Marxist Philosophy [abridged]

2018

The essay referred to herein is in fact a brief summary, precision-cut and sharp to the point, as only the quintessential technocrat can deliver it, of all the issues and problems generations of intellectuals have agonized on for more than a century -and it is prompted by the ongoing bicentennial of Karl Marx' birthday. It is very tempting to offer a brief review given we believe we can make a contribution to better understanding of XIX century's giant of philosophy 1 .

A monograph by the Chinese academia expounding on basic opinions of Marxist philosophy, evealing the ignored or forgotten views by the classical textbook system of Marxist philosophy and ystematically demonstrating the opinions that Marx has ever expounded but not sufficiently developed with the view of practical philosophy; meanwhile coinciding with major contemporary issues in order to upgrade them into the basic opinions of Marxist philosophy and highlighting the modernity and contemporary significance of Marxist philosophy and comparison with postmodern thought. Focusing on the studies of the basic features and opinions of Marxist philosophy, the first part puts Marxist philosophy into the grand theoretical backgrounds of history of western philosophy and modern western philosophy, including postmodernism, to explore anew its theme, system features and contemporary significance. Part Two reinvestigates the historical process and thinking logic of Marx in founding historical materialism, explores the evolution of the ontology of Marxist philosophy after Marx, and analyzes, from Marx's point of view, the western philosophy of history, methods of western social science, postmodernism, post-colonialism, and the thought changes of Husserl and Derrida, with a view to highlighting the contemporary significance of Marxist philosophy.

Graduate Faculty Philosophy Journal, 1991

Abstract The political thought of Karl Marx is aimed to liberate workers all over the world and achieve an egalitarian society in which they (workers) will live in true freedom and enjoy ‘real value’ of their labour. He calls this type of society ‘communist society’. In this study, we examine within the purview of the Marxian theory (as a theoretical framework) how Marx hopes to achieve such a society. His life sketch is presented as a precursor to his intellectual enterprise. Themes such as dialectical materialism, materialistic interpretation of history, the theory of surplus value, the theory of class struggle, dictatorship of the proletariat, classless and stateless society, analysis of capitalism, and nature of communist society have been examined maximally. Dissecting from those purveyors, the study gives an evaluation of Marxist political thought. Marx overstates his case of ‘economic determinism’ however; he brings into political theory a new way of apprehending society which is based on class struggle. Or, Marx offers two set of ideas; first, a comprehensive theory of society to enable us to understand the problems of our society today and, second, which deciphers Marxist philosophy into practical political goals and action, offers us violent revolution as the most decisive way-out of the evils of capitalism in order to step into the ‘communist paradise’ i.e. classless/stateless society. The first of these we can accept, without accepting the second.

Biographical (and bibliographical) accounts of Marx mirror the making of Marx as Marx. This making and remaking appears in various social and historical contexts. Marx's own making sprang from ongoing events, controversies, and conflicts of his time. Classics, such as Marx, are continuously constructed and (de-) reconstructed. Terrell Carver presents this making of Marx as Marx. Unlike the biographer's view, Marx was forward-looking and action oriented. According to Carver, Even when he was presenting himself to readers, and reviewing his life to date, he was forwardlooking and action oriented in relation to his presumed audience, rather than backward-looking over something 'done' and therefore 'to be known', which is the biographer's eye view.

Marxism in the modern world: social-philosophical analysis, 2019

The paper concentrates on resolving the question: is it possible today to be guided by Marxism as an instrument of social transformation, is this teaching capable of contributing to social advancement? Facts are a stubborn thing: Marxism in its completeness is refuted. But the fact of the collapse of the attempts to put Marxism into practice is not a completely convincing argument against the social doctrine of Marx. The question, ultimately, goes back to the problem of the subjective factor of the moral, theoretical, and political maturity of those who turn Marxism in actual practice.

2024

Marxist philosophy or Marxist theory are works in philosophy that are strongly influenced by Karl Marx's materialist approach to theory, or works written by Marxists. Marxist philosophy may be broadly divided into Western Marxism, which drew out of various sources, and the official philosophy in the Soviet Union, which enforced a rigid reading of Marx called dialectical materialism. Marxist philosophy is not a strictly defined sub-field of philosophy, because the diverse influence of Marxist theory has extended into fields as varied as aesthetics, ethics, ontology, epistemology, theoretical psychology and philosophy of science, as well as its obvious influence on political philosophy and the philosophy of history. The key characteristics of Marxism in philosophy are its materialism. According to Marx, the economy formed the foundation upon which all other elements of society are based. Karl Marx's economic works are based heavily on the Classical economics of his day. That being the case, Marxism is a worldview and method that focuses on class relations and societal conflict that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, and a dialectical view of social transformation. Marxist methodology uses economic and sociopolitical inquiry and applies that to the critique and analysis of the development of capitalism and the role of class struggle in systemic economic change. Moreover, Marxism builds on a materialist understanding of societal development, taking as its starting point the necessary economic activities required to satisfy the material needs of human society. and its commitment to political practice as the end goal of all thought.

1997

This is the outline which guided my programme of research into the work of Karl Marx between 1992 and 1997. I intend to publish the full text in the near future. I provide links at the bottom to the doctoral work I proceeded to write and publish on the basis of this research programme.

Throughout all his life Karl Marx wrote angrily about capitalism. By use of a dialectic approach he was convinced that the working class had to unite and make a social revolution and thereby free them selves from exploitation. Marx himself was in many ways a dialectic person as we try to show in the note. So in some sense he became one with his scientific methodology.