Introduction

• Karl Marx, a German economist and social philosopher, gave his name to Marxism, though the term itself was not used during his lifetime.
• Friedrich Engels, Marx’s collaborator, even quoted Marx as saying: “All I know is that I am not a Marxist,” highlighting Marx’s caution against rigid dogmatism.
• Despite its name, Marxism evolved as a living tradition of social thought, extending beyond Marx himself.
• It arose in the mid-19th century as a response to the exploitative conditions of capitalism.
• Classical liberalism, though ensuring legal and political equality, entrenched capitalism—enriching a small capitalist class while marginalizing the working class.
• The unchecked system led to economic inequality, poverty, disease, insecurity, and widening wealth gaps.
• Early utopian socialists such as Saint-Simon, Louis Blanc, Robert Owen, and Charles Fourier advocated alternatives like state-controlled economies and communal cooperation.
• However, these utopians, though critical of capitalism, lacked practical strategies.
• Marx and Engels critiqued utopianism and advanced scientific socialism, based on historical analysis and class struggle.
• In the Communist Manifesto (1848), they urged the working class to unite, arguing that proletarian emancipation would ensure human liberation.
• Marxism is thus a scientific framework of political and economic principles aimed at understanding society through historical materialism.
• It interprets history as class conflict, rooted in the mode of production, where one class owns the means of production while another is exploited.
• The end-goal is the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism, establishing social ownership and unleashing productive forces for collective progress.
• The core tenets of Classical Marxism were developed by Marx, Engels, and expanded by Lenin, Rosa Luxemburg, and Mao Zedong.
• Classical Marxism contends that private property perpetuates class divisions and irreconcilable interests, maintained by ideological dominance of the ruling class.
• Later, Neo-Marxism, drawing on the young Marx’s humanism, explored subtle dynamics of power, dependence, and emancipation, with scholars like Antonio Gramsci (hegemony), Frankfurt School (critical theory), and Althusser (structuralism).
• Human history, in Marxist thought, is seen as moving toward freedom via the revolutionary destruction of contradictions, culminating in a classless society.
• Karl Popper criticized Marxism as a “historicist prophecy,” while G.A. Cohen defended it as a scientific theory of history.
• Eric Hobsbawm emphasized Marxism’s enduring role as the “language of revolution” in the 19th and 20th centuries.
• Raymond Aron called Marxism a “secular religion” for its global ideological influence.

Marx’s Writings

• His works inspired the rise of communist regimes in the 20th century.
• Despite this, Marx was academically trained as a philosopher, earning a doctorate in ancient philosophy.
• He engaged deeply with philosophical contemporaries and predecessors, especially G.W.F. Hegel.
• Marx’s writings cover philosophical anthropology, theory of history, economic analysis, morality and ideology, modern state, and communist future.
• His early writings emphasized the concept of alienation, a distinct social ill.
• The notion of alienation rests on a controversial account of human nature and its flourishing.
• Marx later developed the influential theory of history, known as historical materialism.
• This theory explains how forms of society rise and fall as they further and then hinder the development of productive power.
• Marx increasingly analyzed the capitalist mode of production, driven by the pursuit of profit.
• He traced its origins to the extraction of surplus value from the exploited proletariat.
• Scholars debate the role of morality and moral criticism in Marx’s critique of capitalism.
• His account of morality is linked to his theory of ideology.
• He reflected on how widely shared misunderstandings sustain the stability of class-divided societies.
• Marx gave a controversial account of the modern state and its relation to economic life.
• He argued that history progresses through modes of production, each marked by class struggle.
• These struggles drive humanity toward the communist stage.
• Marx maintained that political and economic life are deeply interconnected.
• He avoided giving a detailed blueprint of communism.
• Instead, he argued that the structure of communism would arise through the historical process.
• Communism, for Marx, was not a pre-determined plan, but the outcome of social contradictions.
• His work combines philosophy, economics, and revolutionary practice, shaping both theory and praxis.

Marxism

• Marxism generally refers to the ideas of Karl Marx, the German philosopher.
• However, Marxism does not exclusively represent Marx’s ideas.
• It also includes the ideas of Friedrich Engels and other supporters who identify as Marxists.
• Therefore, Marxism is a body of ideas predominantly based on Marx, but shaped collectively by his followers.
• Marxism is considered a living philosophy, constantly developed by contemporary Marxist thinkers.
• It is often said: “Marx is dead, but Marxism is still alive.”
• Elements of Marxist philosophy existed even before the birth of Karl Marx, indicating a broader historical context.
• David McLellan, a Marxist scholar, wrote three volumes on the subject: “Marxism before Marx”, “The Thought of Karl Marx”, and “Marxism after Marx”.
• These works highlight that Marxism predates Marx and continues after him.
• Similarly, Leszek Kołakowski, a Polish philosopher, authored three volumes on Marxism, examining its evolution over time.
• This demonstrates that Marxism is not limited to Karl Marx alone, but is a tradition of thought.
• Marxism adapts and evolves, reflecting the contributions of successive generations of Marxist thinkers.
• The philosophy addresses social, economic, and political questions beyond the original writings of Marx.
• The term Marxist applies to anyone who supports or develops Marxist theory, not only to Marx himself.
• The continuity of Marxism underscores its relevance in analyzing modern social and economic issues.
• Marxism is both a historical and contemporary framework for understanding class, labor, and society.
• It functions as a philosophical method, political program, and analytical tool.
• The evolution of Marxism illustrates its dynamic, open-ended nature, distinguishing it from static ideologies.
• Studying Marxism involves examining its origins, Marx’s contributions, and subsequent developments.
• Ultimately, Marxism is a collective intellectual tradition, not the sole property of Karl Marx.