His grave stone inscription reads “Workers of all the land unite… The philosophers have only interpreted
the world, the point however is to change it” This quote particularly the
second half presents to you the kind of man Karl Marx was, he wanted to make a
difference. Marx enforced that man is the productive animal because we have the
ability to make tools and co-operate. For Aristotle man is the rational animal,
for Plato the political animal, for Kant the moral animal, for Hegel the
historic animal.
Marx is a technological determinist, which means that he
believed technology drove the development of social structure and cultural
values. Marx believed you could explain everything about a society by analysing
the way economic forces in shape, social, religious, legal and political
processes.
Russell tells us that Marx won’t have anything to do with
romanticism; his intention is purely to be scientific. He believed his methods
were similar to Darwin
The Communist
Manifesto
The Communist Manifesto is almost 150 years old; it outlines
Marxist theories about the nature of society and politics. The first section presents
two types of classes, the bourgeoisie being the rich upper class and the
proletariats being the poorer working class. The Bourgeoisie are the class of
modern capitalists, they are the owners of means of production and employers of
wage labour. They are in constant battle with the proletariats who are a class
of modern wage labourers with no role in society. Whereas the Bourgeoisies own
all factories, farms and properties in society, the proletariats have no status
and own nothing, they must buy from the Bourgeoisie.
Marx thinks proletarians are the class with the most
revolutionary potential, moving humanity towards freedom. He takes the side of
the property-less working class, because he believes “they have a world to win”
and “nothing to lose but their chains”, the reference of “chains” relates to
Rousseau’s famous quote “Man is born free but is everywhere in chains”
essentially meaning we are tied down by laws and more significantly in Marx’s
case by class struggles. The communist manifesto outlines his views on the
struggle between the class of the bourgeoisie and proletariats; this is clear
from the opening line “the history of all hitherto existing society is the
history of class struggles.” Every class struggle is a political struggle in
Marx’s view, he thinks the proletarians will eventually rise to power through
class struggle. They say that the Bourgeoisie are essentially giving the working
class the weapons that will eventually lead to their downfall.
The second section ‘Proletarians and Communists’ defends
communism, by saying that communists advocate “free love” and claims that
because people won’t have an incentive to work in a communist society therefore
will not perform labour. It also outlines a set of short term demands that Marx
and Engels believe if implemented would lead to a stateless and classless
society:
1.
Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
2.
A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
3.
Abolition of all right
of inheritance.
4.
Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
5.
Centralisation of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.
6.
Centralisation of the
means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.
7.
Extension of factories and instruments
of production owned by the State;
the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of
the soil generally in accordance with common.
8.
Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of
industrial armies, especially for
agriculture.
9.
Combination of
agriculture with manufacturing industries;
gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more
equitable distribution of the
population over the country.
10.
Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labour in its present form and combination of
education with industrial production.
Marx categorised a communist society as one close to Utopia
and similar to the Garden of Eden. There would be no difference between the
social status of a bin man or a doctor, as everyone’s job would be treated with
justice and equality. “From each according to ability, to each according to
need.” People would choose to work because it was something they enjoyed and
were skilled at. Marx believed that
capitalism caused men to alienate themselves and from one another. He stated “I
am not myself at work” he believed that work was the loss of the self because
people have to put on a front and act a certain way rather then be their true
self. There would be no reason to enforce a state as each individual would have
an equal share of money.
Marx’s definition of socialism is that the state owns whole means of production, this is the difference between socialism and communism. Socialism essentially causes the liquidation of the Bourgeoisie and therefore there would be no class struggle if they no longer exist; this would be the transitional phase towards communism. Communism is where the state is non existent; it withers away so we live in a state of nature. This relates back to Rousseau, Locke and Hobbes who all hold views on the state of nature. Hobbes believes that in a state of nature we all have the right to do what we will, and therefore life would be “nasty, brutish and short” promoting chaos and “war of all against all”. Hobbes supported an absolute monarchy which completely opposes Marx’s idea of a communist society. Locke believed in natural rights, he stated that “no one ought to harm another in his life, liberty and or property” and if disobeyed then they would be punished. He proposes that people in a state of nature would come together and be governed by their own natural law which is Reason. Rousseau, who was also a keen thinker in the state of nature, believed in a general will, whereby the people come together to agree upon laws based on their own opinion. It is the idea that you represent yourself as an individual. Rousseau believes it is society that civilises us and corrupts us by making us obsess about possessions. Marx would agree with Rousseau view as he too believed we did not need a state to govern us. However, Marx disagrees with Locke's view on protection of property as he held that we should abolish private property in a Communist society. However, this communist society has been criticised because the
Before a state mankind were communists, through alienation,
war, conflict and class division man is reunited with nature, and everyone ends
up proletariat and owning nothing. The manifesto ends with a similar phrase to
his gravestone, “working men of all countries unite!” showing his persuasion
towards a communist society, where each individual would unite together for
equality.
Finally I will end with the quote…
“Capitalism comes in to the world dripping from head to
good, from every pore, with blood and dirt.”
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