Imaginary Interview

(Karl Marx)

1.What do you think of nationalism?

“I believed that nationalism was a temporary and un-natural phenomenon that was one of the
manifestations of human self-alienation. The division of men into antagonistic nation-states
not only separated them from each other through artificial national boundaries but also
alienated man from his own human nature, since in the formation of national loyalties man
had attributed his own powers to an entity (the nation) which he no longer recognized as
his own creation. “

In short, Marx regarded patriotism and nationalism as forms of idolatry, that is, man's
worship of and sub-mission to a creature of his own making.

2. What is necessary for the development of an international order?

He believed (Karl Marx) for a global communist order and believed this would come about through
the replacement of capitalism with communism. There are several ways Marx believed this might
happen but felt the most likely would be global proletarian revolution.

3. What do you think of the League of Nations?

It is unlikely that Marx would have been much impressed by the League of Nations and he would
certainly have abhorred its strong anti-communist preoccupations. The League of Nations
sponsorship of the White Armies and attempted counterrevolution in Civil War Russia would
certainly have drawn some sharp words from Marx.

4. What is the role of revolution in internationalism?

Marx believed that internationalism was essential for the complete transition to a communist
society. The Communist Manifesto states, “The workers have no country; we cannot take away from
them what they have not got.” Frederick Engels states in “The Principles of Communism”, a
forerunner to the Manifesto, that it will be impossible for a socialist society to take place in one
country alone Marx and Engels said that the proletariat in different countries were all in the same
situation of their labor being exploited for profit by the capitalist class. Therefore, internationalism is
an essential belief of communism.