. It can be empirically tested or verified. Hence it is an empirical doctrine.

3. The central subject of Marxism is a capitalist society. Marx scanned almost all the important aspects of capitalist society by applying dialectical materialism.

4. Its chief aim is not simply to analyse the capitalist society but to change it. Marx has said that the philosophers have interpreted the world, but the real task is to change the world or society.

Fundamental Principles of Marxism:

Let us briefly state (following Kolakowski) these fundamental principles:

1. Both Hegel and Marx have dealt with a basic question – How is man to be reconciled with him and with the world? Hegel was of opinion that mind of man passes through history and finally comes to realize what is the world.

According to Marx man is not concerned with Absolute Idea or Spirit but with the stark reality. This he tries to understand and explain in the background of his own life. He always interprets the world around him.

2. Both Hegel and Marx thought that man was the product of self-knowledge and he goes on reconciling with the world. But to Hegel the concept of self- knowledge is associated with Spirit or Absolute Idea.

3. In a capitalist economy, there is a division of labour which means that a labour produces a single or small part of an article. The capitalist system has introduced this division of labour to have better results. 

4. The general meaning of alienation is that it is the “subjugation of man by his own work, which has assumed the guise of independent things”. The entire economic process including production and distribution is beyond the control of workers. They work just like a machine.

5. In the opinion of Marx, since alienation is the greatest evil of capitalist system the workers must be freed from this evil. But he has warned us by saying that there is no scope of freeing individuals from the curse of alienation because it is an integral part of the capitalist system.

6. If we go through Marx’s analysis we shall find that the only way of freeing man from alienation is the establishment of communism or communist society.

Putting it in the words of Kalokowski:

“Communism puts an end to the division of life into public and private spheres and to the difference between civil society and the state, it does away with the need for political institutions, political authority and governments, private property and its source in the division of labour. It destroys the class system and exploitation; it heals the split in man’s nature and the crippled one-sided development of the indi­vidual”.

7. Only in communism man gets the full opportunity to flourish his latent qualities and this makes him a perfect human being. In a capitalist society, he is deprived of this. Man has many good qualities and abilities.Capitalism suppresses them. But in communism, he gets full scope to develop them and ultimately he arrives at the stage which he desires. 

8. The Utopian socialists “imagined” that communism could be achieved through the repeated and fervent appeal to the capitalists. But Marx did not accept it. 

9. About consciousness Marx’s opinion is clear. He says that the consciousness of the proletariat is not all. That is, it may be passive or active. If the consciousness is of the former type emancipation from exploitation will not be possible because the passive consciousness cannot do the job.

10. Marx also talked about various aspects of consciousness. For example, proletarians will be conscious of their own class. Again, be conscious of the fact that only struggle against the bourgeoisie is the way of freedom.