MARXISM

Marxism

• It or ig i na l l y c ons i s te d of t hr ee r e l at e d id ea s : a phi l os op hic a l a nthr op ol og y, a

the or y of hi s tor y, a nd a n e c onom ic a nd p ol it i ca l p r ogra m.

• T hen the r e is Sov ie t Ma r xis m a s w orke d out b y V la di m ir I li ch Le ni n and

mod i fi e d by J os ep h St a li n.

• The Rus s ia n Revo lut io n ( 19 1 7 ) .

• Off s hoot s of thi s i nc lud ed Ma r xis m a s int er p r et ed by the ant i-Sta l i ni s t Le on

Tr o ts k y a nd hi s fo ll ow er s , Ma o Ze d ong’s Chi nes e va r ia nt o f Ma r xi s m-Len ini s m,
and va r i ous Mar x is m s in the d e ve lop i ng wor l d.
Marxism

• Marx declared that philosophy must become reality.

• One could no longer be content with interpreting the world; one

must be concerned with transforming it, which meant transforming
both the world itself and human consciousness of it.

• Marx examines each problem in its dynamic relation to the others

and, above all, tries to relate them to historical, social, political,
and economic realities.
Social Reality
• Underlying everything as the real basis of society is the economic

structure. This structure includes:

• (a) the “material forces of production,” that is, the labour and means
of production, and

• (b) the overall “relations of production,” or the social and political

arrangements that regulate production and distribution.

• Although Mar x stated that there is a correspondence between the

“material forces” of production and the indispensable “relations” of
production, he never made himself clear on the nature of the
correspondence, a fact that was to be the source of diff ering
interpretations among his later followers.
Social Reality

. Above the economic structure rises the superstructure, consisting

of legal and political “forms of social consciousness” that correspond
to the economic structure.

“The sum total of the forces of production accessible to men

determines the condition of society ” and is at the base of society.
“The social structure and the state issue continually from the life
processes of defi nite individuals . . . as they are in reality, that is
acting and materially producing.”
 Class Struggle
Mar x made class struggle the central fact of
social evolution. “The history of all hitherto
existing human society is the history of class
struggles.”

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Class Struggle

With the development of capitalism, the class struggle takes

an acute form. Two basic classes, around which other less important

classes are grouped, oppose each other in the capitalist system: the

owners of the means of production, or bourgeoisie , and the

workers, or proletariat .
Class Struggle

• When people have become aware of their loss, of their alienation, as a

universal nonhuman situation, it will be possible for them to proceed

to a radical transformation of their situation by a revolution.

• But for Mar x there are two views of revolution. One is that of a fi nal
confl agration, “ a violent suppression , and the other conception is that
of a permanent revolution involving a provisional coalition between
the proletariat and the petty bourgeoisie rebelling against a
capitalism that is only super fi cially united.
Class Struggle

Its mission is the political and revolutionary education of the

proletariat, gradually assuring the transfer of legal power from the

revolutionary bourgeoisie to the revolutionary proletariat.

 Engels
Lenin

Marx’s Stalin

Followers Trotsky
Mao
Castro
 Engels
• He wrote a book in which he was criticizing
weakness of Mar xism.

• His methodology in the book was educational.

• Mar xism covered the lifestyle in an economic

aspect. On the other hand, Engels added to
Mar xism through covering lifestyle from all
aspects: historical, philosophical….etc.

• According to Engels, the division between the

urban and the rural will disappear.
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 Engels
• He believed in the collective interests
which means covering what the whole
countr y need not a specifi c social class.

• He called for the permanent revolution, a

revolution happens because of the unity
between the proletarians and some of the
business owners who are against the
capitalistic ideas.

• He looks like Stalin in making the economy

the base of other fi elds in the society.
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 Lenin
• He was for dictatorship by the prol etarians. He
was a member of the army.

• He wanted to control the working class and join

it to the army.

• Af ter the Bolshevik war, he wanted to apply the

analysis of Mar x by examining two things: the
condition of the factor y workers and the
condition of the citizens who don’ t work in
factories.

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 Lenin
• He saw the state as a changeable society;
therefore, there would be disappearing of
some social elements.

• He also gave attention to the peasants as

their role in a revolution shouldn’ t be
neglected.

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 Stalin

• The eastern European and Soviet communist par ties

based on hi s ideas.

• He di vided the soviet materialism into 4 aspects:-

1-He thought that hi stor y is developing all the time and

the historical phases are linked and lead to each other.

2-He affi rmed that evolution takes place in leaps af ter a

revolution.

3- Any sign of contradi ction or opposi tion must di sappear.

4- The base of his developmental ideas is an economical

one.

• He believed in the social collaboration.

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 Trotsky

• He wanted to take the revolution step back

forward.

• He wanted the ruler of the countr y to be

from the proletarians only.

• Af ter owning the power by the proletarians,

they must do reforms and accelerate the
economy development in the countr y ’s
system.
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 Tr o t s k y

• He wanted to decisively abolish the private

sector or capitalism.

• According to his ideas, the revolution

should be permanent and universal in
order to be successful.

• He emphasized the impor tance of

educating the working class.

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 Mao
• Communism in China wa s i n power in 1948. +China has
its own model of ever ything .

• Ma oi sm is the Chinese for m of Ma r xism.

• Mao’s thoug hts of communism we re comp lex. His ana lysis

wa s a c ombi nation of two thing s: Pe rma ne nt
fundamentals of Chinese thoug hts a nd culture.

• For Mao, ever y society has two typ es of contrad ictions: 1

The antag onistic contrad iction be tween the Chinese
pe ople and the outer enemy. 2 T he non-a nta gonistic
contra dic tion which ta kes pla ce b etween:- *The p eople
and the gove rnment in a communist society. *two g roup s
inside a c ommunist pa r ty. * S ection of p eople and
another section of p eople unde r the communist regi me.
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 Mao

• He believed that the permanent revolution

should exist under the umbrella of non-
antagonistic contradiction.(It means we
don’ t need to work with our enemy.)

• He wanted to transfer his ideas about the

permanent revolution to the Chinese people.

• He stated that the ruling par ty should have

militar y power and rural outlook.

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 Castro

• His version of Mar xism rejected any form of

injustice.

• He rejected some practices of Mar xism and

Leninism.

• He rejected sectarianism and bureaucracy.

• He aims to apply a purer Mar xism to the

condition of Cuba.

• His idea of purer Mar xism includes:- *America

is the source of imperialism. *Adopting the
single crop economy and low level of economic
and political developments.
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