ideas and ideologies essay on marxism

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Ideas and Ideologies Formative Essay1989 Words

Tara Subba

What is the Marxist approach to politics, power and the state?

The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.1

These words of Karl Marx in the opening lines of The Communist Manifesto directly

address a fundamental concept of the Communist doctrine and Marxist theory: the idea that class

antagonism, or the exploitation of one class by another , are the fundamental forces behind all

societal developments. This essay will examine the concepts of Politics, Power and the State

from a Marxist perspective and will begin with analysis of the most overarching and elusive

concept of Marxist political thought, followed by the Marxist theory of the State.2An analysis of

the notion of Power will be interwoven throughout examination of the two main ideas due to the

fact that Power is an essentially contested concept; its definition is interdependent with

definitions of the political and theoretical perspectives on power are, to an extent, theoretic

perspectives on politics itself.

In the 19th

century, the intellectual tenets of Marxism were inspired by two German

philosophers: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxism derives the aim of the communist

ideology and is a socio-economic and political world view based on historical materialism.3

This concept holds that societal development is determined by changes in the material conditions

of society (i.e. its technology and productive capacity), and is derived from the proposition that

that condition for the existence of any human society is the social production of material means

1Marx K. , and Engels F., The Communist Manifesto. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1967, P.11.

"Gregory P., Comparing Economic Systems in the Twenty-Frist Century : Marxs Theory of Change, George

Hoffman, 2003, P.62.3Campbell M., Communism and Philosophy, London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1980. P. 21.


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of livelihood. Moreover, Communism may be perceived as an ideal state in which genuine

human dignity will be realized. Marxists assert that Communism is the ultimate stage, the final

form of socialism and that it is to be achieved only after the destruction of the remnants of

capitalist institutions and ideas. To the Marxist, human dignity may be seen as a state of being in

which 1) politicalpoweris shared under a system of participatory democracy, 2) respectis given

to all individuals, 3) well-being is provided equally to all people on the basis of need, and 4)

enlightenmentis to be granted to all so that everyone will have the opportunity to become a well-

rounded, and productive citizen.4

Communist politics as the allocation of values

The first value, Power, refers to the ability to influence public policy and concerns the

distribution of policy-making rights and responsibilities to the socialist state.5Power is the most

significant of the four values because it is of great importance in determining the ways in which

other values will be allocated. Joseph Stalin held dictatorial power as leader of the Soviet Union

and according to traditionalists, governed a totalitarian regime (involving state control over

almost all aspects of Soviet life). He made personal choices that determined the distribution of

power, respect, well-being and enlightenment in Soviet society and exerted control through both

repressive and democratic means. On one hand, the use and maintenance of power by the state

may involve violent methods , for example, Stalins orchestration of the Great Purge (1934-

1939) - a campaign of political repression - which was motivated by the desire to remove

dissenters from the communist party, and which involved large scale purges of individuals

4Bertsch G.,Power and Policy in Communist Systems, New York: Wiley, 1978. P. 2-3.5Bertsch, P.2.


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as health, welfare and comfort.10

To Marxists, the state was excepted to contribute more to the

well being of their populations , and in turn, the basic principle guiding social relationship would

be from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs . However, this

principle presupposes an economic system in which there are no shortages, and where the

members of society do not have to pay for foods , goods or services.11

The final value : enlightenment, refers to the process by which individuals cast off their

bourgeois mentality , are re-educated in Marxism-Leninism, and are trained to contribute to

Communism.12Individuals are to be ideologically committed, knowledgeable about worldly

affairs, and loyal to their state involving sacrifice that would serve the construction and spread

of Communism. However, critics argue that Marxists underestimate the capacity for the

socioeconomic reform of capitalism by liberal democracy which may be conducted through

welfare state provision and state regulation of the free market.

In Politics, the State may be defined either by its policies or the ways in which its policies

are implemented. Marx defines the state as the provider of public goods, notably law and order,

but also economic goods that could not be provided efficiently by individuals.13 Marx and

Engels provided a Marxist theory of the state, which places emphasis on the dictatorship of the

proletariat. Although it is totalitarian in practice (whereby the state is perceived as the chief

weapon in the struggle to establish communism), its authoritarian nature is not so easily

10Bertsch, P.10.11

Bertsch, P.39.12Bertsch, P.2.13Elster, J.,Making Sense of Marx. Cambridge University Press, 1985. P. 399.


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identified. There is a paradox in the conception of the dictatorship; on one hand, Marx and

Engels advocate the abolition of the State, whereas on the other hand, the vast majority of

Marxist organizations advocate the authoritarian role of the state in society. In order to analyse

this contradiction of the state, one should have awareness of three most fundamental concepts of

Marxist theory of the State which, at the risk of simplification, are as follows :

The notion of Relative Scarcity

Engels stated the State is a product of society at a certain age of development.14

The

concept of relative scarcity is a condition in which the productivity of labor enables a group of

people to produce a surplus of goods and services that is, an amount that is more than enough

for survival, but is inadequate to allow a life of abundance. When productivity reaches this point,

class distinctions in society can be determined as either 1) the working class who spend most of

their time working and yet have low earnings (the majority) , or 2) the ruling elite who exploit

power over the working and survive without performing productive labor (the minority). The

Marxist theory of the state views that the division of society into class gives rise to the state.

Indeed, the dictatorship of the proletariat is the instrument of the vast majority to suppress the

exploiting minority; its establishment represents victory in the battle for democracy.

14Engels F., The Origin of the FamilyPrivate Property and the State, Foreign Languages Publishing House,

Moscow, 2004, p. 280.


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State as an instrument of the Ruling Class

This concept is reflected in the words of Marx when he states that The ruling ideas of

any epoch are the ideas of the ruling class".15

In the Marxist perspective, the class which is the

ruling material force of society is at the same time its ruling intellectual force , and therefore

holds great power in shaping the states ideology. The view implies however, that the state can be

taken over by the working class as it is merely an instrument of the capitalist class rather than an

intrinsic part of the class structure. However, this proposition implies that the state is passive,

and that it has little independence and restricted power , which is not always the case ( as

illustrated by the communist autocratic states of Mao and Stalin) . One should also note that

conflicting interests may counter-balance each other such that the state becomes an independent

institution.16

The expropriation of the Capitalists by the Capitalist State

Furthermore, Engels stated that the development of capitalism would result in the states

greater exertion of power in order to undertake the direction of production.17

In the interests

of stabilizing the system and defeating capitalism as a whole, the state intervenes in the

economy ; its capitalist mode of production forces out the workers, and eventually expropriates

the capitalists. Nevertheless, apart from former and current Communist countries, the state has

failed to carry our the amount of nationalization that Engels proposed. It is evident that even in

European countries in which the state manages public utilities, the bourgeoisie has been far from

expropriated.

15Festenstein M., and Kenny M., Political Ideologies: Oxford University Press, 2005. P. 15.

16Engels, The Origin of the FamilyPrivate Property and the State,P.283-4.17Engels, F., Socialism : Utopian and Scientific Strife, Progress publishers,1970. P.95-151.


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Ultimately, this essay has explored the Marxist approach to politics, power and the state.

When comparing the political performance of Communist states, one can ask : How well are

the various Communist systems performing in terms of their goals, action and outcomes related

to the values and the cause of human dignity? This is an ambiguous area as the Marxist theory

of the state is paradoxical ; the capitalist state promises to represent the interests of all society ,

as well as to defend the ruling elite. As capitalism develops and the working class expands, class

struggle becomes more intense and this political development is met by an increase in economic

state intervention and the expropriation of capitalists in the interests of defending capitalism as a

whole.

It should be noted, however, that the abstract nature of Marxism has led to varying

interpretations of its social and political values ; this provided communist leaders (namely Lenin,

Stalin and Mao) the flexibility to adopt and carry out policies to suit their own purposes and the

needs they perceived for their countries.18

Indeed, the Communist Party states of Eastern

Europe, Asia and Cuba will continuously search for policies to meet the needs of their people

and to improve the quality of life under socialism. Unfortunately, states will always face

opportunity costs; a high level of centralization, with its emphasis on efficiency may limit

individual freedom and initiative whilst on the other hand, an expansion of more humanistic

values and increasing personal choice may threaten the centralized coordination of the system.

Ultimately, it is how leaders deal with political choices which shapes the great diversity of

politics one finds among Communist states in our World today.

18Bertsch, P.7.


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Bibliography

Bertsch G.,Power and Policy in Communist Systems, New York: Wiley, 1978. Campbell M., Communism and Philosophy, London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1980. Elster, J.,Making Sense of Marx. Cambridge University Press, 1985. Engels, F., Socialism : Utopian and Scientific Strife, Progress publishers,1970. Engels F., The Origin of the FamilyPrivate Property and the State, Foreign Languages

Publishing House, Moscow, 2004.

Festenstein M., and Kenny M., Political Ideologies: Oxford University Press, 2005. Figes O., The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia, London: Allen Lane, 2007. Gregory P., Comparing Economic Systems in the Twenty-Frist Century : Marxs Theory

of Change, George Hoffman, 2003.

Handy C., Understanding Organizations, Oxford University Press, 1993. Marx K. , and Engels F., The Communist Manifesto. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1967.

ideas and ideologies essay on marxism

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