MARXISM

WHAT IS MARXISM?
Marxism derives its name from that of Karl Marx (1818-83 ), a famo
us German
economist and social philosopher I of the nineteenth century who
is the chie f
exponent of this theory. It is interesting to recall that this term
was unknown
in Marx's own lifetimet.. Friedrich Engels (1820-95), a close friend
and collaborator
of Marx, once reported the follo iing comment made by Marx
himself: "All I
know is that I am not a Marxist." Marx probably said so as he
did not claim
to offer a comprehensive worl~view. It is also possible ·that he did
not advance
such a claim out of modesty. However, towards the end of
the nineteenth
century, G. V. Plekhano ~ ( 1~56-1918), a Russian Marxist, anno
unced that
'Marxism is a whole worldvi~w'. But despite this name, Marxism
should not
be regarded as a system of t~ought exclusively belonging to Mar
x. Marxism,
in fact, comprises a rich tra?ition of social thou ght- . a living tradition, with
immense possibilities. ·
Marxism, in its proper s~nse, first appeared in the middle of the
nineteenth
cen~ ry in response to ~he o~fressive c_onditions created by the capi
talist system.
It will be recalled that hberaJ1sm a~ose 1n late se~enteenth century as
a philosophy
of human freedom, but by !the ~:uddle of the nineteenth century
it had become
clear that the classical form of liberalism, with it doctrine of
laissez-faire and
free market economy, had failed to create conditions of hum
an freedom.
Liberalism had achieved the go 1 of establishing capitalism unde
r which a tiny
class of ~a~italists enjoyed~spe ial power and privileges at the
expense of the
large maJonty of the workfng c ass. The legal and political equa
lity sought by
/j
I
f,
38 _ __ __ An Introduction to Political Theory
i
~ the expon ent.s of liberal ism had been ach · ed . .. ---
inequa lities and conse quent injusti ce . Early •~v ,wtth tremendous. econo .
that .the elimination of gove.nunental testti ,.c ampions of liberalism had h,!~
. , . . c ions on busine
usher 111 an era of umversa l irnpto vcmen .
t i . th . _ .. •Ss 81>d. mdustr.,,. wn"Ld
-~
.
ac t ua I expen ence showed that unbridledn e .maton al
. . · . Con d.ltions
. ,
of life. vq
Bt
disastrous consequc·nces . The trem-endous• • cap,tah stn had produced soc·i. . ,u
.I . . 1
a sma I sectto n wluch happened to O-Nn th ncreas_e of wea1th was cornered by 1Y 4-(

. . . . . • ·
th e Jarg-e maJor-ity of the mdustna]
. . e means of soc·18 , od _.
populati
living . Successful bankers and market spe: a:: ~::tgn~
· _. _ pr :Uctton While
to a ~ub-hurnan
leaps and bounds w~ile the slum-"Ciwelling work.in clasease their. ':ea.1th by
the constant threat of msecurity, malnutrition, discomfort..
developments belied aU the humanitarian hopes of uni
ru:;ere
llv1ng under
·l and ~eatb. The.-se
versa econorruc progress
The first response to these horrible conditions came in th fi f
socialist movement, which opposed the policy of free mark; t coornn ~n early
_ . _. . °.
drew attent10n to the detenoratmg condit. ions .
of
·
the worki ng
mpetmon and
classe E .
. 1· I. k S . S. (I s. arly
soc1a ,sts 1 e amt- 1mon 76?-1825) and Louis Blanc ( 1811-82) in France
advocated a more or less centrahzed economy under state control. Some othe~
sought to project images of model communities governed by the pnncrp le of
•free cooperation' instead of 'free competition' as advocated by the capital
ist
systein. Robert Owen (1771-1858) in England and Charles Fourier (1772- 1837 )
in France produced elaborate plans of setting up such model commumttes. p
J. Proudhon ( 1809-65) in France hoped to set up a nationwide system of
decentralized workers' cooperatives which would bargain with one another for
the mutua l exchange of goods and services. All these thinkers knew clearly
what was wrong with the world , but they were not clear as to what to do
about it for they suggested only visionary solutions- far removed from
tht;
hard reaJities of life. In other words , they had arrived at a correct diagnosis of
the ills of ille capitalist system, but had no clear conception of th£ rt-med)
They are. therefore. rightly described as 'utopian socialists'
Duri11g the decades beginning with the 1830s and the 184-0s, the idcr.u ut l,,
utopian socialists were subjec ted to severe criticism by a group of bnl ..1nc
writers comm intd to fundamental social change, notably by Karl \l.1n 1
German scholar. sud Friedrich Engels, a young Gennan bu.~inc,~nurt r\:-s 1J!nt!
m England, M,,n ,md l:niel s suugh1 tu rt:placr urupw n w, ttilt \m /',i )\ ~
,\Uf h dJ ,\ fl f fu t rJ,<, umd1 ·,1, of JUC'lt1! pruhlc:rrl'i - - ~-h-,o ,~r-:i th ,
dlltl /irkllll t: ltt"·tr 'L' u
~o 1uhon ca,nc ._ . .
rn the form of au elaborate philosophy '" t.m:,\\ ,~. no"' Ct' "'·tW!U.lC C'
J

as Marx1 bm. Mmx und 1:ngch> ' ( 'uttmw msf A,Ja,u),i ·.,·1v (l~-4S) ~..w1,..· uut " 1_th ~
· .• .
mt.crp rttllt1 on oi,. the: H>k ut• th~ workm ,
g churn tu . . • .t ll!l<l ruru.rc
tht: rrn11..m~ ot· pa.s --
history. h also gave a c; luuvn rult co workt:r~ of all ~ouncnc~ to umtr for th(
purpose of st.'l:Uriug thc-u· own crruuu:ipatwn and) through tha,t emancipatio~,
the freedom of aJl mankind. Other leadm g w<>rks on chis -theme incl~de Marx ~
A Contribution _l o 1J,e Cruiq ue of f'olitic al Economy (1859), Capaal,_Vo\,.
(1861- 79), VoL 11 ( 1885) and Vol. fll (1894) (Vol. n and III were edited ,
 Concept of Ideology 39

Engels), and Engles' Anti-Diihring (1877- 78).

In sho~ Marxism may be defined as a set of political and economic principles

founded lW Karl_Marx and Friedrich Engels in order to lay scientific foundations
of socialism. It seeks to understand the problems of human society through
historical analysis and treats history as a process of conflict between antagonistic
forces and classes. This conflict arises from the faults in the mode of production
in which on~ cl~ss .~om~s to gai~ ownership and control of the means of social
production and compels the other class to work on terms . conditfons and.
dictated by itself. This conflict reaches its peak in the age of capitalism when
it can be resolved only through a revolutionary overthrow of capitalism, placing
all means of social production Qand, buildings, mines, fores ts, machinery and
capital, etc.) under social ownership and control, enforcing universal labour and
ensuring full development of the forces of production.

The original tenets of Marxi sm-as a scientific system of thoug ht-are

identified as Classical Marxism. Its chief exponents include, apart from Marx
and Engels themselves, V.I. Lenin (1870-1924), a Russian revolutionary and
thinker, Rosa Luxemberg (1871-1919), a Polish activist and thinker, and Mao
Zedong (1893-1976), a Chinese revolutionary ~nd thinker. The wider implications
of Marxism, largely inspired by the humanist thought of the Young Marx, are
broadly identified as Neo-Marxism. In a nutshell, Classical Marxism holds that
private property divides society into dominant and dependent classes with
irreconcilable class interests. It is held together only by the ideological power of
the dominant class. Human history moves towards its goal of human freedom
through the revolutionary destruction of inherent contradictions in society
culminating in the emergence of a classless society. Neo-Marxism, on the other
hand, seeks to analyse the subtle aspects of the phenomenon of dominance and
dependence, distortions in the contemporary civilization and the possible ways
to human emancipation.

uns Nta?fr
:'{:\.', ·· ,. :•, ---·X>.l:~ .-. · ·. · . ·
'l ~.is ecfrly work;, which remain ed unpublished
'$COV~r~d'1 from ':tni ~··:arc:.hives of G~rman Social
.~•-.;f ~ '.A" ,;;.,~ -.~ ( ~ • • -. ""'1.6f. ,:, '•< 1
,
,

mottdts . . . >;,, ; Qnijf la_ter ·, pub'!isht if,a.$. f~°:n~mic and Philosoph~c

,, , nv,~~rip,t -",1 • ·:. . 4A{ ,"l;t ;li,·;clist'i~guished from· t:A arx's
later work which_ ts
',<c:hdfa ~te rized~.·i t· ·scJ:e~tlfic:'. rlgeur. Marx's early work c:ontalns his humant~t
;
1
thou.~
ght on <:brn~lil dJ,;n;:j;or
!r', ,_'). 1(1 ~a;
fa·:,f9~u
. ••
s-•,- on ·the c:;oncepts .of alienation and fre~~ -
•;!' I ,• I . , ' ,
. ._

-_- .
J(

:;: lt''1~. ipe;e~:,t~t l'~~~u~~nlth(1· ,,~f~~t ··of cgplt~!lsm. , , . · ·

, '· I

• :.< I '~ ✓ ✓ f

MAIN TENETS OF MARXISM

Main tenets of Classical Marxism includ e- (a) Dialectical Materialism; (b)
Historical Materialism; (c) Doctrine of Class Conflict; and (d) Theory of
Surplus Value.
 42 An Introduction to Political Theory
, • ! , ,-;J I'': . ' • I ,,

Marxiari View: of the ·:·Stages· of HistarJcal Development

' • ' ;,,,

Prevailing Mode Caused by Social Contending

of Production formaiion Classes

H~usehold -based Emergence of Slave-Owning Master and SI

r Ancient CIYe
· times small-sea ht.. production private property S6"'clety
Larg~~scale a~rlculture- Rise of Feudal Lord and Serf
( M•dieval
Society

fMOd8,n
.:· tlme-s 'bdsed production Feudalism
Large-sca'le machine- Rise of Capitalist Capitalist and
flmes based production Capitalism Society Worker
Socialist

I
Future-I -do- Soclallst Workers in power
Revolution Society and the former
capitalists under
subjugation
.Future-II -do- .. Liquidation · of · CQ~muni st No · contending
· i'emnants'_. of ;., Society class~-s as it will
,,..
. -;:c,:c;_~~,t~}.tlm,}~/t(:•\·· :.:i · ·
be a da• society

Doctrine of Class Conflict

Class conflict or class ~truggle is an integral p!l,_!t_of hi~tori03:l materialis1E· The
~mng sentence of Communist Manifesto J l 848) reads:
-
The history of all hitherto society is the history of class struggles.
Here, history means all written history. When Communist Manifesto was originally
written, the pre-history giving account of primitive tribal communities with
common ownership of means of production, was not known. When it became
known, it was described as 'primitive communism'. Communist Manifesto deals
with the period beginning with the division of society into antagonistic classes
since the emergence of private property. So Communist Manifesto proceeds:
"Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and
journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to
one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that
each time ended either in a revolutionary re-constitution of society at large, or in
the common ruin of the contending classes."

/~)< ,. , ,-:. '1

P,rj,:a;ijtive Communism
f,1ff,r¥?~f". c_omfuunism
.

(classless .society with common ownership of means.· of

Y,,· -;pto~yct!<ift) found ·Jn primitive societies. At this stage, the Instruments of labour
.. , \e,:~f.moit . prJ,mi.tive kind-th e club, the stone axe, the flint knife, the stone-.. ·
, 'if~~P:t:qr/ f,9ll~wed
:{i:•" ' ,' ,.,. ,,.,
later by the bow and arrow. Man's muscular str~ngJh..
i \n: ,·, -',Jtf~_tive force employed to operate these elementary tools. The~e·/ ,, .. > ·:

.f~'J~ :'common ownership by the members of the primitive co~myrilti {::.

' ,-;;; '/r!".fs~lf , in . common labour; e.g. common huntin9; .c:o,ramon .fi.~bi~g}t
i-t2is:· cornrnon . labour were also shared jn·•cc,~~~~-: ·!:~.~r,·-¥(,ct'sj,if
. ;, \.tf :t>r?kt~rty,_her1ce no .exploit 9tio~ .-~f ~~'.~::}ij~t:~2ni\:i, .{:::/("
 Concept of Ideology 43

one mode. Q!_P!°oduction is

,With the development of forces of productiop,
th_e new soci~l cla~s~s) _!e~ppears -
replaced ~y_~I!_Qt}ler, -?ML9l~ s~ ~J;tflic_t (between
ient slave-owning society was
__..1:1E4~r_th_e _new social f~rmat10n. Thus, anc
ano slave;'medfevai'reudal society
charactenz~d ~y class conflict between master
modern capitalist society by class
_ by cl~ss ~~~fh~~be_~ _een lord and serf; and the -
riat (worlceis}.
~~~ ~~~~ -b~!Ween oourgeo1sie "'{capitalists) and proleta

·'Dominant Class

Tendency of
Suppression

st society is described in
Status of the class conflict in modern capitali
Communist Manifesto as under:
from the ruins of feudal
The modem bourgeois society that has sprouted
isms. It has but established
society has not done away with class antagon
new forms of _struggle in
new classes, new conditions of oppression,
place of the old ones.

. i~ ~d>a_:'nc:i'/se~f '· ·:::P·, ~--->··l: . ,, . ,-. :, ;<''., ~·

1
' i; \. f. . .

.x.)•;:;t,.~·•·,,',.·\. /._:,,:r',(" ·,~ ·,,

, ".'l . ,. 4

: ~ ,··· -~' ,~·

~, .(:
.' 1h¢s~·:· werce, thf
'·/
_ei,~ ~,ey~~f _sod~t( who
-~w,~~-c:~nt~n:cf iri:g ' cl9j~~~ iii'· &t~
,_ ~htd·~ n;i~aot
rdid ·not '
1

tij,e lari'dlord .wbo;} W_g~: tne "OWf'.ler -~f ·fon

d. S~ '."-itf,anr th~ pe,psanf
a :~~_oil, · fixe d~·s~pt e ~ of tb~ _~roduce_
.~~n la~~/_b~t -~~!f}~~!~ Jt;,- ~~~ ; f'c~ived '!fle,dged ., slave:,· He· ·could tia-ve- hts
. as va . return' fop his , toJI! Ser.f ; WQ$ not a fulll i~
-f~~il y\; diJd·J!s(J:>"e,1,o~ iJl~~,-· CQ~ld . nof _l~av~ hi~·-. duty · ~ itho,ut per ~ils
ti~( he:
.·of,f~erfs/''':.•'.· was: ';the distiri~tiv~ feature of feudal ·society.
O,:,.~Js · 'lor~. '"E~p19Jtafi~n
.. ·' (~. ,' /
: ~
_.·'.• ·,,. ,.:,,
:•
'
, ,, ,1.··.
~·-.. ·,
. .

'.': . '_ ..·, .· . ' 'r: I •• ,_. Bourgj Q.isi~ · _and Proletariat
' ', . \' .
:" ' '
:. . '
·.. / ' )
st ·society. En9els' ~o-te
-', .

tb.e ':two. contfmcll~9. c:l_os$es ··In. mo~e-:rn CQpltqU

_

. J;~_es.e'. tire 888) reads: "By bour9eoisi♦

J~,, ·t,he'>EngJis~. edf~loo of° ·Communist Mqnif,i to (l of s0,cial pro,ductio~· ·;
_- Tt*~~~)h,e ct~.ss_of.mod.em C,q,plta,'llsts, _ow~·, r~ ·of th~ me~~s of modern w~g_e -
;:-:,9n~ '?~-ttJP!oyers 9f wag e __ lab,o~r. By prolefqr tat, t~e ·cl~s$ _to ·
production of their· own, are reduc:e.a.
;i,J.q·~<?·ure~~ who, h~ylng •·no· means of
! )~i!trig·.,:th~J!.~labo~r ·power in or-d~r· to live."
4 . ,J --.. ·
. '
•
,
. ' , ·.,. • , ) ~•
,,. : 'I, . ,:, , . l
 ction to Political Theory
An Intro du
44 . . h appeared in more crystallized
'talist society as - ,
· · modern capt ·
Class conflict m . sto declares:
----- -
fonn. So Commun ist Manife . . ie possesses, however, this
-- . h f the bourgeois ' - . S .
Our epoch, the e~oc . o im lified the class antagonism~. octety ~s a
. ctive feature: 1t has s _P. . to two great hostile camps, tnto
di stm sphttmg up 10thef' Bourge01s1e · · dp I ·
bole is more and more . h an ro etanat.
w lasses directly factng eac o . . . -
two great c . fl . h d entered a dec1s1ve phase,. They
Marx and Engel s bo~!_tpat th •~ C(!ll . tclt f~he proletar1at, i.e.- th eir ability to
. -h-- 1 tionary potentta o . 'r- - h. .
had full faith m t e revo u . . 1. t society with soc1a1 owners tp of
- ~ . -;"ap1·talism and establish a soc ta ts
ovetu Lrv~ V b d·
-means _of sogalprodudion. So they o serve . . .
- tand face to face with the bourge01s1e today, the
Of all the classes at s th . The other classes decay
· 1 · really revolut10nary c1ass. . . .
proletanat a one is a . • d try· the proletanat 1s its
and finally disappear m the face of modem tn us '
special and essential product (ibid.).
The proletarian revolution would be different from all previous revolutions
of history:
All previous historical movements were movements_ of minorities, ~r in
the interest of minorities. The proletarian movement 1s the self-conscious,
independent movement of the immense majority, in the interest of the
immense majority (ibid.).
According to Marx and Engels, this revolution would bring about the final
emancipation of manlund because there is no class below the proletariat which
could be subjected ~o exp!oitation when the proletariat comes to power. It
-would place all means of social production u nder social ownership, make ~ork
compulsory fo r everyone, and develop the forces of production to their fuJl
p~tential. This will pave the way for the emergence of classless society which
will mark the end of class conflict.

Theory of Surplus Value

While doctrine of class conflict represents sociological basis of M . h .

of surP_l"~ ~alue represents its economic basis. It embodies the Marx ,!m• t . ~ory
~f cap1tahsm. It is meant to demonstrate how the ca ita . ~ tst cno~ue
involves the ,exploitation of workin class A . ~ hst mode of prod\tcUon
Joie creuror u' \'ulw: Of th .- . g .- d
· cco, mg to M(lr;c, 'Gbour ,.s rh /
'I · e •Our ,ac tors of d ·
capital and organi1-a,tion three fa ' t , 1 _pro uction, viz . land, labour,
because they are capabie -of rep~o:c~~ an:, capital a~d org~nization are sterile
the only el_em~nt which produces value n f s°l:.
whut ts put tn them. Labour is
a commocbty as the Produce of la'-··- Tl- oc1ety . ln other words, the value of
. shou Id be calculated right '1UU(,. le _quanuty of 1a, bour employed m .
• its
makmg ..
. ,rom t11e produ t 100
.
processmg the raw material acquirin tl - c of the raw material
' - g 1e sources of . '
energy for Us processing,
 Concept of Ideology 45
and c~nstructing the required machinery and building for its production. The
quan~1~ of laboW:: required in its production is also determined by the average
cond1t1ons of social production and the average skill of the labour employed.
The actual amount of labour employed in the production of a commodity is
called its natural price. It differs from its price in the market, or -market price
which fluctuates with the changing conditions of demand and supply. In a free
market society, fqstered by capit_alism, the worker is forced to sel} his labour
at the marke t price. When more and more job-seekers come to the market
place, the marke t pric~ of the4" labour, i.e. their wage-rate declines. Their
emplo yer-th e capitalist exploits their full potential to work but pays them only
subsist ence wages for their own and their families' sustenance.
Thus, the value produc ed by the worker may be split into two parts-one
part is paid to the worker towards his wages; the other part is pocketed by the
capital ist as his profit. This second part is described by Marx as 'surplus
value'. Rent and interest are paid from the surplus value. In other words,
surplus value denotes the value of the labour done by the worke~ for which he
is not paid at all; it forms part of the capitalist's profit, re~t and m~erest on the
sterile elemen ts of production (organization, land and cap~tal~. It 1s, therefore,
a glaring· examp le of the _worker's exploitation under cap1tahsm.
 GANDHl&M .· .·
Gandhism der ive s its name from that of
Mahatma . Gandhi (M.K. Gandhi)
( 1869-1948), Indian social and moral philosoph
er. His social and political thought
is compendiously described as Gandhism. He
did not write any treatise on his
philosophy. His thought is scattered in a larg
e number of notes and pamphlets
as well as his Autobiography (My Experim
ents With Truth; 1929). He even
denied the existence of 'Ga ndh ism '. But as
the time rolled on, it revealed the
immense possibilities of application of Gandh
ian principles to various social,
economic and political situations, and their
relevance is steadily increasing. It
proved that Ga ndh ian wa y of thinking has
not only its distinct identity, it is a
full-fledged worldview. Th at is precisely the
basis of Gandhism.

POLITICS AND ETHICS

As a moral philosopher, Ga ndh i tre ate d eth
ics as·the guiding star of all human
behaviour, inc lud ing politics. Ga ndh i's ethics
was bas ed in moral teachings of
all religions, although he pai d special attentio
n to time-honoured Hindu religion
(sanatana dharma). He exp res sed his firm fait
h in the spiritualization of
politics. This me ant tha t if politics was to be
a blessing and not a curse to
mankind, it should be inf orm ed by the highes
t ethical and spiritual principles.
In other words, pol itic s sho uld be guided
by high moral standards, and not
by . expediency.
 76 An Introduction to Political ·1 neory
· . well as ends. Only right means should
Gandhi believed in pu~ity ~ m;a:: d:s He strongly refuted the idea that 'end
0

be adopted for ~he pursmt of,~igh bl · nd is achieved by adopting ignoble

th
justifies th~ means' or at if a ~?ls eGandhi himse lf observed:
means their use would be excuse .
' ft 11 means'. J would say 'means are after all
They say 'means are a er a the end ... Realization of the goal is in exact
h' , A the means so
everyt !ng · sh . f th means. This is a proposition that admits of no
proportmn to t at o e
exception (Selections from Gandhi, by Nirmal Kumar Bose; 1948).

•- · ced that if we take care of our means, end will take. care
Gandhi was convm
of itself. Means and ends may be compared to the seed and the tree ~espectively.
The nature of tree is determined by the nature of seed. Only the nght type of
seed will grow into the right type of tree. As you sow, so shall you reap. He
that soweth vice shalt not reap virtue. Again, means and end may be compared
to the action (karma) and its consequence (phala). Man has !iill control over
his action, not over its consequences. That is the famous teaching of Bhagwad-
Gita- Hindu sacred book.
Means and ends are the two sides of a coin. They cannot be separated.
Immoral means cannot be used to achieve moral ends. If used, they will vitiate
the end itself. Wrong way can never lead to a right destination. The authority
founded on fear and coercion cannot inspire love and respect amon g people.
Gandhi adopted the path of satyagraha (reliance on the force of truth) for
achieving the goal of swaraj (independence from the foreign rule) becau se this
path was as · sacred as its destination. Satyagraha involved the practi ce of
ahimsa (non-violence) which embodied the right course of action. So Gand hi
declared: "For me, ahimsa comes b_efore swara j."
For Gandhi, the terms 'spiritual', 'religious' and 'moral or ethica l' conve yed
t~e same idea. They taught man to abstain from vice and follow the path of
virtue. In Gandhi's view, the essence of all religions was identical. God of
Hi~~us was not different from God of Muslims or God of Christians. All
reh_gw~ taught piety and charity towards fellow-beings. No religion was superior
or mfenor to any other religion. Religious tolerance was the keyno te of social
:
hannony. Gandhi's notion of religion was aptly expressed in his own words
By religion, I do not mean £ 1 1. .
religion wh· h d 1· orma re igion, or customary religion, but that
IC un er 1es all religio ·
h' h brmgs .
our Maker ns, w IC us face to face with

. ( The Mind of Maha tma :Jandhi,

. comptled by R.K. Prabhu and U.R. Rao; 1~t.! ").
For Gandhi, adherence to religion was th .
very pursuit induced him to participate . e ~~~ of his pursu it of truth. This
bereft of religion was nothing short of· md pohitics. He believ ed that politics
· h . the soul. So
a eat trap ' wh ic ktlls
 Concept of Ideology 77
·
Gandhi wrote in his Autob.zography:
My devotion to Truth has cirawn m . t h fi of politics; and I can say
.
without the slightest he 't t'
tha
mean
t rel
s.
igion has nothi:~ 0
and_
wi
~~o:
e m ~ t e teld
yet 10. ~II humility, that those who say
th pohttcs do not know what religion

. .
In short, politics and ethics wer e mseparable m Gandhian system of thought.
.
TRUTH AND NON-VIOLENCE
fG . . .
Devotion to truth is the essence nd his m
_ . B~! i h~w ,to ~~scov~r truth? It
findin g Go d Hi ~s el;
is as difficult as Ga nd hi s view, ?o d an~ truth are
n to Go d can b ·. In
inseparable. Devotio ear ne d ou t thr ou gh devot10n to His creation,
th . e
particularly through the do wn -tro dden. As Gand~i wrote in .
e servic e to
Harijan ( 1939):
.
I recogniz e no .God except the God that 1s
. to be found in the hearts of
th d b rec og nize His presence; I do. And I
e ~m mt lho ns . Th ey do no t
d tha t is Tr uth or Tru th wh ich ·is God, through service
worship th~ ~o
of these mtlhons.

als o the pa rt of pu rsu it of tru th. Non-violence or non-

. .Non-violence is ur
im sa ) lite ral ly me an s ab ste nti on from violence in one's behavio
tnJury (ah only the · negative side of non-
liv ing be ing s . . Th is rep res en ts
t~wards other of all . We should extend our love
sid e, it im pli es lov e
violence. On positive s
tho se wh o lov e us, bu t als o to those who hate us. In Gandhi'
not only to
own words:
n-v iol en ce · on ly wh en we lov e those that hate us. I know how
It is no . .But are not all great and
fol low thi s gra nd law of lpv e
difficult it is to
ng s dif fic ult to do ? Lo ve of the hater is the most difficult of all.
good thi fic ult thing ·becomes easy to
ce of Go d ev en thi s· mo st dif
But by the gra
accomplish if we want to do it
(Selections from Gandhi, by Ni
nnal Kumar Bose; 1948).
him ill
nd hi's vie w, ev en the int en tio n to hann somebody or wishing
In Ga d. Hatred or malice to anyone
len ce wh ich sho uld be esc he we
is a form of vio also
len ce. Ac qu irin g ma ter ial thi ng s beyond one's immediate need is
is also vio others of their share. Even the
ce be cau se the reb y we de pri ve
a fonn of violen ount to
spr ead ing atm osp he ric po llu tio n and damaging public health am
acts of ce embraces all rules of good
the pr inc ipl e of no n-v iol en
violence. Thus,
citi?enship an d human dec~ncy.
t imply
n it co me s to co nfr on tat ion wi th injustice, non-violence does no
Whe
ss. No n-v 'io len ce is no t the res ort of the weak; it is the power
showing weakne fi~
str on g- -o f co urs e, his mo ral power. This power comes from the_1th
of the t cause, and shows firm fa m
th. w
· he n on e fig hts fo_ r a jus
adherence to tru
78 An Introduction to Political Theory

truth, it results in the 'change of heart' of the mighty opponent and makes hi
bend. In short, non-viole~ce is t~e art of gaining victory_ ove~ physical for:
by spiritual force. Non-violence ts the method of self-pur1ficat1on. Practition
of non-violence gains ample power to defeat the forces of untruth. er
Gandhi's technique of struggle against the mighty British Empire w
throughout based on the principle of non-violence (ahimsa). His method of
disobedience and satyagraha (reliance on the force of truth) were strong/
ci:~
based on non-violence. His doctrines of trusteeship and the vision of a classles~
society are also the manifestation of his adherence to truth and non-violence.