Karl Marx (1818-83)

Dr. Nishant Kumar

Life Sketch
Born in 1818 in Prussia. Although Jewish had to convert to Christianity for
father to pursue lawyer against Prussia’s anti Jewish laws.
• Studied law in Bonn and Berlin. And wrote PhD thesis in philosophy.
• Joined young Hegelians in 1837.
• Wanted to get academic job but did not and hence started journalism.
• Became involved in social and political issues. Censorship from
Prussian govt. He had to move to Paris and started to edit another
newspaper there.
• In 1844 met Freidrich Engels.
• Expelled from France- went to Brussels, Belgium.
• He worked to form a secret revolutionary association- League of the
Just. Later renamed The Communist League.
• He was arrested as his writing was causing havocs with rebellion. Had
to leave and go back to Cologne, France in 1848.
• Expelled by city authorities had to move to London.
• Died in March 1883.
• Married Jenny von Westphalen- controversial class and religious
difference. Engaged in 1836 and married in 1843.
Contributions
• In 1843 wrote Contribution to Critique of
Hegel’s philosophy and on the Jewish Question.
• Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts in
1844.; Theses on Feuerbach in 1845.
• German ideology with Engels in 1845. In
1848 wrote Communist Manifesto with Engels.
• Das Capital published in 1867.
• Critique on Gotha Programme in 1850.
• 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte in 1852.
• 1884 The Origin of the Family, Private
Property and the State.
Dialectical Materialism
Dialectics
 Hegel applies dialectics to the world of ideas
 Every idea develops through thesis, antithesis.., synthesis.
 This is how history progresses.
 Hegel-consciousness determined existence
 Marx- consciousness nothing but reflection of natural condition of
man’s existence.
 Marx picks two important aspects- contradictions and progress.
Materialism: Thesis on Feuerbach
 Feuerbach
 We all want to live, for that we produce things, production process-
production relations.
 We need to develop a new world from nature.
 It cannot be only done intellectually- but materially we need to alter things
to create new world.
 Also everything made of matter so motion is natural. Movement towards
progress inherent nature of man.
 Feuerbach ‘contemplative Materialist’- how economic condition shapes our
life. Abstract individual.
 Not abstract human bodies- perception and contemplation – but action as a
result. So understand humanity through material condition- material condition
also impact ideas- we can control our material condition
 Feuerbach: Man are products of historical circumstances- Marx:
circumstances can be changed by men- praxis
 Praxis- creative power of man to change his historical world and himself.

“Philosophers have only interpreted the world, the need however is to change
it”- grand theories about how world is- but need to act and change, look how
to understand and initiate change
Base - Superstructure
• While other things exist they are broadly
determined by economic conditions.
• Forces of production=Means of production +
Labor power
• Relations of production+ Forces of Production=
Mode of Production
Historical Materialism
• Application of principles of dialectical
materialism in the development of society
• An economic interpretation of history. In a way.
• Four main stages in recorded history.
• Primitive communism- forms of production
communally owned.
• Slavery, feudalism, capitalism- one class
dominates and controls the means of production.
• The form of mode of production determines
culture, religion and other intellectual, social and
political relations.
Cont…
• When forces of production is agriculture- feudal land owners will be ruling class-
when industry- capitalists.
• Forms and means of production change through improvement and develop faster
than relation of production. Hand mill to steam mill
• So, on a level of maturity it comes in contradiction with ROP.
• Until a stage of perfection achieved, all societies will be transitory.
• Each stage is a step nearer to perfection.
• Each stage is a necessary form of development towards creation of classless society.
• Capitalism- thesis- organized labor- anti thesis- classless society- synthesis.
• Socialism to be a transition phase where Dictatorship of Proletariat (DOP) will
socialize natural resources and end the remnants of capitalism.
• Goods to be distributed according to work done.
In case of DOP, socialism will blossom into communism

Communism
• No classes- no class ownership- private property as means of exploitation ceases.
• Stateless.
Criticism
• Overemphasis on economic factors.
• Undermines role of other factors – linear vision of history- cannot explain Russia.
Class & Class Struggle
• Class is a group of individuals with same interest and position in mode of production.
• Ownership of means of production main reason for class division
• Mutually exclusive interests lead to class struggle.
• Class in itself- based on class origin and objective awareness
• Class for itself- based on consciousness- subjective awareness.
• Consciousness of common interests and exploitation.
• False consciousness and its remedy- communist party to organize.
• Class in itself to class for itself
 Pauperization of proletariat
 Excess appropriation of surplus value.
 Interaction among workers and sharing of their condition due to concentration of
industries.
 Crisis within capitalism- over production and underproduction- all these effect labor.
 Overproduction- demand low- depression- factory close
 Underproduction- demand high- inflation- contradiction
• Observations
 Class struggle important for social change
 All classes will become party
 Success of revolution depends on intensity of class struggle.
Alienation (Economic and
Philosophical Manuscripts)
 Used earlier by Hegel in his idealist philosophy and
Feuerbach
 2 forms- commodification and estrangement
 Commodification- labor creates commodity but
commodity not in his control.
 1) Alienation from product- It is objects that controls
their life. So alienated from product of their labor
 2) self-estrangement- from act of production- labor
does not belong to himself- his mental and physical being
is controlled by capitalists
 3) alienated from human species- human beings
creative- not now
 4) From other beings- fellow workers- mutual
competition.
Surplus Value
 Main mode of profit.
 Developed from theory of labor value of David Ricardo
 How rich people exploit poor.
 Commodities have value because it has labor embodied in it.
 Smith - Use value and exchange value- use value the property of commodity to
satisfy needs. Exchange value- the power of exchange through labor.
 Use value and exchange value from Smith and theory of distribution from Ricardo
that capital is nothing but a product of past labor.
 Labor increases value of raw material by converting into exchangeable commodity
 Value created and value paid is different.
 Value of commodity should go to labor.
 I employ you for Rs 100 per hour. I will do anything to make you produce things
that cost more than that per hour.
 5 workers*100*5hrs= 2500 Rs. But I sell products worth 5000.
 Sale price- labor- overhead cost= surplus
 Produced by worker, controlled by capitalist
 Workers paid minimum required for survival.

What makes surplus possible?

Commodity fetishism (Das Capital): fetish- divine quality (Marx not in religious)
State
 Does not view state as permanent
 Looks at it as essentially safeguarding the interests of the
dominant class.
 State did not appear in the primitive stage.
 He views it as a form of coercive agency that settles the disputes
between classes
 However favors dominant class
 Extraordinary historical conditions the state for a brief spell may
assume a role independent of society and stand above classes.
 Marx regards it as 'Bonapartism' which he elaborately discussed in
his The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte and The Civil War in France.
 Sometimes contending classes may be in a sort of equilibrium.
 No one with capacity to dominate
 In such a situation, the state may temporarily achieve autonomy
and tend to rise above classes.
 Dictatorship of proletariat.
Miliband-Poulantzas debate
 Miliband – instrumentalist approach ‘Nature Of State In Post-Capitalist
Societies’
 Analysis of state during social welfare phase
 The class that controls economic power still controls political power
 Bureaucracy, judiciary and political representatives remain to be elites
 The claim of managerial revolution a myth
 Managerial revolution- Burnham- nature of capitalism changed- managers
come from different classes hence decisions not controlled by a particular class
 It is a myth because- it is also controlled by the propertied class-
management education very costly
 So state institutions are controlled through recruitments of a particular class
therefore their direct intervention in decisions of state
Polantzas- structuralist approach ‘Political Power And Social Classes’
 Does not agree with Miliband
 Nature of electoral politics- universal adult franchise and party system
 It does not allow any party to align explicitly with one class
 They appear to be autonomous through policies
 But in reality serve interests of propertied class but only in hidden way.
Revolution
 Class struggle paves way for it.
 Transition from one historical stage to other occur through revolution.
 Revolution occurs due to contradiction between forces and relations of production.
 Aimed at transforming relation of production to make it compatible to the forces of
production.
 Occurs only when fop have reached a certain level of maturity.
 Occurs to resolve contradictions so proletarian revolution the last revolution.
 Revolution in capitalist society

• Overproduction main cause of crisis

• Proletariat will feel the pinch and will unite
• Petty bourgeoisie will join- monopolies and industrial growth will not allow them to
survive and they do not have sufficient capital.
• Development of instruments of production act as grave diggers
• Role of communist party imp- class consciousness
• Prepare and guide revolution
• Set up dop

“Let the ruling classes tremble at a communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing
to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Working men of all countries unite”.
THANK YOU