Then

country.commi
Marx and Engels as 19

24 ardent
(as
late

writing
Marx
free
the
with co

In 1842
projected
Marx
with
lifelo
their
manufactu
ha
Engels
Chapter Outline the
attack
on t
General Introduction líved

Dialectical Materialism thepligh

poverty.
Historical Materialism Fror
Theory of Revolution his pron
Doctrine of Class Conflict Philosoj

Concept of Surplus Value (1843);

Struggl
Concept of Freedom
and Th
Role of Private Property
Fami.
> ACritical Appraisal (1848)
Manif
Capit
1879
of M
inclu

(188
I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Cont
cani
Karl Marx (1818-83) and Fricdrich Engels (1820-95)were German scholarsand writers

who areregarded to be the chief exponents of an influencial school of thought,identified

as Marxismt Marx was an outstanding social scientist, historian and revolutionarywho phi
the
undertook a critical analysisof capitalist society, propounded materialist interpretation

of history, and showed the way for transition to communism Hewas born into a
(d
professional middle-class family. His father was an enlightenedlawyer with a rational
an
outlook. He studied philosophy and history at several German universities including

the University of Berlin where he took keen interest in G.W.F. Hegel's (1770-1831)
political philosophy.
Marx evolved his radical outlook in his early days which prevented him from
Securing an academic position -his favourite job. So he turned to journalism. As a
Journalist, he came into contact with contemporary debates in law and economics. Ths
led him to revaluate Hegel's political philosophy from a materialist viewpoint.Because
of hisextremely radical views, he not only lost his job but was also expelled trom te
 MARX AND
he movedI to France the ENGELS
Then home of 267
and recorded his ideas socialist
country,
communistas on thought,
Here he
Marx 's
Econonic and communism which
were laterbecame an
ardent as 1932)
late
sought tothe contrast
Philosophic
(as Marx alienation of published
Manuscripts of
writing development of human labour 1844.In this
beings prevailing in
the frce engaged in
with communist society. cooperative
capitalist
society
Marx met Engels in Paris. production in
his
projected1842 Engels
In was a
of the social
on most and brilliant
with
Marx economicissues. intellectual who
friendship and collaboration,. This agreed
lifelong Engels markedthe
their was the son beginning of
whose business was
spread from of a
wealthy
manutàcturer
a considerable business Germany to textile-
had acumen, yet his Manchester
(England).
Engels
the mill-owners of his home community intellectual interests
led him to
attack
who claimed to
on the profits squeezed from workers. In
be good Christians,
his early yet
lived
as evident in their writing, he
of workers vividly described
squalid housing,
theplight poor health and
degrading
poverty.
From 1849 Marx lived in England forthe rest of
his life where he
workS. Marx's most important produced most of
his prominent works, apart from his
Manuscripts of 1844, include: Economic and
Philosophic Critique of
Hegel 's Philosophy
on Feuerbach (1845); The of Right
(1843); Theses Pooverty of
Philosophy (1847); The
Class
France (l850); A Contribution to the Critique
lein
of Political Economv (1859):
ToCvil War in France (1871 ), Marx and Engels
joint works include:The Holv
e(1845):The German ldeology (1845-46);
and Manifesto the Communist Party of

1848),DODularly known as The Communist

Manifesto.English edition of the Communist
Monifesto (1888) was claborately annotated by Engels.Then Marx's monumental work
Capital was published in nree volumes. Its first
volume was published by Marx in
1879; its second and third volumes were edited and published by Engels after the death

of Marx in 1885 and 1894 respectively. Most important of Engels'independentworks

include: On Authority (1873);Anti-Dühring (1877-78); Socialism:Utopian and Scientific

(1880); and The Origin of theFamily, Private Property and the State (1884).Engels
contribution to the Marxist theory is so significant that many of its prominent issues

cannot be fully understood without reference to Engels' contribution thereto.

Marx and Engels made immense contribution to sociology, economics and

philosophy, etc. Their major contribution to political philosophy may be studied under

the following heads:

Materialism; (b) Historical Materlalism; (c)Theory of Revolution;
(a) Dialectical
Surplus Value; ()Theory of Freedom;

.9 oelrine of Class Conflict: (e) Concept of

and (g) Role of

Dialectical

that
Private Property.

DIALECTICAL MATERIALISVM

Imaterialism represents the philosophical

GW.F. Hegel (1770-1831 ),famous German philosopher,
basis of Marxism. It may
believed that
be recalled

'idea' or
all historical
It was the force behind
'consciousness was the essence of the universe. of
was the essence
that 'matter'
development. Marx rejected this view and postulated
 268 WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT

the universe,which embodied the force behind all manifestations of social tha
representcdthe change. rather
Marx each stage of social development corresponding Fo
material conditions of socicty. Thus Marx advanced economic
development of the stage
the of

'materialism' against Hegel's theory of 'idealism' theory of

IDEALISM Issz.
The
A philosophical doctrine which regards ldea' or 'consciousness', Philoso
asthe
essence of the universe and treats all social institutions as the Path
of
manifestaion
of the prevailing idea.
Mediu
Final
MATERIALISM
Dev

A philosophical doctrine which regards matter' as the essence of the

universe and treats 'consciousness' as the mere reflection of the prevailing
Engel
material conditions.
laws ofm
law
three
Hegel had tried to explain the mechanism of social change through dialectical he
world:
method. Marx sought tocombine Hegel s dialectical method with his own philosophy
materialism. The term dialectical originally to the
(1) T
referred process whereby ideas are
of
(
formed and clarified in the course of intellectual debate. A proposition, or thesis, is first
advanced, and then challenged by a counter-proposition, or antithesis. Since both are
apt to be partly true, the normal outcome oftheir encounter is a revised proposition, or
synthesis,that combines the valid elements of the two. (2)

Hegel believed that socialinstitutions only reflect the ideas behind them,and that it

is the movement of ideas,through the dialectical process, which is responsible for the

development of social institutions. Hegel saw nation-state as the highest stageof social
(3)
evolution,as the embodiment of truth,“the march of God on earth'- the perfect form of
social institutions. While(Marx adopted Hegel's mechanism of social change the -
,
frameworkof thesis antithesis'and 'synthesis'- he refused to recognize the 'idea' or
consciousness as the real force behind social evolution. Instead, Marx believed, the

social institutions are shaped by the material conditions of human life, which are

determined by the mode economic production in society. Thus Marg sought to replace

Hegel 's 'dialectical idealism' by his own dialectical materialism George H. Sabine

(4 History of Political Theory; 1973 edition) has noted that Marx's philosophy is

marked by continuity with Hegel's philosophy in important respects:

In the first place, he (Marx)continued to believe that the dialectic was a powerful prine
logical method uniquely capable of demonstrating a law of social development,
and in consequence his philosophy, like Hegel's was a philosophy of history
..Though Marx construed his philosophy as a form of materialism, he still used the
dialectic to Support a theory social progress in which higher moral values
of
are
Wh
necessarily realized. In the second place, forMarx as for Hegel the driving force of ma
social change is struggle,and the determining factorin the last resort is power. Tne sub
struggle is between social classes rather than nations, and thepower is economn ano
ding
change.
ihestageFor than political, political MARXAND
rather power ENGELS
of being in 269
theory economic position. Marx's
of theory a
COMPARATIVE consequence of
STUDy OF
HEGEL AND MARX
as The Issue Hegel s View
the Basis ldealism Marx's View
Philosophical
estaion
Path of Development Dialectical Materialism

Medium of Progress War among Dialectical

Nations
Final Stage of Class
Conflict
Supremacy of the
of Development Classless and
the Nation-State
Stateless
aling Society
imanols
(Anti-Dühring; 1878) sought
todefine
of and development
motion dialectics as"the
science ofthe
laws of nature, general
human society and
which
threeilaws
of dialectics can be thought'. He
illustrated with identified
ialectical suitable
world; hence they exemplify the laws
examples fromthe
of material
dialectical
ailosophy
ideasare ) The transformation
of quantityinto
and viceversa: At certain
quality
materialism:

s,is (auantity),
first water 1S Converted temperatures
1ce or steam (change in
into
Doth are and steam could be quality); water, ice
identified as changes in
the quality of the same
changes in temperature (quantity); thing with
tion,or
(2) The interpenetrationof opposites:
Hard and soft are opposite of each other,
d that in the but
it material world they interpenetrate
into each other; iron is
hard, but it can
for the be moulded into different shapes
which shows that it is also soft; a floweris soft
SOcial but it can stay in its shape which shows that it is also hard: and
rm of (3) The negation ofnegation: This is the basic principle of
progress. Every stage of
- the social development contains the seeds of its own
decay; its decay is followed by
ea'or a higher stage of development until a perfect society is evolved. In the material

, the
world, when we sow a seed, it sprouts.In this process, the seed is destroyed. The

are seed-bud which appears is the negation of the seed.Then it grows into plant. In

lace this process, the seed-bud is destroyed. The plant is the negationof the seed

bine bud. Thereafter ear ofcorn grows on it and the plantdries and decays. The ear of

y is com is the negation of the plant. It reproduces seed in larger quantity and better

quality. This is the symptom of progress.

demonstrated through the
ful Application of the laws of dialectics in social life is

nt,
principle of historicalmaterialism.

ry
II, H
he
HISTORICAL MATERIALISM
re
While basis of Marxism, historical
bf dialectical materialism represents the philosophical materialism
is the
dialectical
other words,
materialism
represents its empirical basis. In a subject
of social
is
subject of materialism
but historical
and
philosophical speculation,
historical science.
investigation, like an empirical
 270 WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT

EMPIRICAL SCIENCE

An organized system of knowledge based on observation facts forces

sense-experience(sight, sound, smell, taste and touch), and through
of logical relationship between the observed facts. investigation ofpro
(tools.

materialism implies that in any given epochthe exper

At the outset, historical
const
relations of society - the means whercby men and women provide for their CConomic
stage
produce, exchange, and distributethethings they regard necessaryfor the sustenarce class
of their needs - exert a preponderant influencein shapingthe progress of satisfactiOn
society and
moulding social, political, intellectual, and ethical relationships. In other in Scaro
typesof social relations prevailing at any stage of historical development
words,all are
are
by the economic conditions. determined imp
argument inthis behalf begins with thesimple truth that the
Marx's

purpose of economic production because men in

isolation. A perfect societywill secure
its members.But according to
survival of
dependsupon his efficiency in the production of material things. Production
the most importantof allhuman activity. Society is,
comes into existenceprimarily for
ass0ciationproduce more than men:
all the necessities of life to the

the dialectic concept,perfection

TnYan

therefore.

satisfaction of all
. edu
Con
inte

pro
pro
its

comes through a very long for

processof conflict between antagonistic
elements. Society, since its inception, has
been subjectto internal stresses and always pro
strains. Unsatisfiedneeds are,
ofthe defective modes ofproduction.But therefore, the reslt wb
as man's knowledge of truth is also
he has always imagined another world where all imperfect.
his needs would be met. Thus religion
comes into existenceas the sob of the
oppressed creature, the heartofa heartless world.
the spirit of conditions utterly
unspiritual'. But, in reality, religion
is no more than the
shadow cast by a defectiveeconomic system
which will disappear with the removalof
those defects. Marx dubbed
religion the opium of the
people', because when no one's
needs are fully met in society,religion
is the resortof all.
As the process of materialproduction holds the
key to man's sociallife, changesin
this process are responsibleforall
historical development. Marx's
description of historical
development is based on the concept
ofhistorical materialism.As Marx himselfobserved:
"In the social production of their
life men enter into
definite relations that are
indispensable and independent of their will,
relations of production which
to a definite stage of corespond
development of their material productive forces.
these relations of production The sum total of
constitutes the economic structure,
the real basis on whch
rises a legal and political
superstructure" (4 Contribution to the Critique of
Political
Economy; 1859). According to this
interpretation,the mode of production
in a gven
Society constitutes its 'base' (or
'substructure'); legal and political
and morals, etc. constitute its institutions, religiou
'superstructurewhich are shaped
character of the base. What is the according to the changns
reason behind changes in the
mode of production:
Marx's answer is: "at a certain stage of their
development, the material productaye
forces of society come in
conflict with the existing relations
which they have been at of production...witi
work
hitherto; from forms of
forcesthese development of the productive
relations turnintotheir fetters... Then
(ibid.). To understand begins an epoch ofsocialrevolution
this process it is necessary to distinguish, at the outset, between
 and MARX AND
ugh of'production' 'relations of ENGELS
oces Forces of production production." 271
ion comprisetwo Togcther
they
ofproduction: factories, and
so on);
mnachines. and (b) clements: (a)constitutethe
(0ols, and other human faculties labour means of 'mode
used in the power (the production
eyperience by the pattern work). skills,

of
ccononmic knowledge,
constitutecd ownership of
Relations of
nomic development, owners of means of production are
of historical means of
slage left with labour production. At
nance, and those power only production
constitutethe
every
action
class constant scarch for constitute the
dominant
Man's improvement of dependent class.
andin leads tothe production (with a
ctc.) development of viewto
As, forces of
all
scarcitly,
by the scientific discoveries production. overcoming
are imprOved and Means of
ined while labour power is invention of new production
implements developed by the techniques and
and training. The development acquisition of new
cducation of the
knowledge,
man between the forces of forces of
production leads
contradiction production and the to the
of this relations of
ore, contradiction
intensifcation ushers in a stage when production. The
are no longer compatible with the existing
cthe production the level of
relations of
n in It results in the
breakdovwn of the development of forces of
production. existing mode of
fall Thus. for example, production along with
its superstructure. with therise of
industrialization inthe
ng forces of production,the pre-existing feudal system in the
sphere of
is the sphere of relations
production (that division of society of
ays into lords and serfs) is
bound to collapse
ult which is now replaced by a new capitalist mode of production.

ct,
(As per) historical materialism... at a certain
Dn state of their evolution the
forces of production develop as far as they can
d under the existing economic
and political organization of society, which
le then becomes a barrier to their
further development, ushering in a period of social revolution.
of

S David McLellan (Marxism' in The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Political

Thought, edited by David Miller; 1987)

This process of historical development can also be explained by the dialectical

method. According to the dialectic concept, the established order is a thesis which
inevitably produces its own antithesis in the form of a new mode of production. In
other words, as a result of some new invention or discovery,the productive forces come
the prevailing
Into with the existing relations of production, particularly with
conflict

property system, which instead

of furthering their development becomes the fetters
new
upon it. As a result of the clash
between the existing social relations and the
which overthrows the eXISting
productive forces, a new revolutionary class emerges
The old order gives way to the new slave sociely 1s -
Order in a violent revolution.
society; capitalist
society is replaced by capitalist
placed by feudal society: feudal logic, every stage
of

to the dialectical
society is replaced by socialist society. According
of its own decay.
contains the seeds
social ofperfection was
development which falls short stage because
it

Marx saw as an imperfect

his contemporary capitalist society
the haves and
have-nots,
classes
marked by the division antagonistic
of society into the consequent
classes-and
the
dominant and dependent of its
bourgeoisieand proletariat, the dueto an interplay
doomed
exploitation of the It was, therefore,
class.
dependent
Inherent
contradictions.
 272 WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT

LORD AND SERF

of r
These werethe two contending classes in medieval
feudal society,
meant the landlord |who was the owner of
ratic
land. Serf meant the Lord
who did not own land but cultivated it, and peasant Th
received a small,fixed
the produce as a return for his toil. Serf was not a slave. share of
He could
familyand its belongings, but have his develop
he could not leave his duty
of his lord. withoutpernission profour
Exploitation of serfs was very common in feudal society,. displac
class.
BoURGEOISIE AND PROLETARIAT

These are the two contending classes in

modern capitalist society. Engels'
note to the English edition of
the Communist Manifesto (1888)
bourgeoisie is meant the class of reads: "By
modern Capitalists; owners of the means
of social production and
employers of wage labour. By proletariat,
of modern the class
wage-labourers who, having no means of
own,are reduced to selling their labour power in production of their
order to live."

Marx and Engels identified four main stagesofpast historical

primitive communism development: (a) the
in
which forms of production are slight and
communally owned:
(b) ancientslave-owning societyin
which the means of productionare
owned by masters
and labour for production is done by the
slaves; (c) medieval feudal society in which
the means ofproduction are owned by
feudal lords and labour for productionis done by
the serfs; and (d)modern capitalist societyin
which the means of productionare owned
by capitalists and labour for production is
done by the proletariat – the propertyless M
workers. At each stage, society is divided into Pr
antagonistic
classes; the class which
owns the means ofproduction and controls the forces production,dominates the rest,
of
(T
Eq
thus perpetuating tension and conflict. At each stage of historical development, the
forms or conditions of production determine the structure of society. Thus the
hand
mill gives you society with the feudal lord, the steam-mill society with the industrial
capitalist'. The structure of society will in its turn breed attitudes, actions, and
civilizations. Therefore 'all the social, political and intellectual relations, all religious
and legal systems, all the theoretical outlooks which emerge in the course of history,
are derived from the material conditions of life'.

The forces of capitalism had heralded a new era of progress by destroying the
feudal system. But Marx saw capitalism itself as a transitory phase. As Geonge H.
Sabine (4 History of Political Theory; 1973 edition)has elaborated:

The aboliton of feudalism meant for Marx the rise to power ofthe middle class and
the creation of a political system which made its power effective. In its most

developed form,as yet only partially reached, this system would be the democratie
republic. The French Revolution, therefore, had been essentially a political

revolution. It had transferred social dominance from the nobility and the clergy to
the industrial and commercial middle class: it had created the state as a typical
organ of middle class repression and exploitation; and its philosophy - the syste
ord rights in politics MARX AND
of natural and ENGELS
ant of the middle cconomics 273
rationalization class
right to
was the ideal
Of exploitthe
Thus class-conflict was worker.
justification and
is inevitableduring
and anotherrevolution thc
developnent, in was capitalist stage
revolution -the socialist store.
Marx, of
profound thercfore, historical
middle class from revolution - by
the power asthe which the anticipated a
more
displace rising
middle class proletariat
had would
class. displaced the
olderfeudal
AN OUTLINE OF
HISTORICAL
(Processof MATERIALISM
Historical
Development)

Society

Base
Superstructure
(Legal and Political
Made of Production Structure,
Religion, Morals, Social
Practices,
Literature,
Art, Culture, etc.)

Forces of Production
Relations of Production

Means of Labour Power Social Formations

Contending Classes
Production (Human knowledge
(Tools and and Skills)
Equipment) Slave-Owing Master and
Society Slave

Feudal Society Lord and Serf

Capitalist Society Capitalist and

Worker

SocIAL FORMATION

of society which comes into

n Marxist thought, a form of organization
of production. Changes in mode
of
CAISTence around a specific mode
with
which are associated
formations
oduction give rise to differentsocial
small-scale production
historical epochs. Thus household-based
elent production
gives rise too slave-owning society; large-scale agriculture-based
production gives
givesrise to feudal machine-based
society;and large-scale
rise to
capitalist society.
 274 WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT

that the socialist revolution would pave the way for the
Marx believed
termination un
has further elucidated:
of the era of exploitation. As Sabine power
have its philosophy, and as the philosophy 1the
essential
The rising class, too, must of

substance claim to the natural rights of

property, s0 a middle ofpower
of
class was in a

men proletarian lever

philosophy must be a socialist claim to the human rights of
without

because the proletariat lay at the bottom of the social structure, with
property.
But just
no
class below to be exploited, a proletarian revolution would not
merely
In N
it
transfer
exploitation. It would be the first
the power to exploit but would abolish stepto len
society without distinctions of social class and a true beginning of history as a val
record of full human self-realization (ibid.).
see

IV. THEORY OF REVOLUTION AEa

system
by the
Marx and Engels argued that... the revolution of the working class was on the
necessary to extend the benefits of modern industrial technology to all. class -

This socialist revolution by workers would occur when capitalism had fully capital

developed, and capitalists' domination of workers become so oppressive Comm

that there was no alternative but revolt. aims.

Jack A. Goldstone
of all
('Revolution' in The Blackwell Encyclopedia of
revolL
Political Thought, edited by David Miller; 1987)
Consc
Altho
Marxist theoryof revolution is an integral part of dialectical materialism.According
mode of analysis, development of thesis and antithesis takes place slowly
to the dialectic
woulc

and gradually, but as a result of the clash between the two, synthesisappears in a sudden
stroke. No stage of historical development would end
it has become a fetter on the until
forcesof production.The productiveforcesinherentin any society
develop completely
before a change takes place, and the change itself would be sudden as when ice
turns
into water,or water turns into steam. In that sudden revolutionary change the entire
structure of societywould be eventually
transformed,until the new societyin its turn is
overthrown and remoulded. Thus any significant social
change the epoch-making -
change -
is always the product of a revolution. Revolution is the indispensablemidwije
of social change.
Each stage of social development evolves a set of ideas, attitudes and moral values
to sustain the existing pattern of social relationships. These ideas lend legitimacy to the
system and the dominant ideology.Moreover, the dominant
constitute histo
class always has
the vested interest in the existing system to es
howsoever outmoded it may be. When
existing system no longer capable of meeting the demand of the new
is class
producue
forces, it would still resist any
attempts to change it, so that the vested interests ol
dominant class arenot adversely affected. But the new
e Thu:
estal
productive forces
must overcoe
all resistance and have their way. They must smash the existing reva
economic substruet
along with the entire superstructure in order to lay the the
foundations of a new Sob
economic, legal-political order. The dominant class will not be pow
prepared to part witt t
 by the new revolutionary AND MARX
ermination forced classto ENGELS
until tofclass struggle, It is: an do
he power concomitant
advent ofa new epoch In other essential
so.
Revolution is,
275
middle essential
andthe; words, condition of an therefore, an
ofpower change. social cffective
oroletarian of'sOCal revolution is transfer
lever the
property. necessary
J withno IDEOLOGY
st
transfer theory,
the set of ideas,
beliefs
stepto In Marxist and
to the rule of the dominant arguments which
ory lend legitimacy
asa under which even the class.It are
usedto
value system exploitation
projects
and
of promotes a
justified. the
seems dependent class
of social history
Each new epoch is,
therefore, a
was
|
established by a revolutionary overthrow
productof
revolution.The
of
sysTem thefeudal capitalist
French
Revolution (1789). But asthe system, as
by the capitalist system exemplified
forces production,this had now
new of must be becomea fetter
onthe overthrown by the
in a revolution.
class -the proletariat This would new
pave the way for revolutionary
to socialism. Marx and Engels made it transition from
capitalism clearinthe
Manifesto (1848): "The Communists concluding part of
Communist disdain to the

that1their ends conceal their

They openly declare can be views and
aums. attained only bythe
conditions. forcible overthrow
of all existing social Let the ruling classes
tremble at a
revolution.
"Marx
and Engels also called forthe communistic
development of a
consciousness revolutionary class
and a strong organizationof the proletariat to fulfil their historic mii
Alhough revolution was inevitable, yet a
ding consc1ous effort on the part of the proletamiat

wly would accelerate the process leading to revolution.

den

the MARXIAN SocIALISM

ly In Marxist terminology, socialism refers to the social system established

ns
after the overthroW of capitalism. At this stage, means of social production
re
are placed under social ownership, labour is made compulsory for all able
1S
bodied persons, attention is paid to development of science and technolagy
Wwith a view to creating conditions for the fulfilment of all social needs. At
this stage,rights are determined according to the rule "from each according
to his ability, to each according to his work".

The proletarian revolutions ofhuman

revolution would be distinct from all previous

in Own interes,
the past was accomplished by a small class,
its
foevolution
to
in
establishits of another vulnerable
own:Supremacy and dominance,for the exploitation
class new mode of production.)
which came
into existence with the introduction of the to
Thus class which sought
the tiny bourgeois
bourgeois revolution was made by a
establish But theproletarian
the of the proletariat
capitalst system for the exploitation against
of the majority

would be
revolution would be a revolution
different because it to win
the It is not designed
minority, of the class of exploiters. end tothe
power for
masses against the butto put an
a particular
class for exploitation of
any other class,
 Vsiem of exploitation itself. This would be the final
revolutionin
sowialism in of capitalism. This would|abolishthe
place history, lo
institution of
by socialization ofthe means ofproduction yIhis would estahl

establisha
private thecond
of the proletariat in order to suppress a possible and
temporary prepeny
counter-revolutionand ydictate ofcomr
oal IS USua
remnants of capitalism. This would be a preludetothe to
emergence of liqpndats VICW
was hoped that under the loving care of the
dictatorship of the
will blossom into communism. proletariat,

Development towards communism proceeds through The Issue

the
Statusof
tl
the proletariat, and cannot do otherwise,forthe dictatorship
resistance of the Means of
exploiters cannot be broken by
anyone else or in any other way. capitalist
Status
of l

V. I. Lenin (TheState and Revolution;1917

Status
of
Under the dictatorship of the
proletariat, classes still
mechanism of the state. But this state is exist, with the oppresi Status of
different from all preyIous states. It is not. of Prod
state of property-holders for the
oppression of the propertyless On the contrary, iWis
state of the propertyless for Statusof
the liquidation of private property
along with its ideolom Rights
and culture. This state would undertake the
fullest development of the
new productiwe
forces -
maximum technological development and gearing the
meeting socialneeds insteadofraising private
productive process to (NB In
profit- and pave the way forthe evolution
of aclassless society,and for the 'withering
away' of the state itself. Communism will
The
therefore, blossom from the soil of socialism; no
new revolution will be needed to
bring about communism. As Lenin in his State and
Revolution(1917)observed,socialis. Con
society is still an imperfect society; it therefore retains the
bourgeois right of 'from pro
each according to his ability, tocach according to his work'. But not
communism symbolized
the perfectsystem ofproduction with the highest development of the forcesof production.
It is therefore governed by the communistic principle: from each according to his

ability, to each according to his need'.

V. DC

CoMMUNISM Class c
senten
In Marxist terminology, this
the final stage of social development which
is

would emerge from the working of socialism for a long time. At this stage,
means social production remain under social ownership, labour remains
of H
universal -
now on voluntary basis, the state 'withers away'; division oT origin
socíety 'haves'and 'have-notes' disappears. It therefore exemplifies,a
into Comm
classless and stateless society which would be able to fulfil all socialneeds. was d
At this stage, rights are determined according to the rule: rom each begin
according to his ability, to each according to his need" privat

Some later Marxist writers,

out
particularly Mao Zedong (1893-1976). pointed J
that the class but
struggle does not end with the establishment
of a communist state,
only takes new forms. Contradictions,
which continue to persist even in a communist
state - contradictions between and
progress and conservatism, between the advanced
1
the backward, between the forces
positive and the1 negative, even between thej productive
 MARX AND
ENGELS
production 277

of
conditions mustbe
and
the Revolutionis, fought
perpetually in
ofcommunism. described as the
theretore, a
perpetual and
order to
achieve the
goal doctrine of
is usually permanent continuing process. This
view
revolution.!
DISTINCTION BETWEEN
SOCIALISM AND
Socialism COMMUNISM
The Issue
Communism
Under
of the Major Social
Ownership
Status Under Common
Meansof
Production Ownership

ofLabour Compulsory for all

Status All able-bodied
able-bodied persons persons
voluntarily do labour
of the Polity Dictatorship of the
Status Proletariat Classless,Stateless
Heading toward Full Society
of theForces
Status Fully Developed
Development
of Production

of the From each according

Status From each according to
to his ability, to each
Rights his ability,
to each
according to his work according to his need
B Incommon parlance, SOCialist Systemand 'communistsystem' are used as coterminous.)

The scientific between socialism and communism is clear. What

distinction
is socialism was termed by Marx the first', or lower, phase of
usually called
communist society. Insofar as the means of production become common
property, the word 'communism' is also applicable here, providing we do
not forget that this is not complete communism.
V.I. Lenin (The State and Revolution; 1917)

V. DOCTRINE OF CLASS CONFLICT

of historical materialism. The opening
Class conflict or class struggle is an integral part

(1848)reads:
sentence of the Communist Manifesto
the history of class struggles.
The history of all hitherto society is
was
the Communist Manifesto
written history.When
Here, history means
all with
primitive tribal
communities
the pre-history giving account of it
it became known,
Onginally written, was not known. When
ofmeans ofproduction, with the period
cOmmon ownership Manifesto deals
communism'/Comnunist theemergence of
"esdescribed as 'primitive classes since
into antagonistic
beginning with the division of society
proceeds:
Pivate property.)
So the Communist Manifesto and
lord and serf, guild-master to
plebeian,
Freeman ^nd slave, patrician and
opposition
in constant
stood
and oppressed, a fight that
JOurneyman, in a word, oppressor now open fight,
now hidden, or in
at large,
one another, carried on an uninterrupted, of society
reconstitution
each time ended, eitherin a revolutionary
classes.
the Common ruin ofthe contending
 WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT
278
PRIMITIVE COMMUNISM
Ourep
society common ownership of
with has
form of communism (a classless
it
A

iound in primitive societies. At this stage,the means up in

of production)
kind- the club, the stone axe, instrumentsof Bour
primitive the
labour were of most flint
followed later by thebow and aarrow: Man's knife,
the stone-tipped spear, Marx
strength was the only motive
force employed to operate these muscular
faith
in common ownership by the elementary fulh
tools. These tools were held members
the of

primitive community engaged itself in common labour, e.g,

which capitalisr
common
hunting, common fishing, and the fruits of this Common labour were productic

shared in common. There was no concept of private property, hencealso

a
exploitation of man by man.

With the development

by another, but class conflict
of the forces of production, one mode of
(between the new social classes) reappears
;
production is
under
replaced
The
the
new
social formation. Thus ancient slave-owning society was characterized by the
class
conflict between master and feudal society, bythe classs
slave; medieval
conflict between
lord and serf; and the modern capitalist society, by the class conflict between bouroent
(capitalists) and proletariat (workers).

Ac
GENESIS OF CLASS CONFLICT
emancI
be sub
Division of Society
means
and de
the em
Haves
Have-nots
(Owners of Major
(Dependent on their
Means of Production)
Labour Power to
Histo
earn their subsistence)
Epoc
Anci
Dominant Class
Dependent Class

Tendency of Class Urge to

Med

Suppression Conflict
Overthrow

Moc
Statusof the class conflict in modern capitalist societyis described in the
Manifesto as under: Comms
The modern bourgeois society that Futu
has sprouted from the ruins
has not done of feudal soci
away with class
antagonisms. It has but established new classes, new
conditions of oppression,
new forms of struggle in place of
the old ones. Futu
Class conflict in modern
So the capitalist society has appeared in more crystallized
forn.
Communist Manifesto
declares:
 MARX AND
the epoch ofthe ENGELS
Our
epoch,
ithe bourgeoisie,
class possesses,
279
So
ans
s of
it has simplified

up into
two real
and
hostile

proletariat.
antagonisms.Societyas ahowever,this
camps,into two wholeis more
great
classes
distinctive
and more
feature:

Bourgeoisie directly splitting

ife, facing cach
other:
ular arndEngels hoped that this conflict
Marx had
ary in revolutionary potential of the entered a
faith decisive
full establish socialist proletariat, i.e. phase.They
the and a
society with their
ability to
had
social
on capitalism So they observed: overthrow
ownership of
means of
So production.,
classes that stand face to
social

Ofaallthe face with

no
aloneis a really revolutionary class. The other bourgeoisie today, the
classes decay proletariat
face of modern industry; and finally
in the the proletariat is
its disappear
special and
(ibid.). essential product
olaced
enew The proletarian
revolution would be different
from all previous
revolutions of history:
class nrevious historical
A1l
movements were movements
torest of minorities. The of minorities, or in
the
ween proletarian movement is the self-conscious,
eoisie indenendent movement of the immense majority, in the interest of the
immense
majority(ibid.).

lAccording to Marx and Engels, this revolution would bring about

the final
Rmancination of mankind because there is no class below the
proletariat which could
he subiected to exploitationwhen the proletariat comes to power.It would place all
means of social production under socialownership, make work compulsory foreveryone,
and develop the forces of production to their full potential. This will pave the way for
the emergence of classless society which will mark the end of class conflict.

MARXLAN ACCOUNT OF THE HISTORY OF CLASS CONFLICT

|Historical Prevailing Mode Cause of Class Social Contending

of Production Division Formation Classes

Epoch

Ancient times Household-based Emergence of Slave-Owning Master and

Society Slave
small-scale private property

production
Feudal Lord and
Medieval times Large-scale Rise of
Serf
Society
agriculture-based Feudalism
production
Capitalist
Capitalist
Modem times Rise of and Worker
Large-scale
Society
machine-based Capitalism
production Workersin Power
Socialist
Future-I
-do Socialist and the Former
Society
Revolution Capitalists

No Contending
Communist
|Future-1I
-do No Class Classes
Society
Division
 THOUGHT
WESTERN POLITICAL
280
OF SURPLUS VALUE
VI. CONCEPT
mode of production
capitalist
to Marxist theory, involvesthe
According surplus value illustrates how this
class.
Marx'sthcory of ofthe
the working
to labour isthe sole creator of value, Of
Marx,
Cxplotate
the availability to lak
According CXplotaion
place.
and organization three (our the worker mar
Droduction - land, labour, capital clcments,viz. eleTmer at the
they are capable of wages
and organization, are sterile because reproducing only \and,
in t
therefore, no source
of value. Labour is
the whatcpyNA he produces,
them, They are, only ip
value in society. In his A Contribution tothe yariable
wbich produces elem
Critique of
observed:
Economy (1859) Marx The wages
Polto
The common social substance of the commodities is
labour...A
and his far
value becauseit crystallization of social labour. The
greatness commodity
is
of has

relative value depends upon the greater or lesser amount of that

its The value
valueOr
social value whic
contained in it, that is to say, on the relative mass of labour Suostat
that

production. The relative values of commodities are, therefore, necessary fori surpluslabour
of the capitalis
respective quantities or amounts of labour worked up, realized, determined byth ca
fixedin
them.
value. Ifthe
amount of labour embodied in a commodity should be value would

g
The
calculated and son
the beginning -the labour employed in producing theraw material, right fron profit,
in
land, capital
o
raw material, in mobilizing the sources of energy used
processing the
(e.g. coal and oil) andin derived from
constructing the machineryandbuilding, etc. In saying thatthe value of a
determined by the quantityof labour employed, we commodityi and socializa
must take into accountthe auanhi
of labour required for its production in a of surplus va
given state of society, under certain aver
Some part of
conditions of social production, and average skillof the
labour employed. benefit the w
Here it is essential to distinguish between value
and price of a commodity. Prce social paras
only a monetary expression of value. If the
price of a commodity corresponds to is
value in monetary terms, it may be described as
price of a commodity, there is the
a natural price. But, besides the nahural VIL. CO
market price which fluctuatesheavily depending
upon the conditions of demand and Nature of
supply. The market price is, therefore,
sometims
much higher than the natural price of a commodity;
sometimes much lower. Under th: Marxist cor
conditions of a free market economy
fostered by the capitalist system, the freedom ag
worker s
forced to sell his labour in the open
market at the market price. Now, the market price o
to the Mar
labour is not determined by its potential by 'being
value which would be added to the value ot t: l

commodity produced by it, but by the value possessive

of necessities
required for the
worker'
own maintenance and for the joint work
maintenance of his family so that he could
bring u
childrento replace him on the
labour market in the future.in order to The n
sustain the Cape
system itself.
that it

Labour is the only element of production In other relati

words, labour is which produces surplusvalue.
capable of suffic
producing much more than what is to maintai.
develop and required
perpetuate it. Suppose a of thiy Just b
hours a week to worker is required I to work at an average
match the value hi socie
of the and
family. If he works necessities required to maintain him
only tothis unde to the
extent, he does
the capitalist not value. But.
system, a produce surplus bless
wage-labourer is forced
where its
market price is to sell
the capitals his labour power to
determined by the law of demand and supply. With the
increast
Reje
 ofthe
labour force, the MARX AND
oloitation
market price ENGELS
tation of availability to labour to his of 281
worker maximum labour
In tthis capacity declines.The
takes the the market rate. way,the while he
lements
and, wages'at in the shape of his wages, labourer gets pays him capitalist forces
of back only a only
nat he produces, part of 'subsistence
1e1sputin
capital thevalue
that
f element SUBSISTENCE WAGES
to meet the
Political The wages required
requirements of

and his family. mere survival

dity
of
the worker

luehasa
orits The value
e produced by the
labour may be
paid to the divided into
value
which is
worker as wages; two parts: one
y
ubstance
for
that

surplus
labour done by him which is not
paid tothe
the other
part
comprises
part
comprises
the value
dby its
of the capitalist
and constitutes his
profit. Rent
worker but
and interest
which swells
the pockets
of

the If thecapitalist employs his own

are paid
out of this
nem. value. capital, land
and building, surplus
would go into his pocket: otherwisehe etc.the
entire surplus
value will only
get the
ht and some part
ofthe surplus
value will be industrial or
from profit, commercial
passed on to third
does parties. In any
singthe Jand, capital
or organization not produce any value; case,
the value of these
and in derived from
the surplus value produced i bythe labour. elements is
With the
overthrow of
dity is of the means of production capitalism
and socialization underthe socialist system,
a value will be eliminated;full the exploitation
uantity value of labourwould be paid to
the workeror
be
of it would diverted tothe provision
verage sOme part of common services which will again
bonefitthe worker. Only theworker who produces value will be entitled to maintenance:

rice is
social parasites would no more be tolerated: °He who does not work,neither shall eat."

to its

atural VII. CONCEPT OF FREEDOM

nding
Nature of Freedom
times

r the from its liberal-individualist concept. analyses

Marxist concept of freedom is different It

er is
freedom againstthe background of the existing socio-economicconditions. According
ce of the Marxist view., freedom is not something that an individual enjoys in isolation or
to

of an atomized, alienated and

alone. Marxism does not accept the
the theory
being left
f
by
their
freedom. Marx and Engels, in
er's
pOssessive individual being capable of enjoying
his Joint work Holy Family (1845), thus observed:
specific property of the atom is
not atoms. The
alist

The members of civil society are it by any

with beings outside
that it has
no propertiesand is therefore not connected is selt
atom has no needs, it
her necessity. The

in,
eldions determined
sufficient;
by
the
its Own natural

world loutside
i.e.
it is
is contentless,
meaningless,

absolute vacuum,
, it

in civil

The cgoistic individual

rty
just because the atom has all its fullnessin itself.
inflate himself
abstraction
his andlifeless full,
society may in his non-sensuous imagination
absolutely
wantless,
ler self-suflicient,
to the size
of an atom, i.e. to an unrelated,
st
blessedbeing. the
arguethat
Engels
Marx and
of the individual,
Rejecting the atomistic view
 POLITICAL THOUGHT
282 WESTERN
conditions of his
man, the very existence, bring him
natural needs
of
and civil socicty comes into cxistence.
with other individuals
relation
togethcr.
individuals Utilitarian view that the
Marxism does not accept the common good The preva
the self-iinterests of different can soc
mechanical aggregation of
be larger
from a of
Marxism holds that the common good can be secured individuals,
detvy Mode
Contrary, only by Oh
conducive to the enjoyment of frecdom creating
equipmer
conditions
economic within the prOce
conditions involve access to the material means of satisfaction
of sOciety. The
key to freedom lies in wants
opportunity for self-development.The establishing a
and
The capi
which would be based on the highestdevelopment
system of production of rallona societyi
means for satisfaction the
of production, and provide the of everybody's TorO it
needs. As which
Lewis, in his Marxism and the Open Mind (1976), has elucidated: Joh
that the

For Marx freedom means the ability to achieve the totality of

expans
satisfaction of aspirations, material and spiritual - fundamental to
human gooi
mode d

which the on
mastery and rational control of the process of production of the material
produe
of human life. Conditions
itself

UTILITARIANISM A sci
the mean:
A schoolof thought founded by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), which treats new era
pleasure and pain as the chief motive force behind all human actions The
Mar
balance of pleasure over pain derived from a thing or a course of action is
natu
termed as 'utlity' which is the source of 'happiness'. According to his viey.
obj
the guiding principle of public policy should be the greatest happiness of him
the greatest number'.
OW
hav

It
Leap from Necessity to Freedom

According to the Marxist view, capitalist system ofproduction is not at all conducive e
the conditionsofhuman freedom.It is characterizedby constraintor necessity. A
Necessty

denotes the condition under which the as dep

life of man is governed by laws of nature, sch
as the law of gravitationalforce, which exist independently of man's will. Man can

acquire scientific knowledge of these laws for his own benefit,but cannot change them
at his will.This applies both to the laws of external nature and to the laws of our ot
nature.
as
well
Accordingly, our history is shaped by the
operation of natural forces as
social forces.These forces are beyond our
control, but human beings have the ca
to understand the Hur
working of these forces, and apply this knowledge to harness thenm
for the fulfilment of
human purposes. The operation of social forces is Tesponsible for Mar
of
changes in the mode of production. and
Emergence of capitalist system is the outcome
this process. MarxX and Engels believed that
this is a transitory System.
If we try 0 fou
understand it, we can proceed to effe
the next stage of human development Smoothly.
a MARX AND
natural MoDE OF ENGELS
holàs PRODUCTION 283
he The prevalent
method by
which
society, Such as goods and
larger
in slave-labour, services
are
of production qivena
agriculture or produced
as well asthe level ofsociety depends on mechanized forthe
On Mode
the equipment. the nature of industry.
of production. human
the process krnowleiyeand tools and
skills
These applied
during
and system has been
the The capitalist facing
continual crises
ational suffocated beneath the
is because:
society weight of its
forces
which it
t cannot use, and stands own productive
helpless, face to forces and
that the producers have nothing to
face with the products,
consume, because absurd
force of the meas contradiction.
expansive of production consumners are
bursts the wanting. The
o0ds, mode. ofproduction hadimposed bonds that the
sthe the one pre-condition for an
upon them.Their
deliverance from
capitalist

unbroken, these bonds

is
tions forces, and therewith constantly-accelerated
productive for a development of the
practically
itself (Engels, Anti-Düring; unlimited increase
1878). of
production

ARoientific analysis of the forces of

productionreveals that only
Ae means of production can help socialization of
soCiety to tide over this crisis
which would usher ina
new era of freedom. As Engles has elaborated:

Man's own social organzation, hitherto

confrontinghim as a necessity
nature and history,now becomes the result of his imposed by
own free action. The extraneous
obiective forces that have hitherto governed
history pass under the control of man
himself. Onl: m that time will man himself,with full
own history -only from that time will the
consciousness,

social
make his
causes set in movement by him
have, in the main and in a constantly growing measure, the results intended by him.

It is humanity's leap from the kingdom of necessity to the kingdom of freedom

(ibid).

A similarfocus on freedom is to be found in the picture of future communist society

as depicted by Marx and Engels in the Communist Manifesto (1848):

class distinctions have disappeared, and all

When, in the course of development,
the hands of a vast association of the whole
in
production has been concentrated
In place of the old bourgeois
tatlon, the public power will lose its political character.. in
shall have an association,
we
society, with its classes and class antagonisms,
development of all.

of each is the conditionfor the free

wen thejreedevelopment

Humanist Basis of Freedom

were discovered
(1 844) – which
Marx,in
Economic and. Philosophic Manuscripts
his
of socialismand
humanist
basis
ethical
as late as 1932 -1aid down the
and published
for its dehumanizing
foundationsof freedom. criticized
thecapitalist system productive activity
deformed the
He severely
effect. system
Marx demonstrated that the capitalist
 THOUGHT
284 WESTERN POLITICAL
several ways. Accordingly, thealienation
his alienation in
ofman and caused
system of commodity of
an outcome ofthe
soCiety was production,
manin
contemporary monetization
ownership, market cconomy, of
exchange and
of labour, private
,division
Under
system. Marx identified four levcls of alienation:
features of
the capitalist (a) similar means
from his own product
and from his work Inthe
first place, man
is alienated process, inorde
in deciding what to produce
and how to produce; i

the workerplays no part (b) because faith

work does not give him sense of
a
Secondly.
man is alienated from nature
- his

the work tends to become satisfaction asa

creative worker; under mechanization, increasingly In sho
and monotonous; (c)
Inthe third place, nan is alienated from other men routinized can
through the man
character of the economic system which forces everyone to live:at for
competitive calls
society into irreconcilable class interests; someone
else's expense, and divides and (d) freedom.
man is alienated from himself because the realm of dominates
necessity his Finally,
life
and
him to thelevel animal existence, leaving no room forthe taste
reduces of of
literature,
VIL. I

art and cultural heritage. Thus, capitalism subordinatesall human

faculties and
qualities i
to the conditions created by the private ownership of capital and property. The capitalies What
himself, no less than the worker becomes a slave to the tyrannical rule of money
Marxist
which
ALIENATION develo
A state of mind which individual is isolated from the significant aspects of
in ofprop
his social existence or from the creative aspectS of his own personality. of exp
protec
Deliverance from this bondage is only to be found the realization that society is
in depen
acreation by which man attains a fuller
P
measure of freedom. Indeed man's freedom is
obstructed by the peculiar conditionscreated by the private property, Comn
and taeseconditions
exist in their worst form under the capitalist system. Its Comr
remedy may be found in a
socialist revolution which enable societyto it wa
will restore human values and inaugurate a
new era of freedom. As Engels of th
in his Anti-Dühring (1878)has elucidated:
the
By this act, the proletariat
means of production from the character of
frees the anta
capital they have thus far borne, and
gives their socialized character complete Fan
freedom to work itself out.
Socialized production upon a predetermined
plan
becomes henceforth possible. The development of
production makes the existence
of different classes of society
thenceforth an anachronism. In proportion as
anarchy
in social production vanishes, the political authority of the state dies out. Man, at
last the master of his own form of social organization, becomes at the same tme
the lord over nature, his own master
free. –
SocIALISM
An economic system largely based on
industrial production in which the
means of socialproduction (land,
buildings, mines,forests, machinery
capital), distribution and exchange are placed under a P
social ownership ald
Control, and economic activity
needs.
is primarily devoted
to the fulfilment of soclal T
 MARX AND
manin ENGELS
PROLETARIAT 285
ivision system, the class
capitalist of
Similar Under
In means
of production. They are forced wage-\abourers
to sell who do not
he to earn
their living. their own the
order labour power
ecause in
revolutionary
Marx(1818-83) and in the
in the potential of Engels
this market
nondly, faith class. (1820-95)had
as a while the liberal-individualist
ample
Inshort, theory of
hthe
nized
can
be secured with minor adjustments
withinthe
freedom
conccdes that
man transformation of the freedom
the capitalist capitalist of

eone calls
for systemitselfto system,Marxisttheory
secure the
ally, frecdom. conditions of

and
ROLE OF PRIVATE PROPERTY
ure, VIIL.

ties

list What is Private Property?

theory views private property? not as a right

Marxist of the
of production individual, but as a
determines reelations condition
which according to the stage of
Private property, likethe state, has historical
development. not existed
from eternity, not to
as a natural right. The origin of private property speak
ofproperty was attended bythe
in society. The state was created by beginning
of exploitation the class of
property-owners forthe
protection
of its private property. It is, therefore, aninstrument of exploitation of the

dependent class
which does not own property.
property did not exist under early social stage
Private the stage of 'primitive -
ommunism'.The means of production at that stage were very rudimentary and held
in

common ownership. All production was meant forthe common consumption, although

i was justsufficient forthe survivalof the community. It was only with the development
of the forces of production that surplus production became possible, and with that came
the institution of private property, with the consequent division of society into
antagonistic classes masters and slaves. As Friedrich Engels, in his The Origin of the

Family, Private Property and the State (1884) has recorded:

The increaseof production in all branches -cattle breeding, agriculture, domestic

handicrafts -enabled produce more than what was necessary

human labour power to
labour power became
time...the addition of more
TOr its maintenance. At the same
the given
by war: captives were made slaves. Under
desirable. This was furnished
of labour, by increasing
historical conditions.
the first great social division
general
and enlarging the field of production,
that is wealth,
ue productivity of labour. great social division
of
in its wake. Out of the first

vessarily carried slavery masters and

slaves,
societyinto two
classes:
labour arosethe first great division of

exploiters and exploited.

Property as the Basis of Class Division into

of society
with the division
The associated but they
constitute
origin of
private prooperty is, therefore, by individuals,
owned
antagonistic classes.
Private property may be
 WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT
286
a class.
Their interest is antagonistic to the
hence
a specific interest, changes interests
with the.
Theform property
ofprivate of
ihe the
class. Under
propertyless
and consequent changes in the mode of production,
development
but so of
forCRS
T
of production Jong as
character does not change. production. I:
property exists,

society into haves

its exploitative
and have-nots,
Private
who assume the positions of dominant property
priyate

and divIdes
: production. o
this division takes the form
In ancient society, of dependemt or sa
satisfaction
classes respectively.
it takes theform of lords and serfs; and in masters pocket,
slaves;in medieval
society,
modern
and proc
form of bourgeoisie and proletariat. This divisioniis capitalis, creative
the
society,ittakes sharpest ownproduct
its very definition, is 1 propertyless under
system. The proletariat by sand
the capitalist
in The process
As Marx and Engels, their Communist Manifesto (1848) dependent level
on wage-labour. atfour
isalie
observed.

Does wage labour create any property for the labourer? Not a bit. It man
creates (G
capital.
that kind of property which exploits wage labour and which a factory;
i.e. cannot c
1ncrease
new supply wage labour character
except upon condition ofbegetting of for fresh
exploitation. finally,
ma
form, is based on the antagonism of capital aand
Property, in its present wage labour.
fulfilment
Private property, according to Marxism therefore, a divisive factor--a source af music.
is, art,
In his
conflict, mode of exploitation, not of cooperation. Private proner
not of harmony; a

in this sense,denotes the means of social production,because is the mode of ownershin it

On the J
of the means of social production which determines how the 'have-nots' will earn thep representa
is charact
livelihood, and thereby keeps them in permanent subjugation.Marxism, therefore,
Introduct
advocates the abolition of private property in this sense,not personalproperty:
Prop
The fruit of a man's own labour, which property is alleged to be the ground-work
man
of all personalfreedom, and independence..Hard-won, self-acquired,selt
activity
soci
earned property!..When, therefore, capital is converted into common property,into othe

the property of all members of society, personalproperty is not thereby

transformed
emt
into social property. It is only the social character of the propertythat is changed. It
Con
loses its class character(ibid.).
Fet

betwee
Property as the Cause of Alienation
It bring
forthe erosion ofhunan
Marxist theoryholds the system of private propertyresponsible in term
values.Marx, in his earlier work Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 184, appear
property from ie
presented a searching analysis of the capitalist system of private marker
humanist angle.This work, usually associatedwith the thought of Young Marx,
Closey
words
accords with the mainstream of Marxist theory. It is a valuable
contribution to u
private
Mar
of Marxism. to a c
Marxist theory of alienation which representsthe humanist aspect
has argucd that under the capitalist system, human labour is reduced
to commodity. a
The re
observes:
The more wealth the worker produces, the poorer he becomes. As Marx
Aboli
he creates.
The worker becomes an ever cheaper commodity the more commodities the Unde
the increasing
With value of the world of things proceeds in direct proportion
create
devaluationof the world of men. Labour produces not
only comnodities:itproduces t of an
itself andthe worker as a commodity - and does so in the proportion in which
of1844)
will 1
produces commodities generally(Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts
appe:
ests
of MARX AND
Lof the the capitalist system, the
as Under worker
has no ENGELS
forces The acute division of labour 287
say in
y priate worker produced the
a
thepolicy
deprives
If a
shirt or
under the worker even of
production.
process of
divides production. of
creating some useful feudal the
thing:but

f
creative
ependent now system, he joyof
theshirt; he producesonly a could derive the
other snall portion
or some
sters satistaction

of
and pocket, The whole process is heis collar, or
process. unable to only a
as by discern his
st
capitalist creative confronts him
something
characterized a
loss of rolein
the
under product alien, as a purpose. The
Own self-estrangementor
of power worker's
alienation
pendent Theprocess (a) man is alienated undertheindependent of the producer.
levels:
from his
oserved: at four
own product capitalist system takes
from nature as he is and from place
alienated forced to work his work
man is process, (b)
capital, (c) man is alienated from his under the artificial
afàctory; fellow-men because atmosphere of
of
ncrease of the capitalist economy and the theseverely
character sharp competitive
class
itation. man is alienated from himself. He is division of
society, and
finally, reduced to an (d)
abour. ofhis biological needs, his animal
human existence -for in
fulfilment faculties, the
arce music, etc. evaporate
in the process. including thetaste
forliterature,
of art,

In his other works, particularly Critique of Hegel 's

operty,
Question (1844), Marx argues Philosophy of Right (1
ership On the Jewish that the
843)and
statessiis, in reality, the constitution of modern
their representative 'constitution of private property'.
by the real Modern
characterized domination of
private
society
efore, is property. As Lucio Colletti, in
Introduction
to Karl Marx: Early Writings (1975)has summed
his

up:

wOrk
Propertyought to be a manifestation,an attribute, of man, but becomes the
subiect:
man ought tobe the real subject, but
self. becomes the property of private property...The
sOcial side of human beings appears as a characteristic or property of things; on the
into

med other hand, things appcar to be endowed with social or human attributes. This is in

-d. It embryo the argument which Marx will develop later in Capital as the fetishism of
commodities'.

Fetishism ofcommodities implies a feature of capitalist society where social relation

between different producers is reduced to relation between the products of their labour.

of labour into equivalence with each other

nan Itbrings different types, skills and quantities

social relationship betweentailor and carpenter

44, in terms of their market values. Thus, the
and table in terms oftheir exchangevalue in the
the appears as a relationshipbetween coat
these products. In other
rather than in terms of
the labour and skills embodied in
ely market
the capitalist system of
he commodity becomes an embodiment of value under
WOords, the value, is reduced
real producer of
while the human being as worker and
*Yaleproperty, supply and competition.
to a the market forces of demand,
ty. commodity governed by and alienation.
The result of man, his self-estrangement
is an overall dehumanization

S
Abolition of Private Property which
property
form ofbourgeois
Underthe takes theforces.
Itis devoid
S capitalist system, private property of market
laws
the blind useful purpose
Creates its
domination over societythrough force:no
does not
seek to
of any It is a dehumanizing
human sense or human appeal.
ap therefore, of their
will
be served it. Marxisttheory, are slaves
by tryng to humanize they themselves
appeal to the
the good sense of property-owners;
 THOUGHT sha
288 WESTERN POLITICAL In
Soifhuman values to be are
the workers. restored,
property no less than and capitalism
private
a rational system of production distribution ihuman
isto
to be secured, and be advocates
nccds, thc obvious Course is the for
is
freedom social
of
evolved to ensure satisfaction abolition of way
itself.
private property worst victims property
rema
of workers who are the of oppression,
It is the mass exploitation and will
requires the
system. Their emancipation abolition of character
injustice under the
capitalist
though the
propcrty, distr
property itself. The owners of private cqually
and
system ofprivate in a enslaved at
the pinch, becausethey arc
placed dominant
not feel role.
by the system, do They profit
with their private property unless overthrown
would never be preparcd
to part n in
a
therefore, appeals to the revolutionaryzeal of
the Conclz
violent revolution. Marx,
private property and to socialize all major meg
working

class, to abolish

production. This
the
will
system of
restore human senseand human values. .As Marx,in his
Economic
Marxis
and 'p
Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844
declares:
and SOurce

The transcendenceof private property is, therefore, the complete emancipation 8 instrur

and attributes; but it is this emancipation precisely because these Some

all human senses

senses and have become, subjectivelyand objectively, human. The

attributes eye c
two
has become human eye, just as its object has become a social, human obiect
a
o

midd
object emanating from man for man.
be ar
With the abolition of private property comes the end of exploitation also. The share
abolition of private property does not imply abolition of property as such. It involves indus

changing the pattern of ownership of property, from bourgeois ownership to social raise

ownership, from class ownership common ownership, although in the transitional

to the :
phase of the'dictatorship of the proletariat' it may temporarily be held in class ownership betv

of theproletariat, till the classless societycomes into existence!Thus, Marx and Engels In s
in their Communist Manifesto (1848) have observed: WO
the
The distinguishing featureof Communism is not the abolitionofproperty generally,
exp
but the abolition ofbourgeois property. But the modern bourgeois private property

is the final and most complete expression of the system of producing and
ind

appropriatingproducts, that is based on class antagonisms, on the exploitation of

wh
the many by the few..In this sense, theory of the Communists may be summed up of
in the single sentence: Abolition of private property.
pr
The system of private property is based on the distortion of property
capitalist
th
itself; it denotes a condition under which the product of collectiveeffort is appropriated
by a few persons, and used as an instrument of domination over society. As Marx and

Engels have elucidated:

S

To be a capitalist, is to have not only a purely personal, but a social stalis t

production. Capital is a collective product, and only by the united action of many
members, nay, in the last resort, only by the unitedaction of all members of society,
can it be set in a social power..
motion. Capital is, therefore, not a personal, itis
Communism deprives no man of the power to of society:
appropriate the products
all that it does is
to deprive him of the power tosubjugate the labour of others by
means of such appropriation (ibid.).
 Marxist theory views
the MARX AND
Inshort,
uman which is characterized by
system of ENGELS
289
tobe the private
capitalismn the abolition of private property
asthe
exploitation of
on of advocates humanisticreorganization
property in the man by
fora of major man.foundation of

meansof It,
way of;an
- a genuine fruit production
and therefore,
1 individual's production
pavethe to
and property intact. The institution of
labourand distribution,
will remain
the while
fthe a socialist instrument of personal
rofproperty into
a
property will his
character
developmental freedom
aved of f commodities
fulfil
tocharacter, transformthe
becauseit will
and distribution social exploitative
of the needs, for undertake
hey at the expense community. social production
an a profit benefit,not
for private

ing Conclusion
of theory of property drawss a
Marxist significant
nic distinction
and 'private
property'. It favours full between'personal
protection of property'
of security of the individual, and 'personalproperty'
SOurce which is the
abolition of
controlling the lives 'private property
of instrument
of of
others. It is a which is an
laudable idea.
se some difficulties in actual practice. However, it raises

Marxisttheory of property 1s
ye fit for
application to a society which
an
olearcut classes -
haves and have-nots.But in
is divided into

the present-day society

the size of
middle class has considerably
expanded and is constantly expanding. Its problems
cannot
be analysed in the light of the Marxist
theory. And when a very large number
e shareholders have invested their
of
hard-earned money and savings in big business and
industries,then the situation turns out to be more complex.When a
middle class person

raises his personal property by dint of his talent and effort, and invests his savings in

the shares of selected companies for the security of his future,then the dividing line

between 'personalproperty' and 'private property' in the Marxiansense starts blurring

In such a situation, recourse to a violent revolution for the abolition of private property'
Would lose its rationale. However, we must appreciate an important suggestion of Marxist

become an instrument of
any form of property should not be allowed to
heory, that
exploitation and control over lives of others.
the
and a sense of security to
As long as the right to property provides freedom
and effort, it must be admired. But
the best use of his talent
avidual, and facilitates
the bulk
in society and forces
glaringeconomic disparities
en
of
this right gives rise to
be strictly regulated.
of private
workers to lead sub-human life, it must
a certain amount
a

taught that
beyond
Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher, but when acquired
virtue,
property was necessary for good life and
for exercising theimpact
of
was dealing with
this limit Here Aristotle
it becomes a source of vice. on social organization.property as a
its impact of
property on personal morality, not with institution
with the it

concerned to transform
Early socialists, who were deeply sought
injustice, ofsaying:
SOurce of vast and social theextent
went to
socio-economic disparities
philosopher,
thoroughly. P.J. Proudhon
(1809-65), (
a French
assess
the role
of

'Property istheft'. soughtto of non-

philosopher, His principles

Mahatma an Indian morality. asteya)

Gandhi (1869-1948), personal fromtheft
or

as
property in the well
sphere of social as
(absention

possession ((renunciationor aparigraha)

and non-stealing
 POLITICAL
THOUGHT
290 WESTERN
A person should not acquire any material
morality.
with personal of bound to degradehis wealth is things andit
deal
because amassing beyond,
requirement,
his immediate
becausethereby you deprive others of their due protestsand
to theft character.
It also amounts need, but itshare.Gandh 1980s, col
carth has enough to satisty everybody's
the The &
that does not
maintained

enough
anybody's greed.
to satisfy
of 'bread labour' requires that
have
economnies o
Gandhian principle everybody
Then
duties, and contribute to the production shoulddo
adequacyRe
apart from his usual of
physical labour, This means People'sne
for his consumption. that
the material
things in order to compensate scarcityof systems,ne
will not be further aggravated due to their
things in society
material national so
commended 'bread labour' as an instrument continuous
consumption. Gandhi also of 'market as
purification. This principle deals with personal
as well as social morality self-
systems (1
Finally,
Gandhian doctrine of trusteeshiplargely deals with social Zedongsta
morality. t
requires the owners of capital and big estate to treat their possessions as the
trust
ofthe
of

humanity and employ them for social service, not for personal gratification. met consequer
this
speak of private profit. If these principles are adopted, tyranny of property will
away
automatically disappear and there will be a general upliftment of material andmorl
life of society.
An e
IX. A CRITICAL APPRAISAL Own
prin
Marxism arose at a critical juncture when liberal theory of free market society' had into

entered a decadent phase; when masses were being exploited by a tiny capitalist class.

The great ideals of liberty, equality, fraternity' enunciated by the makers of the French Thi

Revolution (1789)were reduced to negative rights of man, that is the right to be left clear th

alone'in a competitiveseting.This situation had led to the deplorable conition ofthe longer
working class. Some humanitarian thinkers and reformers were, of course, preaching envisag
the gospel of socialism to improve the lot of the working classes, but they had not yet that in

t
found any scientific way to realize their dreams or to achieve their humanistic goals. At nations

this stage, Marx and Engels discovered the scientific basis of their theory of transition amply
tosocialism, and exhorted the working class to understand and assume their historical
comple
role in the process. It was Marxism which appeared asa liberating these
forcefor the oppressed
people of the world. inspiredthe great Bolshevik Revolution (1917) in Russia and
It

Communist Revolution (1949) in China. Eventually some other countriesof Europe,

Asia, Africa and Latin America adopted socialist
systems inspired by the Marxis
T
philosophy.
C
The advent of socialist system in many backward countries initially
played imporant
role in reconstructionof economy and
fulfilmentofmaterial needs of people. Howeve
C
they failed to achieve further
progress as their leadership was not prepared to part with
its power and privileges in the interests of the people. In the name of the 'dictatosi"y
of the
thesystem was reduced to mere dictatorship; people were denied
proletariat',
t
democraticrights and civil
liberties. Fullemployment
tofulfil people's needs was granted, but fullIproduction
could not be secured. media
Government monopoly over mass
led to suppression of
truth, and people lost faith in
their sources of information. Scarcity
of essential
goods and services ledto
bureaucraticbungling and corruption. Widespread
 led to the collapse
MARX AND
resistance of ENGELS
and the former socialism 291
collapse in
its Sovict in Eastern
and
protests
of socialism in its citadel
Union by
1991. Europe by
was theend
The collapsemultiparty political systems,
1980s, of

and followed the

which
Marxism on which introduction of
conomCS of classical these necessitated
new market
ofChina and. other regimes were hinking on
Jdquacy
's,Republic countries
which still based. the
are being
Pple necessary changes made toward claimtoretainMoreover, in the
their
Jsems, and aspirations. China has liberalization in communist
Now there is no scope of particularly switched overkeeping
neceds
with
their
Aational
observing g to what is
socialism
market it was done during the regimes rigidityin called
as of Stalin maintaining
in China,. (1879-1953)in communist
STSTems Experience
(1893-19760) has Russia and
shown that Maco
Zedong in socialist countries, there has instead of
state been a 'withering away
of the toward liberalism. Champions collapse of
return socialist state
of and

aWay
Qonsequent
this ;
situation by alleging that these
classical
countries were not
Marxism
really
try to explain
socialist at all!

MARKET SoCIALISM

economic system where means of social

An production are held in
of public
but allocation
resOurces is made according to
Ownership, market
Thus product market, labour market and
principles. capital market come
into existence along with the socialist system.

This is, however, an oversimplificationof the issue.

It is now becoming increasingly

lear that the problem of fighting out the forcesof domination and exploitation is no
Ionger confined to the struggle of working class against capitalist class, as originally

eIvisaged in late nineteenth century.Upholders of dependency theory' havebeen arguing

the twentieth century the focus of strugglehas shifted to the fight
the developing
of
that in
have
nations against the forces of colonialism and neo-colonialism. Other neo-Marxists
and exploitation in human society assume many
amply demonstrated that domination
tackle
of Marxism must be modified suitably to all

complex forms. The framework

these problems in the contemporary context.

DEPENDENCY THEORY
of the underdeveloped
continued impoverishment
Ine theory that the like the lack ot drive,
by their internal conditions
ountries iS not generated ability.
In factit is the
problem-solving or with
entrepreneurial spirit, creativity
past, and their linkage
in the
Consequence of their colonial exploitation them fromindependent
which prevent
the global capitalism in the present, adopt Western
they must
development. To overcome this problem field of international
relations
in the
technology but exert their independence
economic
and internationaltrade.
German-American exponents
André Gunder Frank (1929-2005), writer,
arethe chief
), African
historian, and Samir Amin (1931-

of
dependency theory.
 THOUGHT
POLITICAL
WESTERN
292 > COLONIALISM

after
nation-state
consolidating
a
which
of other
The
under
practice
its domination
over territories
The colonial power
countries
for
Len
pOwer,
extends
their natural

administration
and human
in the
resources.

subject
country
establishes
and takes all resources explOotlitg

thereof
under
25 Mae
its Own control.

NEO-CoLONIALISM
does not maintainnation
which an advanced its
under
The practice but 1taking advantage ofits poltica
territory,
in a foreign uses the reSOurcessuperior
domination of position a

of trade
and industry,
in organization labour and raW materials as
of cheap developing
well
as source as abig
subtle method of economic
a
nation
It is a
Lenin
own producis.
market of its
nations by the
developed nations. exploitation
Rosa L
of developing
Mao Ze
Marx and Engels were basically great AAA
It should be remembered
in the process
that

of a constant debate
to find the truth. humanitarik A Antonic

who believed
rigid Unfortunately,
have reduced Marxism to a ideology which some
of their followers claims that
clain. Search for truth is a it ha

is dangerous constant process.

found the truth'. It a
Itmus
that he has found
survives. If somebody claims the
go on till humanity truth, thenen

step would be to apply it ruthlessly by suppressing everybody's freedom.

Lenin, Rosa Luxe
Marx ani
when class distinctions V.I.
image of the future will be totally
Engels projected an Marx
tradition of the
eliminatt
voluntarily givetheir best to society; when everybody's
when people will
Antonio Gramsci ma
matera

needs would be fulfilled; when administration would bee carried on without the
oppresie
the future as fola.s and Neo-Marxism.
machinery of the state. The Communist Manifesto projects
place of the old bourgeoisie society, with its classes and class antagonisms, we stal

have an association, in which the free develop of each is the condition or the f I. LENIN
development of all." How can we reconcile this ideal with a regime that believes inty
Vladimir Ilich Len
suppression of freedom of people?
Marxist, was a rev
The situationbecomes more dangerous when somemilitant organizations claimi,
(1917) that establis
to be the followers of Marxism resort to indiscriminate killings and other terors SovietRepublics (L
activities name of 'lass struggle"!Marx and Engels had only envisagd mas
in the Marxism which wa

uprising against a handful of exploiters, and not the method of jeopardizing the sit official ideology a
of the innocent people. While the real message of
Marxism still continues to be releu communist parties
its distortion is very injurious to humanity which must be curbed resolutely.
Lenin is regar

twentiethcentury.
Q. 1. "While dialectical of Marxisa. around his views
materialism
represents philosophical basis
historical againstImperialis
materialism1 and comment
2. The
examine this
history of all
hitherto
representsits empirical
societyis the history
basis." Elaborate

of class struggles."
a
" Critically
Role of the Part
statement.
3
"Whilehistorical theery Lenin (What is to
materialism basis of Marxisn,.
of
surplus represents sociological fiuly partiesin capitali
value
4.
Write short notes on:
(a)
represents its economic basis." Do agree?
Discuss
yu
perspectie
divided societies
on the Marxist view of freedom: (b) Marxist
role of
private revolution.
property; (c) Marxism as of
a theory