Is Marxism Anti Democratic
Is Marxism anti-democratic?
In order to answer this question the parameters of the discussion must first be set, with key terms in the title defined. Marxism I define to be ‘an economic and socio-political worldview and method of socio-economic enquiry which focuses upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change and an analysis and critique of capitalism. ‘ Democracy, I define to be an ‘egalitarian form of government in which sovereignty is vested in the people and exercised by them or elected agents.’ In the following essay I will present two opposing interpretations of Marxism, with both leading to wildly divergent conclusions regarding the democratic nature of Marxism. The first perspective revolves around a literal interpretation of Marxism; with the emphasis being entirely on Marx’s writings as oppose to any subsequent interpretations or manifestations of his beliefs. The second perspective involves an empirical study of Marxism, with various Marxist regimes analyzed and the extent to which they are democratic being the primary means of assessing as to whether Marxism is democratic or not. The following two quotations, I believe demonstrate the polarity of opinion existing on Marxism and Democracy and accurately summarize the two perspectives I will be arguing; Hal Draper (1978) states ‘Marx’s socialism maybe most quickly defined, as the complete democratization of society, not merely of political forms,’ and Joseph Femia ‘Communist despotism was a logical consequence of Marxist theory.’ In the first part of the essay, I will outline Marx’s theory of the state and democracy which supports the argument that Marxism is not theoretically anti-democratic. In the second part of the essay I will present the view that as a result of their being such significant empirical evidence in opposition to this thesis I believe it is hard to argue that Marxism can be viewed as democratic. Marx stated ‘The question whether human
In order to answer this question the parameters of the discussion must first be set, with key terms in the title defined. Marxism I define to be ‘an economic and socio-political worldview and method of socio-economic enquiry which focuses upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change and an analysis and critique of capitalism. ‘ Democracy, I define to be an ‘egalitarian form of government in which sovereignty is vested in the people and exercised by them or elected agents.’ In the following essay I will present two opposing interpretations of Marxism, with both leading to wildly divergent conclusions regarding the democratic nature of Marxism. The first perspective revolves around a literal interpretation of Marxism; with the emphasis being entirely on Marx’s writings as oppose to any subsequent interpretations or manifestations of his beliefs. The second perspective involves an empirical study of Marxism, with various Marxist regimes analyzed and the extent to which they are democratic being the primary means of assessing as to whether Marxism is democratic or not. The following two quotations, I believe demonstrate the polarity of opinion existing on Marxism and Democracy and accurately summarize the two perspectives I will be arguing; Hal Draper (1978) states ‘Marx’s socialism maybe most quickly defined, as the complete democratization of society, not merely of political forms,’ and Joseph Femia ‘Communist despotism was a logical consequence of Marxist theory.’ In the first part of the essay, I will outline Marx’s theory of the state and democracy which supports the argument that Marxism is not theoretically anti-democratic. In the second part of the essay I will present the view that as a result of their being such significant empirical evidence in opposition to this thesis I believe it is hard to argue that Marxism can be viewed as democratic. Marx stated ‘The question whether human
Bibliography: Cohen,R 1965: ‘Marxism and Democracy in Herbert Aptheler Marxism and Democracy: A Syposium, Humanities Press, New York, pp. 15-16 Draper,H: 1978 Karl Marx 's theory of revolution Vol. 2 The politics of social classes New York Monthly Review Press Femia, J, Marxism and Democracy, Clarendon Press, 1993 Hunt, A 1980: Marxism and Democracy, 1980, Prometheus Books, pp. 237 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/marx/ Marx and Engels, 1848: The Communist Manifesto, Penguin Books Abensour, M, 2010: Democracy against the state: Marx and the Machiavellian Moment, Polity Press Elster, J, 1986: An Introduction to Karl Marx, Cambridge University Press Rigby, S, 1998: Marxism and History: A Critical Introduction, Manchester University Press