Introduction to Marxism

Discipline Course – I

Semester - II

Paper : Marxism
Lesson Developer: Ambar Ahmad
College: Kamala Nehru, University of Delhi

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 Introduction to Marxism

Table of Contents

Chapter : Introduction to Marxism

 Introduction
o What is Marxism?

 Background and influences

o The influence of Hegel and the Young Hegelians
o The influence of nineteenth century Socialists.

 Materialist conception of History

o Dialectics
o Base and superstructure

 Capitalism
o Rise of Capitalism
o Labour under Capitalism
o Surplus Value
o Alienation

 Class and Class Consciousness

o What is Class
o Class Consciousness – ‘Class in itself’ and ‘Class for itself’

 Capitalism, class conflict and Crisis

 Revolution, Dictatorship of the Proletariat, Establishment of Communism

 Critique of Marxism

 Questions

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 Introduction to Marxism

 Bibliography

INTRODUCTION

Marxism is a political ideology that is associated primarily with the ideas of Karl Marx and
Frederick Engels. Unlike other major political philosophies such as liberalism and
conservatism, Marxism derives its nomenclature from the name of a philosopher.
However, Marx was not just a philosopher but also a revolutionary who sought to change
the world. In his famous words, ‘philosophers have only interpreted the world in various
ways, the point however is to change it.’ The ideas that came to be recognized as
Marxism constituted a powerful, critical and radical critique of mainstream liberal beliefs.
Marxist ideas are also important because in the twentieth century, close to forty percent
of the world’s population lived under regimes that claimed to be inspired by Marxist
ideology. His impact was not limited only to those who endorsed his ideas, but also those
who fervently opposed it and took measures to prevent their spread. At the level of
thought also, the impact of Marxism has been profound. It is no longer possible to

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 Introduction to Marxism

theorise about human society without taking into account Marx’s insights about the link
between the economic on the one hand and the intellectual, social, political, legal and
philosophical on the other.

It is important to remember that while certain core assumptions unify Marxist positions,
there is no singular Marxism, rather there is enormous variation in how the writings of
Karl Marx were interpreted. This task was undertaken first by Friederich Engels after the
death of Marx, and Engels was the closest collaborator and co-progenitor of Marxist
ideas. After Engels death, the authoritative voice seems to have been lost. Marxism can
be of several types, all of which share certain core assumptions, but vary according to
the interpretations made of Marx’s writings.

Karl Marx was born in Germany in 1818 into a family of Jewish origin that had
converted to Protestantism to escape the persecution that was the lot of Jews at
that time. Marx studied law in the University of Bonn, before transferring to the
University of Berlin to study philosophy. Afterwards he became a journalist with
the Rhenish Gazette, and in 1842, its editor. His writing was considered
provocative and soon the Government suppressed the paper. Marx embarked upon
his philosophical works. He was soon invited to become the co-editor of a joint
German and French newspaper, and arrived in Paris in 1843. This paper too was
soon suppressed and Marx also became a political refugee, unable to return to
Germany. In Paris, he interacted with radicals and revolutionaries and developed
his philosophical ideas. In 1844, Marx met F. Engels with whom he would share a
long and productive intellectual relationship. Marx soon moved to Brussels because
the Prussian government pressurized the French government to deal with the
revolutionaries residing there, but returned to Paris in 1848 after a new French
government revoked his expulsion order. Meanwhile the political climate of
Germany changed to the extent that Marx went back there, but could not stay long
and ultimately moved to London, where he lived for the rest of his life.

The early years in London were economically difficult for Marx and his family was
dependent on Engels financial help for several years. The situation improved when
Marx started writing for the New York Tribune and later in 1856, when his wife
Jenny received two inheritances. Marx now wholly devoted himself to the
exposition of communism.

By the time of his death in 1883, Marx’s ideas had already become famous and his
impact on modern thought and politics was well acknowledged.

Box 1 – Biography of Karl Marx

BACKGROUND AND INFLUENCES

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 Introduction to Marxism

Marx and Engels wrote in the backdrop of the industrial revolution and its aftermath in
Europe. The exploitation and misery that accompanied the establishment of capitalism
had already given birth to the socialist ideas that influenced Marx. Developed in the
aftermath of the French revolution and well established as a political philosophy by the
nineteenth century, Socialism opposed private property and critiqued liberalism and
capitalism, alleging that the rights that it claims to uphold are a sham. The ideas of
socialists such as Charles Fourier, Robert Owen and Saint-Simon impacted Marx,
although he later applied the term ‘utopian’ socialism to their work and claimed that he
himself alone advocated a ‘scientific’ socialism.

The most important influence on Marx’s work was Hegel’s philosophy, which pervaded
the intellectual climate of Germany at the time when Marx came to maturity. Avineri
claims that Marx was drawn to Hegel’s philosophy, because he saw in it a powerful
instrument for changing reality. (Avineri: 8)

What was Hegel’s philosophy? In his Phenomenology of Spirit, (phenomenology means

how one perceives something or has awareness of it) Hegel writes about Geist, which is
translated as mind or spirit, to refer to the spiritual side of the universe. There is
universal Mind and all minds are particular and limited manifestations of this universal
mind. He argues that individual minds are not conscious of their unity with the universal
Mind, and this alienates them from reality. For Hegel, human history is the progression
of the Mind towards self-realization and freedom. The development of the Mind is
dialectical. In the dialectic process, things turn into their opposites, and then into
something that brings together the two opposites in a higher synthesis. (Adams, Dyson:
104).

DIALECTICS

Dialectics is the method that was employed by Hegel in context of

ideas and later adopted by Marx who rejected idealism and gave
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primacy to the material. According to the dialectical methods,
every idea and form of being contains within itself contradictions
that give birth to new forms of being and new ideas, which are
 Introduction to Marxism

Box 2 - Dialectics

Individual minds are not aware of the universal nature of Mind, and do not recognize
themselves as part of it. This situation, of people considering other people as hostile and
external to oneself is alienation of the mind from itself, because all are in fact part of the
whole. In an alienated state, the mind is unfree and does not recognize its own powers.
The history of the world is therefore the history of the progress of the mind towards
consciousness and freedom, when all contradictions are resolved and the unity of
individual minds with the Universal Mind is achieved. (Singer: 20)

Hegel’s philosophy gave birth to the problem that if the mind achieving self-
consciousness and freedom is the goal of history, then this goal has been achieved with
Hegel’s work. Hegel himself had regarded the Prussian state as the supreme incarnation
of the Mind. This conservative conclusion was obviously unacceptable. The Young
Hegelians, who were a group of philosophers, attempted to overcome this problem by
distinguishing between the ‘superficial’ expression of Hegel’s philosophy and its ‘inner
core.’ This inner core was the account of Mind overcoming alienation, freeing itself from
illusions and achieving self-understanding and freedom. (Singer: 21)

The Young Hegelians replaced the mind/spirit with human consciousness of its own self
and its inherent potentials and therefore history then became the saga of human
liberation from illusions that prevent humankind from realizing itself. Bruno Bauer and
Ludwig Feuerbach argued that religion constitutes the primary illusion and is the main
cause of alienation of humankind from itself. They held that humans have created God
and endowed him with the properties that actually are themselves capable of. Wisdom,
love, benevolence, are attributes of humans but are attributed to God in a purified form.
The more we enrich the concept of God, the more we impoverish ourselves. Therefore
humanity can regain its lost ‘true nature’ by criticizing religion.

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 Introduction to Marxism

Marx was influenced by this idea and endorsed it, but soon he found it inadequate for
deeper social analysis and shifted his emphasis. In an essay written in 1843, On the
Jewish Question, he argued that economic life, and not religion, is the chief form of
human alienation. (Singer: 27) Therefore ending alienation requires a critical study of
economic life, which Marx proceeded to undertake.

Figure 1 - Karl Marx and Frederich Engels

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Marx_and_Engels.jpg

MATERIALIST CONCEPTION OF HISTORY

Marx presented a comprehensive and incisive critique of capitalism, the economic

system that had become well established in Europe as a consequence of the Industrial
revolution and which according to Marx had also given rise to its concomitant set of
justifying ideas and philosophy. However, before we examine Marx’s views on capitalism,
let us study how he employed the dialectical method, to arrive at an understanding of
human history.

Marx was influenced by Hegel, but he rejected idealism and adopted a materialist
worldview. Hegel was a proponent of idealism, the philosophical belief that ideas
constitute the ultimate reality, and they can exist independently of matter. The material
world is actually dependent on and mere approximation of the ideal and changes in ideas
and consciousness generate social and political changes. Marx and Engels adopted a
materialist view, claiming that the material world has objective reality independent of
ideas, mind or spirit. They rejected the notion that consciousness is the foundation of
reality. Mental processes and ideas exist, but only with a firm anchoring in the material
world, and not independently of it. We are already firmly bound with the material world
that we are seeking to comprehend through our thought processes (Eagleton 1997: 8).

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 Introduction to Marxism

Combining materialism with dialectics, Marx arrived at the understanding of history that
is central to his thought.

Historical materialism, also known as the materialist conception of history, is the

scientific core of Marxist theory. Marx and Engels considered it to be a ‘scientific’ method
that distinguished them from other strands of socialist thought because they believed
that it was derived not from philosophy or dogma, but from the observations of real
conditions. It was the belief that historical change emerges when fundamental changes
occur in how humankind arranges its production activity. In Engels words, historical
materialism

Designates that view of the course of history which seeks the ultimate cause and
the great moving power of all important historic events in the economic
development of society, in the changes in the mode of production and exchange,
in the consequent division of society into distinct classes, and in the struggle of
these classes against one another. (Bottomore: 234)

Several important Marxist assumptions derive from the materialist conception of history.

First, the economic structure of society comprised of the means of production and the
relations of production constitute its real foundation. These correspond to the level of
development of the society’s productive forces. As productive forces develop (as a
consequence of technological change etc), they clash with existing relations of
production which are constraints upon them. This results in conflict that is resolved with
the entrenchment of new ways of new productive systems and relations of production.
One can see how the dialectic method is applied here. The old system holds within itself
seeds of its own destruction that come forth with time, challenge it, break it down and
ultimately create something that is a synthesis of the old and the new. This new
productive system would better accommodate the productive capacity of the society.
Therefore, dialectical materialism is the belief that historical change is the consequence
of changes in how society conducts material production. Also, the economic base or
foundation of society determines its superstructure comprised of law, government,
education, religion, art, literature, beliefs and values.

Means of production refer to the material, tools and instruments that are
used to produce something. Prior to capitalism, the artisans and craft-
persons owned the means by which they produced. For example, the weaver
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produced cloth using the loom that he owned. After the industrial revolution,
machines replaced the earlier instruments of production. A central
characteristic of the capitalist system is the private ownership of the means
 Introduction to Marxism

Second, historical change is progressive. This means that over a period of time, society
transitions from one mode of production to another, each subsequent one being more
complex and sophisticated than before. Marx believed that prior to any settled
civilization, primitive communism existed, where property was communally owned by the
tribe. This was followed by early settled civilization where property was communally
held, but a tribute was paid to the despotic state. Marx referred to it as the Asiatic mode
of production. This was succeeded by the classical mode in which the economic system
was based upon slavery. Slavery gave way ultimately to the feudal mode, which was
eventually replaced by the bourgeois capitalist economic system. Each subsequent mode
denotes an expansion of the productive powers of society and the rearrangement of
relations of production accordingly. By this logic, capitalism is obviously a system in
which the productive capacities are at a peak, compared to all earlier forms. Capitalism
is however, not the end. It will also undergo crisis and be ultimately replaced by a better
system that Marx and Engels endorse, that is Communism. In fact Marx has written that
genuine human history would begin under communism, when all oppression and
alienation would be at an end.

Third, the ideas prevalent in any society are intimately connected with the material base
of production. These ideas legitimize the existing economic arrangements in tacit and
implicit ways. The dominant ideas are those of the ruling class who are in a position of
superiority in the scheme of material production. For instance, under feudalism, the
church encouraged people to accept their lot in life with meekness and resignation and
art and literature depicted the aristocracy as possessing virtues that make them able
rulers. Similarly, under capitalism, the dominant ideas celebrate enterprise, individuality
and competition as healthy for human society. Also, the changes in the means of
production were the primary dynamic of social change. Ideas did not change the world,
neither was shift in consciousness reflected by changing material reality. Rather,
changes in the material world impacted the realm of ideas and beliefs. Marx had argued

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 Introduction to Marxism

that it is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but, on the
contrary, their social existence that determines their consciousness.

Finally, changes in the means of production cause changes in the relations of production,
thereby leading to the creation of social and economic classes. This is most sharply
evident with the advent of capitalism.

CAPITALISM

Rise of Capitalism :

Several important technological innovations and discoveries such as the steam engine
and mechanization, led to the industrial revolution. Humans have always produced the
conditions of their material existence, but after the industrial revolution production
acquired a very specific and new form, giving birth to capitalism. Earlier, production
activity was undertaken mostly by skilled hands that produced complete articles. In
contrast, after mechanization, production was undertaken on previously unimaginable
scales through machines. This altered the mode of production and displaced former
workers. Mechanized production could produce better commodities, more efficiently,
faster and with less cost. Since machines could only be afforded by the wealthy, the
entire mode of production changed and the capitalist became all powerful, while the
meager property of the worker, their tools and looms etc that they earlier employed for
production, became worthless. They therefore, no longer had access to the means of
production, and could not produce independently. This ultimately led to the rise of the
factory system, first in the textile industry and later spreading to other branches, in
which the workers produced commodities, using means of production that were owned
by the capitalist. The commodities thus produced, were not the workers’ property but
belonged to the capitalist owner. Also, labour became more and more divided, so that
workers instead of doing a complete piece of work now did only a part of it. This division
made production cheaper and faster, but it also reduced labour to monotonous, and
endlessly repeated mechanical motions. Factory production made it impossible for
production by craft persons and artisans to survive.

Commodity – commodities are items that are produced for

exchange with other items or for money. When an item is produced,
it can satisfy some human need. For example, the production of a
pair of shoes satisfies the need to cover one’s feet. This power to
satisfy need is the use-value of a product. The item is called a
commodity when it also has exchange-value. It can command
other commodities or money in exchange.
As a commodity, the use-value of the item is overshadowed by the
exchange-value. The specific uses of the product become less
important than the value that the item has in the market. Also, as
use-value, commodities are specific and different from each other,
while as exchange
Institute value, University
of Life learning, they are qualitatively
of Delhi. equal and differ only
10
in the amount of value they can be exchanged for. Unlike exchange
value, use value of an item exists independently of the market or
any system of exchange. Marx had argued that the commodities
acquire a larger than life dimension obscuring the real and complex
 Introduction to Marxism

As a consequence, Marx and Engels argue, society got divided into two large classes.
One was the class of big capitalists who exclusively own the means of production. This is
the bourgeoisie class. The other was the class of the property-less, who could no
longer produce on their own as they no longer had the means to do so. These were the
proletariat who were obliged to sell their labour power to the bourgeoisie in order to
ensure their means of subsistence. Labour refers to the actual process of working or
producing, while labour power is the potential capacity for labour.

The bourgeoisie also destroys the power structures that were and gains political and
social power, emerging as the dominant class. The state and its apparatuses support the
ruling class and further their interests. The dominant ideology prevalent in society
justifies capitalism. Marx and Engels had argued that the principles of freedom, rights
and justice, depicted as the basis of a good society in liberal thought, were in truth a
sham, that hid from the view the actuality of oppression.

Figure 2 – Early twentieth century illustration about capitalist exploitation.

Source:

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 Introduction to Marxism

Labour Under Capitalism :

Under capitalism labour too becomes a commodity and its price is also determined (like
other commodities) by its cost of production. The cost of production of labour is simply
what is necessary to keep the worker alive. Therefore, the cost at which labour power is
purchased is the barest minimum that is necessary to prevent the workers from dying
off, and no more. The cost or wage will therefore be the lowest possible required for the
maintenance of life. Capitalists in their pursuit of profit exploit workers more and more,
who are reduced to the most miserable condition ever. The surplus value extracted
from the workers becomes the profit of the bourgeoisie whose ever increasing wealth
and power are in stark contrast to the growing impoverishment of the proletariat.

What is surplus value? The value of an object lies in the amount of labour that its
production requires. In the capitalist system, the worker whose labour power has been
purchased by the capitalist, produces, and therefore creates value through his labour.
However, he is paid not in accordance with the value that his labour generated, but only
the minimum wage necessary for subsistence. For instance, let us imagine that a worker
works for eight hours in the day and is paid a wage for this. The work that he does in the
first three hours creates value equivalent to what he gets paid. Then for the rest of the
five hours, he works and creates more value that will be appropriated by the capitalist.
The work done beyond the necessary first three hours is surplus labour that creates
surplus value and therefore profit for the capitalist. Consequently, the more the worker
works, the more surplus value and profit he generates for the capitalist, therefore
contributing to his own exploitation and greater misery.

Alienation :

Along with increasing immiseration, the workers also face alienation. A very important
concept in the Marxist world view, alienation arises from the commodification of labour
under capitalism. Marx derives the idea of alienation from Hegelian philosophy and
employs it for the purpose of depicting how humans become estranged from themselves
and their humanity under capitalism. In fact, not just the workers, but every person in
the capitalist society is alienated. Capitalists and workers are both locked in an abstract
relationship, and subject to the same economic forces that dehumanize and alienate
them both.

Marx believed that the human essence lies in labour. What is labour? It is not simply the
process of production, but also the activity through which we change the world around
us and are in the process also ourselves transformed. Through labour, we create our

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 Introduction to Marxism

world. It is through labour that we try to meet our needs. Labour when it involves
intelligence and creativity is the means to human self-fulfillment. Labour brings
enjoyment to the one engaged in it. It is also the confirmation of one’s creative
potential. When we labour, the product of our labour becomes an extension of our being.

It is also what distinguishes us from animals because according to Marx, while animals
only produce to satisfy needs, humans also produce without the goad of necessity. In
fact, for Marx, it is the state of freedom, when production takes place not as a
consequence of need, but for the sake of production itself. As Eagleton puts it, we are
most human and least like other animals when we produce freely, gratuitously,
independent of any immediate material need. (Eagleton 1997: 27)

Under capitalism, this capacity for labour becomes the ground of dehumanization and
the worker suffers from four types of alienation.

First, he is alienated from the very product of his labour. What he produces is an
extension of his self, but belongs to the capitalist. Moreover, the very wealth that the
workers create becomes a power over them, furthering their exploitation. Through
productive activity, they create the world, which then becomes an alien and hostile
power over them.

Second, the worker becomes alienated from the productive activity. Instead of
generating satisfaction, the repetitive and divided and joyless labour becomes a torment
in which creative urges remain unsatisfied.

Third, the worker becomes alienated from his species-being, because he produces not in
accordance with his human potential, or to satisfy mutual need, or to fulfill creative urge,
but unthinkingly to get exchange value for the labour expended.

Finally, and most importantly, the worker becomes alienated from other human beings
and from his own human potential. Relations of exchange replace the satisfaction of
mutual need.

As Marx puts it

The alienation of the worker means not only that his labour becomes an object ,
an external existence, but that it exists outside him, independently of him and
alien to him, and begins to confront him as an autonomous power, that the life
which he has bestowed on the object confronts him as hostile and alien.

The consequences of this alienation are not merely personal; it has profound social and
political implications. Under these conditions, the ties of community are constantly

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 Introduction to Marxism

strained by the abstract economic relations between people and by the system of private
property which leads each person to see in others, not the realization, but rather the
limitation of his own liberty. (Valerie and Bryson: 37)

It also makes one forget that the reality that we live in is our own human creation. Not
to recognize this, and to regard it as natural, inexplicable and independent of our own
activity, is for Marx, the crux of alienation. By alienation he means the condition in which
we forget that history is our own production, and come to be mastered by it as by an
alien force. (Eagleton 2001: 135)

Finally, alienation is not merely a descriptive concept, but a call for revolutionary change
of the world. (Bottomore: 11)

CLASS, CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS AND CLASS CONFLICT

In the previous sections we have studied Marx’s description of exploitation and alienation
of workers under a class divided capitalist society. Class is a centrally important concept
in the Marxist worldview. In fact, Marx had claimed that the history of all hitherto
existing societies was the history of class struggles. Although Marx and Engels believed
that classes were present in all societies, they considered class division to be most
prominent under capitalism.

What exactly does class mean?

Marx defined class as constituted of people living under economic conditions that
separated their mode of life, interests, and culture from other classes, and put them into
hostile opposition to them. Hence, classes exist because of their relationship with the
means of production.

Marx made a crucial distinction between the objective existence of a class and the
subjective awareness of belonging to a class. Often denoted as a distinction between
‘class in itself’ and ‘class for itself,’ it refers to the fact that when conditions of capitalist
production lead to a mass of people reduced to selling their labour power because they
lack the means of production, they are already a ‘class in itself’ or a class in relation to
capital. However, when they recognize their common interests as workers and become
aware of their situation as deriving from the membership of a particular class, they unite
and struggle. In other words, to be a ‘class for itself,’ it is essential that they are able to
identify their true interests, and to realize that their emancipation requires the overthrow
of the capitalist system, not merely its reform. The workers become a ‘class for itself’
when they develop Class Consciousness. For this, it is necessary to undermine the
false consciousness that develops out of the material and institutional base of capitalism

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 Introduction to Marxism

and misleads the masses into a false or incorrect understanding of their life situations.
For instance, ideological and cultural factors cloak the actuality of capitalist exploitation
and present it as a system that rewards enterprise and effort.

The development of class consciousness is crucial and Marx claimed that it would most
sharply developed under capitalism. Collective labour in large factories and new means
of communication facilitate the development of unity based on common class interests.
This in turn leads to the political organization of the workers.

Marx conceded that the common class interests of a person could come into conflict with
his individual temporary interest, weakening class unity. For instance, if a worker was
offered higher wages in return for the promise not to politically organize, or to join a
trade union, he might be tempted to advance his own individual interest rather than that
of the collective. This is why Marx laid great emphasis on class solidarity.

Marx and Engels did not undertake any sustained analysis of class in other societies and
focused on capitalism, a system under which, they claimed, the society was splitting into
two great and mutually hostile classes – the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Marx was
not unaware of the intermediate middle classes that obscured the boundaries between
the two classes, but he disregarded their rise. Instead, he argued that class polarization
would sharpen as the number of capitalists would shrink because of an increasing
tendency towards consolidated ownership and more and more people would be forced
into selling their labour power and hence becoming the proletariat. (Bottomore: 85-87)
Class conflict, which is the motor of change, will lead to the overthrow of capitalism.

CLASS CONFLICT AND CRISES – THE TWO REASONS FOR THE DOWNFALL OF
CAPITALISM

The question arises, how can the capitalist system, which is so well entrenched, and the
bourgeoisie which is so powerful, be overthrown? For Marx, the answer lies in dialectics.
Like all other systems, capitalism too contains within itself the seeds of its destruction.
This happens in two ways.

Marx had argued that the frenzied drive for profits would lead to over production of
goods which is possible only with the exploitation of workers. This same exploitation
would however also rob the workers of the ability to buy the goods produced, leading to
slump in demand. This would cause factory closures and unemployment which will
adversely impact the workers. Initially these crises could be managed by opening up new
markets, or other measures, but Marx argues, that over time, each economic slump will

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 Introduction to Marxism

occur faster and will be more devastating. Class conflict would intensify. Ultimately the
crisis will acquire proportions that will compel the working class to overthrow the
capitalist system and establish a worker’s regime.

Secondly, Marx claimed that under industrial capitalism itself provides the germinating
ground for its own overthrow. Industrial workers work in close proximity under similar
dehumanizing situation, therefore developing class consciousness, the value of
interdependence and the importance of collective strength. They will also realize the
fundamental disharmony between their interests and the interests of the bourgeoisie.
This will lead to the organization of workers in opposition to the capitalist class and the
proletariat will ultimately overthrow the system.

REVOLUTION

The belief in the necessity of a proletarian revolution to overthrow capitalism, establish

socialism and to achieve a universal state to freedom, distinguishes Marx’s thought from
that of other socialists. Utopian socialists had believed that the elites could act as the
agents to bring about socialism in a gradual manner. Marx rejected this idea. Based on
the actual experiences of the worker’s struggles in France and Germany, he concluded
that the proletariat would be the ones to bring about the revolutionary change. Reform
would be inadequate because the fundamental contradiction between the forces of
production and the relations of production could not be overcome without fundamentally
transforming the entire system. Also, the ruling class would fight to maintain its position
of privilege and power. It would have to be forcibly removed, rather than expecting them
to the ones to bring about change. Also, Marx had believed that revolution was
necessary for the setting up of a new society, because it would be only through the act
of revolution that working class people, socialised into subservient roles, would not just
become fit to rule, but would act as liberating agents for the whole of humanity. The
successful proletarian revolution would lead to the establishment of the dictatorship of
the proletariat. Marx envisaged the dictatorship of the proletariat to be a temporary
but necessary stage in the establishment of communism. It was required for the purpose
of consolidating the revolution and for protecting it against counter revolutionary
bourgeoisie forces that would inevitably attempt to regain the power that they had lost.
Also, this would be the transitional phase in which production would be oriented towards
meeting the needs of the future communist society. While under capitalism mass
production of goods had potentially made the end of scarcity possible, the pursuit of
profit ensured that this did not happen. One of the crucial tasks undertaken under the
dictatorship of the proletariat would be re-orienting production to satisfy needs on a
universal basis. For this the social relations of production underlying capitalism would

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 Introduction to Marxism

also have to be transformed. Marx had no fears that this dictatorship might become
oppressive. He argued that the fundamental difference between the rule of the
proletariat and its bourgeoisie predecessors was that while the latter rested upon the
suppression, indoctrination and passivity of the masses, the former would be built on the
active creativity of the workers. Secondly, unlike the bourgeoisie, the proletariat did not
exploit any class below it, so there was no possibility of new class relationships to
develop. Therefore, once the opposition of the bourgeoisie had been subdued, this
proletarian state would wither away, paving the way for communism. (Valerie and
Bryson: 145-147)

COMMUNISM

What would the communist society look like? Interestingly enough, Marx refrained from
giving any detailed accounts of the possible form of future communism. In fact, he
derided attempts by other socialists to create blueprints for the ideal communist society.
Marx held that history progresses as a consequence of changes in relations of
production, not changes in ideas. It is therefore not possible to predict precisely what a
communist society would look like. However, he did give some indications about his
vision of communism. In his own words,

‘communism is the positive abolition of private property, of human self-

alienation, and thus the real appropriation of human nature, through and for
man. It is therefore the return of man himself as a social, that is, really human,
being; a complete and conscious return which assimilates all the wealth of
previous development.' (Bottomore:104)

Communism is made possible by the expansion of the productive forces under

capitalism. Marx envisaged the communist society to be free of scarcity. Capitalist
production has the potential to fulfill human needs on a massive scale, but harnessed as
it is to the profit making, leads to misery and deprivation. Under communism, private
property and private means of production will be replaced with communal property and
socially organized means of production. The change in the economic basis of society will
also cause change in the consciousness. Greed, selfishness and egoism are not innate
human characteristics but reflective of the economic system that gives birth to them.
Under communism, people will no longer be pre-occupied with their individual interests
and would find happiness in working for the good of all. (Singer: 81)

The change in the organization of productive forces will yield several positive
consequences. Because the productive forces will be communally owned, there would be
no class divisions. The state which according to Marxist thought is the primary

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instrument for securing the interests of the ruling class, will no longer have reason to
exist and will ‘wither away.’

In this classless and stateless society, needs will be prioritized and a truly egalitarian
society will be established. Marx had said that communist societies should inscribe on its
banner, ‘from each according to his ability, and to each according to his need.’
Therefore, this equality was based on the idea of contribution to and extraction from
society on the basis of capacity and need. (Valerie and Bryson: 177)

The communist society would be the state of freedom – freedom from alienation,
freedom from scarcity, from want and also from false consciousness that prevents
people from seeing things as they actually are.

CRITIQUE

While Marxist ideas have undoubtedly been crucial in shaping our understanding of the
world, they have also been subjected to intense criticism some of which have been
discussed in this section.

Marx had claimed that his materialist account of historical progress was scientific
because it focused upon the real conditions and wasn’t derived from philosophy or
dogma alone. Both his claims of being scientific and his methodology of historical
materialism have been criticized. Karl Popper has criticized Marx’s work for being
‘historicist.’ He claimed that Marx considered history to have a rational character and
meaning that could be analysed with the right method and that there is an objective
Truth that can be discerned. (Issacs and Sparks: 234) He has also argued that Marx’s
methodology is unscientific, because he makes unfalsifiable claims.

Marx’s basic premise that the economic base determines the social and political
superstructure is considered reductionist and deterministic. If economic base was the
sole determinant, then societies at the same level of economic development and with
similar systems should show little variation in their social and political structures.
However, this is not so.

Marx’s believed that the course of history was inevitable and would ultimately lead to the
establishment of communism. He argued that under capitalism the situation of the
proletariat would make them rise and overthrow the capitalist system. However, at the
same time he also claims that the workers need to get rid of their false consciousness
and become enlightened about their true interests. There is therefore tension between
the structural explanation of the inevitability of communism and the notion that the
overthrow of capitalism has to be organized. Either way, there is little scope for the

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agency of the workers who are either subject to historical forces or are unable to develop
on their own the necessary consciousness to bring about a proletarian revolution.

Marxist explanation of class divisions in society has also been a source of major criticism.
Marx had claimed that under capitalism, society would be divided into two classes, and
that the proletariat would steadily grow in numbers and the capitalist class would shrink.
Marx ignored for the purpose of his analysis the growing middle class that could not be
considered either bourgeoisie or proletariat. Over time instead of a polarization of
classes, the growth of the middle class has blurred the sharp divisions. Secondly, the
primacy accorded to class over other categories is questionable. Belonging to a particular
economic class is important in determining a person’s life situation and experiences, but
this is not the only relevant factor. Other factors such as caste or gender may be equally
important. For instance, men and women belonging to the same economic class will have
different experiences in a patriarchal and gendered society. In Indian society, caste
identity often overshadows economic class identity. This is why we cannot assume that
class is the primary category of analysis.

Marx’s assumption that the working class movement would be the primary catalyst for
change has also been rendered doubtful in light of the fact that in the twentieth century,
radical movements such as the ecological or women’s movement do not accord primacy
to economic class.

Marx has also been criticized for advocating revolution instead of gradual piecemeal
change. Critics argue that gradual change has actually led to drastic improvement in the
lives and conditions of the working class, while revolutionary changes have inevitably led
to brutal and dictatorial regimes that have suppressed all mobilization, including the
working class movement.

It is argued that though Marx’s analysis of capitalism was undoubtedly brilliant, he failed
to foresee the flexibility and durability of the system. Capitalism has changed and
adapted and despite periodic crisis, has managed to remain robust.

Feminists have criticized Marx for overlooking the role of women’s unpaid labour and for
separating production and reproduction. They argue that the unpaid labour that women
undertake in the domestic sphere has direct bearing on the capitalist system. Not only
do women reproduce the labour force, they also provide the conditions necessary for
labour power to be regenerated. Hence, the labour of women directly contributes to the
value produced by the worker in the factory. Feminists are also critical of Marx for
considering the domestic sphere to be natural given, outside the purview of any analysis.

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Finally, Marx’s belief that capitalist production makes the end of scarcity possible is
questionable. The industrial revolution made possible the production of material goods
on previously unimaginable scales, but it also in the process, stripped the earth of its
natural resources to the point of an ecological crisis. Not all goods are ‘unlimited,’ and it
is now understood that material abundance has its own costs. Also, human needs do not
remain constant. When ‘basic’ needs are satisfied, new needs emerge the satisfaction of
which become the basis for a new kind of scarcity.

In response to the theoretical challenges and the socio-political and economic events
that occurred, Marxist ideas took new directions. In the new chapter we will study
Marxism after Marx.

EXERCISE

1. Critically analyse historical materialism as a core concept of Marxism.

2. Why is capitalism considered exploitative in Marxist thought? Explain with

reference to the concepts of alienation and surplus value.

3. How is the concept of class central to Marxism? Explain.

4. Critically examine the Marxist ideas about revolution and establishment of

communism.

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 Introduction to Marxism

5. What are the main criticisms of Marx’s theory? Discuss.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Singer, Peter (2009) Marx: A very short Introduction, Oxford University Press

Avineri, Schlomo (1968) The social and political thought of Karl Marx, Cambridge
University Press

Eagleton, Terry (1997), Marx and Freedom, Phoenix

Eagleton Terry (2011), Why Marx was Right, Yale University Press

Bottomore, Tom (Edited) (1983) A dictionary of Marxist Thought, Harvard University

Press

Adams and Dyson (2003) Fifty Major political Thinkers

Bryson and Blakeley ed. (2005) Marx and other four letter words, Pluto Press

Sparks, Chris and Issacs, Stuart (2004) Political Theorists in Context, Routledge

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Entry on Karl Marx from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy accessed on 1 July, 2013 at
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/marx/

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