BY-PRATYA MISHRA

ASTHA VAJPAI
DAMINI SINGH
PRIYA PANDEY
 Mohan Das Karam Chandra Gandhi a revolutionary
thinker , was a famous personality of modern time . He
was most controversial and most attractive impressive
one.
 He worked for major change in human nature and was
compare to other personality such as the Buddha,
Christ, Karl Marx , Tolstoy etc.
 Being a great social thinker , he had rare personality of
thinking on unbeaten lines.
 The study of Mahatma Gandhi social philosophy being
understanding to the minds of people and a new hope to the sinking
world
 Like Gandhiji , everyone knows about Karl Marx and tons of writing
existing about him.
 Karl Marx , a great humanist whose teaching are well known ,his
concept were grouped into six categories
• Labour theory of value
• Instability of capitalist system
• Stages of civilization
• Stagealism- stageal values and institutions
• Infrastructures – superstructure theory
• Class war as Dynamic of history
 Marxism is basically a radical humanism but with a set of dogmas of its
own.
 Marx was the first philosopher who said that the world need to be
changed. Before him , the philosopher were only explaining about the
world none of them said anything about change .

COMPRATIVE STUDY OF MAHATMA GANDHI AND KARL MARX

According to the comparative study of Gandhi and Marx it can be said
that both are similar to each other on some basis and dissimilar on the
other basis .
For Example Marx would not accepted Gandhi’s weapon of soul forces
and rejected the approach of non violence .For Marx there is no such
thing as self suffering and change of thought but Mahatma Gandhi have
spiritualistic and non violence approach.
RELIGION
 Mahatma Gandhi was decisively a spiritualist. He was
saint and believe in existence of god and did not attach
to materialism and luxuries of life .He said that man
should have minimum need in his life whereas
 Karl Marx consider religion as opium for worker
because in his view religion made man a fatalist & it did
not allow to arise the workers against capitalism .The
result was that they lack enthusiasm needed for
revolution.
Marx did not believe in god and give materialistic and
economic interpretation of history.
SOCIETY
 Mahatma Gandhi and Karl Marx have great
similarities that final aim of both was the
establishment of classless &stateless society.
Gandhi want to establish a classless society through
non violence but Marx want to achieve it any how ,
violently.
 IDEOLOGIES OF KARL MARX AND MAHATMA
GANDHI ON BASIS OF SOCIETY
• Class struggle
• Form of government
 Marxist have deep faith in class struggle.
Marx said that there is two classes in
society , one class of exploiters and other
of the exploited .

 Today the capitalist are exploiter and

workers are the exploited & according to
him there is no compromise between the
two, there would be continuous conflict
between two.

 But according to Mahatma Gandhi the

class struggle must ruin the production in
society ,so he believe that capitalist should
work as trustees of country’s wealth and
should use there genius form making ideal
society.
 Mahatma Gandhi had a firm faith in
democracy he said that there should be
decentralization of power. The power
should be decentralized in small
cottage industry so that the society can
not run by few people .
 Whereas Karl Marx believe in
dictatorship or autocracy of
proletarian class he believe the
maximum power should be given to the
workers.
In Marxist theory the state has
established its control over all aspects
of individual’s life but Gandhiji was
supporter of individual liberty.
ECONOMY
 Both Mahatma Gandhi and Karl Marx were oppose to
capitalism and exploitation , yet they propagated
different mean to remove capitalism.
 Karl Marx was the father of socialism .He was not
prepared to tolerate capitalism in any form for
achieving this aim he believed in employing violent
means.
 Mahatma Gandhi believe that capitalism should
abolished not by violence means but through
economic decentralization ,encouraging cottage
industries
 As Mahatma Gandhi believe in small cottage industries
where as Marx wants the establishment of big industries.
 Gandhi Ji was against the machinery tools and consider it
as great sin .He believe in decentralization of economy

 But Marx believe in large industrialisation. He had no faith

in economic decentralizations and wanted to remove
government through revolution in order to destroy
capitalism root and branch.
 Gandhi is in favour of co-0perative farming through non-
violence while Marxist favour collective farming in which
there is great control of state
REVOLUTION
 Mahatma Gandhi and Karl Marx both want a
revolutionary change in society , both work for the
upliftment of the working class.
 Mahatma Gandhi work for the progress of the
exploiting class .As both Karl Marx and Gandhi have
good end as Gandhi bring reformation in society by
establishing peace and harmony i.e. Greatest happiness
for greatest number.
 Whereas Karl Marx do not believe in revolution peace
and harmony , he want a revolutionary change through
violence.
 Marx want to remove capitalist from the society because
according to him the capitalism should be abolish any how
and power should be given in hand of working class.

 In Gandhi’s revolutionary movement there is peace

harmony & aggression in his movement like satyagraha, &
in civil disobedience movement we see aggressive nature
against british company
But in Marxist revolution , he wanted the removal of
capitalism to communist society by communist revolution.
MEANS AND END
 Both want the revolutionary change in world.
As one of them have chief aim to get freedom but Marx
have aim for the removal of capitalism from society and
power should be given in hand of working class, as
dictatorship.

 As both have same end but there means were different as

in one place M.K Gandhi wanted to achieve end with
truthness & non- violence whereas Marx wanted to achieve
by violence According to him the means and end does
matter only proletarian should power any how.
Here we have discuss six aspect of Karl Marx and Gandhi on basis
similarity and dissimilarity .

As both have same end but different means but both the philosophers are
ideal for the society and also become ideal for other philosophers too.