MARXIST THEORY OF POLITICS

 Introduction :

Marxism, which is the most revolutionary ideology. Along with liberalism, Marxism ranks as the
most important philosophy. Liberalism, Idealism and Marxism are the three important theories of
Political Science. C.L Wayper has divided various views regarding the state into three parts, i.e., the
state as a machine, as an organism and as a class. In other words, the organic view of the state, the
mechanistic view of the state and the class view of the state. The organic view is idealism, the
mechanistic view is liberalism and the class view is Marxism.
The main principles of Marxism, are seven, i.e., Dialectical, Materialism, Historical Materialism,
Theory of Surplus Value, Class Struggle, Revolution, Dictatorship of the Proletariat and
Communism. The concept of Alienation and freedom generally associated with younger Marx or the
humanist face of Marxism have also been dealt with. (IGNOU, 2017)

 Marxism meaning and origin : (IGNOU, 2017)

Marxism generally refers to the ideas of the German philosopher, Karl Marx. But Marxism does not
mean exclusively the ideas of Marx. It includes the ideas of Marx, Friedrich Engels and their
supporters, who call themselves Marxists. Thus, Marxism refers to the body of ideas, which
predominantly contains the ideas of Karl Marx. Marxism is a living philosophy. Marxist thinkers are
continuously contributing to the philosophy of Marxism. Thus, it is said that Marx is dead, but
Marxism is still alive. The Marxist philosophy existed even before the birth of Karl Marx. This is the
reason David Mclellan has written three volumes on Marxism, i.e., Marxism before Marx; Thought
of Karl Marx and Marxism after Marx. Similarly, the Polish thinker Leszek Kolakowski has authored
three volumes on Marxism. The point once again is that Marxism does not mean only the ideas of
Karl Marx.

Marxism existed before Marx. These are known as the early socialist thinkers. Karl Marx calls them
Utopian Socialists. They were utopian, because their diagnosis of the social ills was correct, but their
remedy was wrong. It was impracticable, and therefore, they were called utopian Some important
utopian socialist thinkers are Robert Owen, Charles Fourier, Louis Blanc, Saint Simon, Sismondi and
Proudhon. Marx calls his socialism as ‘Scientific Socialism’. It is scientific, because it offers the
economic interpretation of history by using the scientific methodology of dialectical materialism. It
explains not only the true causes of exploitation, but also offers the scientific remedy of revolution
and dictatorship of the proletariat to cure the social ills of exploitation. It not only offers scientific
reasons for class division and also struggle in society, but also provides for a scientific mechanism to
establish a classless and exploitation less society.
 Basic Principles Of Marxiasm : (IGNOU, 2017)

The basic tenets of Marxism are the following: dialectical materialism, historical, materialism, the
theory of surplus value, class struggle, revolution, dictatorship of the proletariat and communism.
Now, these principles will be discussed in detail.

 Dialectical Materialism :

Dialectical materialism is the scientific methodology developed by Marx and Engels for the
interpretation of history. Here, Marx has borrowed heavily from his predecessors,
particularly, the Geman philosopher Hegel. Dialectics is a very old methodology, employed
to discover truth by exposing contradictions, through a clash of opposite ideas. Hegel refined
it by developing the trilogy of thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis. It is popularly known as the
Dialectical Triad. Progress or growth takes place through the dialectical process. At every
stage of growth, it is characterized by contradictions. These contradictions induce further
changes, progress, and development. The thesis is challenged by its anti-thesis. Both contain
elements of truth and falsehood. Truth is permanent, but falsehood is transitory. In the
ensuing conflict of the thesis and the anti-thesis, the truth remains, but the false elements are
destroyed. These false elements constitute contradictions. The true elements of both the thesis
and the anti-thesis are fused together in a synthesis. This evolved synthesis during the course
of time becomes a thesis and so, it is again challenged by its opposite anti-thesis, which again
results in a synthesis. This process of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis continues until the stage
of perfection is reached. In this evolutionary process, a stage will come, when there will be
no false elements. These will be destroyed at different stages of evolution. Ultimately, only
the truth remains, because it is never destroyrd.

 Historical Materialism :

Historical materialism is the application of dialectical materialism to the interpretation of

history. The world history has been divided into four stages: primitive communism, the
slavery system, feudalism and capitalism.
Primitive communism refers to the earliest part of human history. Production was limited
and meant for self-consumption. There was no surplus production and so there was no private
property. Since there was no private property, there was no exploitation. Since there was no
exploitation, there was no class division. Since there was no class division, there was no class
struggle. Since there was no class struggle, there was no state. It was, thus, a communist
society, but of a primitive type.
Technology is not static; it evolves continuously. Technological development results in the
improvement of production. This leads to surplus production, which results in the emergence
of private property..
The slave system is succeeded by feudalism. Feudal lords exploit the peasants and if the
peasants ever resist their exploitation, their resistance is ruthlessly crushed by the state, which
protects and serves the interests of the feudal lords. The peasants are a dependent and
exploited class, whereas the lords are a dominant and exploiting class.
Capitalism succeeds feudalism. Production is not for consumption by the self, but for profit.
The desire to maximize profit leads to a reduction in wages and a rise in working hours. The
bourgeois class owns the means of production, but the proletariat class carries out the
production. Proletariats are the industrial workers. They sell their labor in lieu of meager
wages.
  Theory of Surplus Value :

Marx has developed the theory of surplus value to explain the exploitation in the capitalist
society. Here, Marx was influenced by the theories of classical economists. He subscribed to
the labour theory of value. The value of a commodity is determined by the amount of labour
consumed in its production. if a worker has created a value of say Rs. 25,000 in a month and
has been paid Rs. 15,000 as wages, then the remaining Rs. 10,000 will constitute the profit of
the capitalist.

 Class Struggle :

According to Marx, the history of all hitherto existing society has been the history of class
struggle. Except the primitive communist stage, all historical ages have been characterised
by the antagonism between the dominant and dependent classes or the haves and the have
nots. This antagonism is caused by class contradictions; it is the result of exploitation by the
property owning class of the property less class.

 Revolution :

Revolution occurs when there is incompatibility between the means or forces of production
and the relations of production. To resolve this incompatibility, revolution occurs, which
brings corresponding changes in the relations of production and thus uperstructure to make it
compatible with the forces or means of production.

 Dictatorship of the Proletariat :

According to Marx, all states have been dictatorships and so the socialist state is no
exception. It is also a dictatorship. The state has always been used by one class to suppress
the other class. In the socialist state, the proletariat class will use the coercive organs of the
state such as the army, the police, prison, judicial system etc., against the bourgeois class.

 Communism :

In a communist society, there will be no private property in the form of private ownership of
the means of production. The means of production will be under the ownership of the
community. Since there will be no exploitation, there will be no class division, no property
owning and propertyless class, no haves and have nots or no dominant and dependent class.
Since there is no class division, there is no class struggle and so no need of the state. This is
the reason why a communist society will be a classless and stateless society.

 Conclusion :

Marxism is not only the philosophy of class antagonism, class conflict, class struggle and violent
revolution. It is basically a philosophy of humanism and freedom. Capitalist society has led to the
estrangement, alienation and loss of identity and freedom. Marxism as an approach for social
analysis and the philosophy of the oppressed class will continue to be relevant. It will inspire the
masses to strive for their emancipation. Marxism is a revolutionary philosophy. It is a philosophy of
social change. Marxism aims to establish an egalitarian society, free from exploitation of one class
by another. Only through Marxism, arguably, humanity will take a leap from the realm of necessity
to the realm of freedom.