sem 2 political science project

8/10/2019 Sem 2 Political Science Project

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MARXS CONTRIBUTION TO POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

1 | P a g e P O L I T I C A L S C I E N C E P R O J E C T

POLITICAL SCIENCE PROJECTMARXS CONTRIBUTION TO POLI TICAL PH I LOSOPHY

PROJECT SUBMITTED TO:

DR. AVINASH SAMAL

(ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE)

PROJECT SUBMITTED BY:KEVIN JAMES

Semester II, Section A

ROLLNO.76

SUBMITTED ON:26.02.2014

HIDAYATULLAHNATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

RAIPUR,CHHATTISGARH


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Acknowledgements

I, Kevin James, would like to humbly present this project to Dr. Avinash Samal. I

would first of all like to express my most sincere gratitude to Dr. Avinash Samal for his

encouragement and guidance regarding several aspects of this project. I am thankful for being

given the opportunity of doing a project on Marxs Contribution to Political Philosophy.

I am thankful to the library staff as well as the IT lab staff for all the conveniences

they have provided me with, which have played a major role in the completion of this paper.

I would like to thank God for keeping me in good health and senses to complete this

project.

Last but definitely not the least, I am thankful to my seniors for all their support, tips

and valuable advice whenever needed. I present this project with a humble heart.

- KEVIN JAMES

SEMESTER II, SECTION A, ROLL NUMBER 76

BA LLB (HONS.)


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Declaration

I hereby declare that this research work titled Marxs Contribution to Political

Philosophyis my own work and represents my own ideas, and where others ideas or words

have been included, I have adequately cited and referenced the original sources. I also declare

that I have adhered to all principles of academic honesty and integrity and have not

misrepresented or fabricated or falsified any idea/data/fact/source in my submission.

...

(KEVIN JAMES)

Date:


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Contents

1) Introduction...5

2) Marxs Works and Legacy............................... ...8

3)

Marxian Theory of Class Conflict......11

4) Analysis of Marxian Perspective on Class Conflict......16

5) Conclusion19

6) References.20


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Introduction

Karl Marx was aGermanphilosopher,economist,sociologist,historian,journalist,

andrevolutionary socialist. Marx's work in economics laid the basis for the current

understanding of labour and its relation to capital, and has influenced much of subsequent

economic thought.1He published numerous books during his lifetime, the most notable being

The Communist Manifesto (1848) andDas Kapital.

Born into a wealthy middle-class family inTrier in thePrussian Rhineland, Marx

studied at theUniversity of Bonn and theUniversity of Berlin,where he became interested in

the philosophical ideas of theYoung Hegelians. After his studies, he wrote for a radical

newspaper inCologne, and began to work out his theory ofdialectical materialism. He

moved to Paris in 1843, where he began writing for other radical newspapers and

metFredrick Engels,who would become his lifelong friend and collaborator. In 1849 he was

exiled and moved to London together with his wife and children where he continued writing

and formulating his theories about social and economic activity. He also campaigned for

socialism and became a significant figure in theInternational Workingmen's Association.

Further, one of his most significant contributions is the theory of class conflict. In this

project, this theory has been discussed in depth so that we can get an up close look as to how

a typical Marxian theory works, and use it as an example to understand what Marxs real

views were, and how he went about postulating solutions for the problems that he perceived

existed in society.

1 Roberto Mangabeira Unger.Free Trade Reimagined: The World Division of Labor and the Method ofEconomics. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_socialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Communist_Manifestohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Kapitalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Kapitalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine_Provincehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Bonnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Berlinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Hegelianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colognehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectical_materialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredrick_Engelshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workingmen%27s_Associationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Mangabeira_Ungerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Mangabeira_Ungerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workingmen%27s_Associationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredrick_Engelshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectical_materialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colognehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Hegelianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Berlinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Bonnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine_Provincehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Kapitalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Communist_Manifestohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_socialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germans


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Aims and Objectives

I. To understand the full extent of Marxs contribution to Political Philosophy.

II. To consider one of his many theories, namely, the conflict theory, and to

critically analyse it to gain insight on the nature of his contributions.


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Research Methodology

Nature of Research

This research work is part descriptive and part analytical in nature. It describes the

contribution of Karl Marx to Political Science as a whole, and then describes his conflict

theory, analysing its pros and cons.

Sources of Data

This study is done with the help of secondary data. This secondary information has been

obtained from published sources such as books, journals, websites, newspapers, research

works etc.


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Marxs Worksand Legacy

Marx's theories about society, economics and politicscollectively known

asMarxismhold that human societies progress throughclass struggle:a conflict between anownership class that controls production and a dispossessed labouring class that provides the

labour for production. He calledcapitalism the "dictatorship of thebourgeoisie," believing it

to be run by the wealthy classes for their own benefit; and he predicted that, like previous

socioeconomic systems, capitalism produced internal tensions which would lead to its self-

destruction and replacement by a new system:socialism.He argued that class antagonisms

under capitalism between the bourgeoisie and proletariat would eventuate in the working

class' conquest of political power in the form of adictatorship of the proletariat and

eventually establish a classless society, socialism or communism, a society governed by afree

association of producers.2Along with believing in the inevitability of socialism and

communism, Marx actively fought for their implementation, arguing that social theorists and

underprivileged people alike should carry out organisedrevolutionary action to topple

capitalism and bring about socio-economic change.3

Marx has been described as one of the most influential figures in human

history.

4

Revolutionary socialist governments espousing Marxist concepts took power in avariety of countries in the 20th century, leading to the formation of such socialist states as

theSoviet Union in 1922 and the People's Republic of China in 1949. Many labour unions

and workers' parties worldwide are influenced by Marxism, while various theoretical

variants, such asLeninism,Stalinism,Trotskyism,andMaoism,were developed from them.

Marx is typically cited, withmile Durkheim andMax Weber,as one of the three principal

architects of modernsocial science.5

Marx's ideas have had a profound impact on world politics and intellectual thought.6

Hiswork gave birth to modern sociology, has had a lasting legacy in economic thought, and

profoundly affected philosophy, literature, the arts, and almost all of the academic

2 Karl Marx:Critique of the Gotha Program (Marx/Engels Selected Works, Volume Three, pp. 1330;)3 Craig J. Calhoun (2002).Classical sociological theory.Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 2324.4"Marx the millennium's 'greatest thinker'".BBC News World Online. 1 October 1999.

5"Max WeberStanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy".6 Kenneth Allan (11 May 2010).The Social Lens: An Invitation to Social and Sociological Theory.Pine ForgePress. p. 68
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_strugglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourgeoisiehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism_(Marxism)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorship_of_the_proletariathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_association_(communism_and_anarchism)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_association_(communism_and_anarchism)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leninismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalinismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trotskyismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Durkheimhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Weberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_sciencehttp://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1875/gotha/index.htmhttp://books.google.com/books?id=6mq-H3EcUx8C&pg=PA23http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/461545.stmhttp://plato.stanford.edu/entries/weber/http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/weber/http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/weber/http://books.google.com/books?id=KEgg5g0d-fgC&pg=PA68http://books.google.com/books?id=KEgg5g0d-fgC&pg=PA68http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/weber/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/461545.stmhttp://books.google.com/books?id=6mq-H3EcUx8C&pg=PA23http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1875/gotha/index.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_sciencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Weberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Durkheimhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trotskyismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalinismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leninismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_association_(communism_and_anarchism)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_association_(communism_and_anarchism)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorship_of_the_proletariathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism_(Marxism)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourgeoisiehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_strugglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism


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disciplines.7Such widespread influence is postulated to be a result of his work's "morally

empowering language of critique" against the dominant capitalist society.Paul Ricurcalls

Marx one of the masters of the "school of suspicion", alongsideFriedrich

Nietzsche andSigmund Freud.8Karl Lwithconsidered Marx andSren Kierkegaard to be

the two greatest Hegelian philosophical successors.[232]

In social theory, twentieth and twenty-first centuries thinkers have pursued two main

strategies in response to Marx. One move has been to reduce it to its analytical core, known

as Analytical Marxism, which came at the cost of sacrificing its most interesting and

perplexing ideas. Another, more common move has been to dilute the explanatory claims of

Marx's social theory and to emphasise the "relative autonomy" of aspects of social and

economic life not directly related to Marx's central narrative of interaction between thedevelopment of the "forces of production" and the succession of "modes of production." Such

has been, for example, the neo-marxist theorising adopted by historians inspired by Marx's

social theory, such asE. P. Thompson andEric Hobsbawm.It has also been a line of thinking

pursued by thinkers and activists likeAntonio Gramsci who have sought to understand the

opportunities and the difficulties of transformative political practice, seen in the light of

Marxist social theory.9

A third response is to harvest the key insights of Marx's social theory while offering a radicalalternative to Marx's account of societies and of the ways in which they change. One of the

most developed alternatives in contemporary thought is the work ofRoberto Mangabeira

Unger.10 Unger takes Marx as a point of departure for rethinking social, political, and

economic arrangements, crediting him for recognising that institutions treated as universal

and eternal are in fact the "laws" of particular social formationwhat Marx called

capitalism.[11However, for Unger, Marx compromised the power of this insight by allowing it

to be tainted by three sets ofnecessitarian assumptions.The first such assumption holds thatthere is a closed list of fundamental types of social, political, and economic organisation,

such as feudalism and capitalismMarx's modes of production. As a result, the space for

innovation in social life is very limited. The second assumption claims that each of these

7 William Roseberry (1997) Marx and AnthropologyAnnual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 26: pp. 2546(October 1997)8 Ricoeur, Paul. Freud and Philosophy: An Essay on Interpretation. New Haven and London: Yale UniversityPress, 1970, p. 329 Hobsbawm, E. J. How to Change the World: Marx and Marxism, 18402011

10 David M. Trubek, Radical Theory and Programmatic Thought, American Journal of Sociology 95, no. 2(1989): 451452.11 Samuel Moyn, The Politics of Economy, Ethics & International Affairs 16, no. 2 (2002).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ric%C5%93urhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ric%C5%93urhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ric%C5%93urhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzschehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzschehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freudhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_L%C3%B6withhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B8ren_Kierkegaardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx#cite_note-232http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx#cite_note-232http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx#cite_note-232http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._P._Thompsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Hobsbawmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Gramscihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Mangabeira_Ungerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Mangabeira_Ungerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_necessityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_necessityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Mangabeira_Ungerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Mangabeira_Ungerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Gramscihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Hobsbawmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._P._Thompsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx#cite_note-232http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B8ren_Kierkegaardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_L%C3%B6withhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freudhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzschehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzschehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ric%C5%93ur


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types is an indivisible unit: all its parts stand or fall together. As a result, politics is either the

revolutionary substitution of one type for another, or a reformist management of one of the

types. The third assumption supposes the succession of these indivisible social and economic

systems (Marx's modes of production) to be driven forward in history by irresistible laws of

transformation. As a result, programmatic thinking about alternatives has a restricted field of

application; history supplies the only realistic program of change.12

MARXIAN THEORY OF CLASS CONFLICT

12 David M. Trubek, Programmatic Thought and the Critique of the Social Disciplines, in Critique andConstruction, ed. M Perry (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990).


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The theory of class struggle or class conflict is central to Marxian thought. We will

take this theory as a case in point, to illustrate how exactly a typical Marxian theory goes. By

analysing this theory in depth, we will explore the manner in which Marx thought, thereby

gaining a valuable insight into his psyche, and his contribution at large. We will also study

the recurrent undercurrents to most of his theories, by studying this one major theory in

detail. The main premise of the Marxian class theory is to be found in the opening sentences

of his famous work the The Communist Manifesto, 1848 which reads as follows:13

The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. 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.14

It is clear from above, that at every stage in history, there is a way between the

classes. The landowner exploits the landless, and the factory owner exploits the workers.

Between classes, there is endless antagonism and hatred. Class conflict is the severest form of

class antagonism.

Marx says that according to the relentless law of history, a particular class owns and

controls the means of production, and by virtue of this exploits the rest of the people. The

capitalist class makes use of the state as an instrument of oppression and exploitation. Thus at

every stage there are broadly two classes: The owners of means of production, that is,

exploiters on one side and the exploited on the other. History presents nothing but the record

of a war between classes, every exploiting class at each stage gives rise to an opposite class,

Hence thesis and antithesis can be noted. Feudal barons and capitalists form the thesis, and

the serf and the proletariat respectively constitute the antithesis, Marx gave a call to the

workers to overthrow the thesis of capitalism by the antithesis of organised labour. 15

ESSENTIAL ASPECTS OF THE MARXIAN THEORY OF CLASS CONFLICT

13 Marx, Karl, Communist Manifesto (1976)14 Gokhale, B.K., Political ScienceTheory and Governmental Machinery 423-424 (1972)15Rao, C.N. Shankar, Sociology: Principles of Sociology with an introduction to Social Thought, S., 724 (2012)


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Marx developed the theory of class conflict in his analysis and critique of the

capitalist society. The main ingredients of this theory of conflict have been enlisted by

Abraham and Morgan which may be briefly described here:16

The Development of the Proletariat

Accentuation of capital is the essence of capitalism. In Raymond Arons words, The

essence of capitalist exchange is to proceed from money to money by way of commodity and

end up with more money than one had at the outset. Capital is gained, according to Marx,

from the exploitation of the masses of population, the working class, The capitalist

economic systems transformed the masses of people into workers, created for them a

common situation and inculcated in them an awareness of common interest. Through thedevelopment of class consciousness, the economic conditions of capitalism united the masses

and constituted them into a class for itself17

Importance of Property

According to Marx the most distinguishing feature of any society is its form of

property. An individuals behaviour is determined by his relations to property. Classes are

determined on the basis of individuals relation to the means of production. Means of

production or forces of production represent a type of property which in the capitalist society

are owned by the capitalists. Here an individuals occupation is not important but his

relations to the means of production, are important. Property divisions are the crucial

breaking lines in the class structure.18

Identification of Economic and Political Power and Authority

From a Marxian perspective, political power emerges from economic power. The

power of the ruling class therefore stems from its ownership and control of the forces of

production. The political and legal systems reflect ruling class interests. In Marxs words:

The existing relations of production between individuals must necessarily express themselves

also as political and legal relations. The capitalists who hold monopoly of effective private

16 Ibid note 717 Abraham, Francis & Morgan, John, H., Sociological Thought, 37 (1989)

18 Haralambos, M. and Martin Holborn, Sociology: Themes and Perspectives, 39-40 (2004)


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property take control of political machinery. Their interests are clearly reflected in their

political and ideological spheres. As Raymond Aron points out Political power, properly so

called is merely the organised power of one class for oppressing another. The political

power and ideology this seem to serve the same functions for capitalists that class

consciousness serves for the working class.

Polarisation of Classes

In the capitalist society there could be only two social classes. 1) The capitalists who

own the means of production and distribution and 2) the working classes who own nothing

but their own labour. Though Marx had repeatedly referred to the intermediate state such as

the small capitalists, the petti bourgeoisie, and the lumpenproletariat, he was of thefirm belief that at the height of conflict these would be drawn into the ranks of the proletariat.

Raymond Aron has termed this proves as proletarianisation.

Theory of Surplus Value

Marx believed that the capitalists accumulate profit through the exploitation of labour.

In fact, the relationship between the capitalists and workers is not only one of dominance and

subordination, but also of exploitation. The workers produce more wealth in the form of food,manufactured goods and services than is necessary to meet their basic needs. In other words,

they produce surplus wealth. But they do not enjoy the use of the surplus they have created.

Instead, those who own the means of production are able to seize this surplus wealth as

profit for their own use. According to Marx, this is the essence of exploitation and the main

source of conflict between the classes.

Pauperisation

Exploitation of the workers can only add to their misery and poverty. But the same

exploitation helps the rich to become richer. As Marx says the wealth of the bourgeoisie is

swelled by large profits with corresponding increase in the mass of poverty; of pressure of

slavery, of exploitation of the proletariat. In every mode of production which involves the

exploitation of man by man, majority of people, the people who labour, are condemned to toil

for no more than the barest necessities of life. With this, society gets divided into rich and

poor. To Marx, poverty is the result of exploitation of scarcity.


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Alienation

The process of alienation is central to the Marxian theory of class conflict. The

economic exploitation and inhuman working conditions lead to increasing alienation of man.

Alienation results from a lack of sense of control over the social world. The social world

confronts people as a hostile thing leaving them alien in the very environment they have

created. The workers caught in the vicious circle of exploitation find no way to get out of it.

Hence they lose interest in work. Work becomes an enforced activity, not a creative and a

satisfying one. The responsibility of the worker gets diminished because he does not own the

tools with which he works, he does not own the final product too. He is a mere cog in a

machine and nothing else. This situation of alienation ripens the mood of the worker for a

conflict.

Class solidarity and antagonism

With the growth of class consciousness among the working class, their class solidarity

becomes crystalized. The working class becomes internally more homogeneous and this

would help to intensify the class struggle. Because of this class feeling and solidarity, the

workers are able to form unions against the bourgeoisie. They club together in order to keep

up the rate of wages. They form associations in order to make provisions beforehand for

occasional revolts. Here and there contests break out into riots.

Revolution

When the class struggle reaches its height, a violent revolution breaks out which

destroys the structure of capitalist society. Thus revolution is most likely to occur at the peak

of an economic crisis which is part of the recurring booms, and repressions characteristic of

capitalism. Marx predicted that the capitalists would grow fewer and stronger as a result of

their endless competition; that the middle class would disappear into the working class, and

that the growing poverty of the workers would spark a successful revolution. Marx had

asserted, unlike other wars and revolutions, this would be a historic one.

The Dictatorship of the Proletariat


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Marx felt that the revolution would be a bloody one. This revolution terminates the

capitalist society and leads to the social dictatorship of the proletariat. Since the revolution

results in the liquidation of the bourgeoisie, they will cease to have any power and will be

reduced to the ranks of the proletariat. Thus, the inevitable historical process destroys the

bourgeoisie. The proletariat, then establish their social dictatorship. But this expression,

social dictatorship of the proletariat has become a topic of controversy among the

communists themselves. Many have abandoned the treacherous phrase particularly after the

tyrannical Stalinist and post-Stalinist dictatorships. Marx himself had written that he

differentiated himself from those communists who were out to destroy personal liberty and

who wish to turn the world into one large barrack or into a gigantic warehouse.

Inauguration of the Communist Society

After attaining the success in the revolution, the workers in course of time, would

create a new socialist society, In this new society the means of producing and distributing

wealth would be publicly and not privately owned, This new socialist society would be a

classless and a casteless society fee from exploitation of all sorts, The state which has no

place in such a society will eventually wither away. In this society nobody owns anything but

everybody owns everything. Each individual contributes according to his ability and receives

according to his needs.19

19Ibidnote 5 at pg. 734-736


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ANALAYSIS OF MARXIAN PERSPECTIVE ON CLASS

CONFLICT

THE POSITIVES:

A Comprehensive Theory of Social Change

According to T.B. Bottomore, a leading expert on Marxist sociology, though a Marxs

theory of class cannot be treated as a theory of stratification, it can definitely be treated as a

comprehensive theory of social change. It can be considered as a tool for the explanation of

change in total societies.20This is reflected by Marxian view that Societies are mutable

systems in which changes are produced largely by internal contradictions and conflicts. Even

the worst critics argue that Marxian theory provides an excellent framework for the analysis

of conflict and change in modern society.21

A good Alternative to the western Functional Theory:

During the recent years, especially after sixties, due to the efforts of C. Wright Mills

and others, Marxs writings became quite popular in the west including America. There is

one main reason for this. As Bottomore has pointed out, the conflict theory of Marx served in

all respects as a counter theory to the functional theory which reigned supreme in the

Western world. The functional theory stresses the importance of social harmony, social

equilibrium and social stability but undermines the role of conflict elements within the

society that would lead to the changes in the structure of society.22Marxs theory of conflict

removes this deficiency and thus provides an alternative to the functional theory. Further,

Marxs influence on contemporary sociological theory is growing and Marxist Sociology

has already become an established branch of the discipline.

A Warning to the Capitalists

It can be said that the ultimate purpose of Marx was to achieve the welfare of the

working community and to lay the foundations of a classless, casteless society based on

social harmony and justice. He sincerely believed that his purpose could be realised by a

20

Bottomore, T.B., Sociology: A Guide to Problems and Literature (1986)21Ibid note 522Ibidnote 10


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historic class struggle and by the destruction of the capitalist class. His powerful writings,

earnest efforts to save the labour community from exploitation, popularisation of socialist

ideology, predictions of the future, and his clarion call to the working class to unite and fight

against injustice etc. created a sort of awareness not only among the workers but also among

the capitalists. They started taking Marxs predictions as warnings and his analysis of the

capitalist regime highly suggestive to correct themselves. As a result, they changed their

approach towards them, brought out number of labour legislations to promote their interests

and undertook many of the labour welfare programmes. Hence, we do not find that kind of

exploitation of the labourers which Marx had witnessed during his lifetime.

An Integral Approach

Marx has time and again stressed that we should have an integral view of the society

and not a partial one. According to him, society is the net result of the interwoven social

groups, institutions, beliefs, practices, ideas, principles and ideologies. Hence these

constituent elements should not be studied independently or separately but as interconnected

ones. This integral approach of Marx is of great sociological significance, says Bottomore.23

THE NEGATIVES:

Classless and Stateless society is Utopian

Marxist theory of social classes is ambiguous and debatable. His analysis of the rise

of social classes may be applicable to the western societies but not to Asiatic societies

including the Indian society. And Marxs classless and stateless society is utopian. Nowhere

in the world, including in the so called communist societies such as Russia, China, Cuba,

Poland and the like, such state of affairs exist. Thus Marx has been proved to be a failure in

many respects.

Pure Bourgeoisie and the Proletariats do not exist

It is recommended that the Marxist division of capitalist society in to two sections

the bourgeoisie and the proletariat is not seen anywhere. As Raymond Aron has said, The

analogy between the rise of the proletariat and the rise of the bourgeoisie is sociologically

false. In order to restore the equivalence between the rise of bourgeoisie and the rise of the

23Ibid note 10


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proletariat, the Marxists are forced to resort to something which they themselves condemn

when practised by others, namely, myth.

Marx has neglected or underestimated the Role of Non-economic factors in social life

Marx has been criticised for the undue emphasis he laid on the economic forces or

factors. He has ignored other important sources of power. His assertion that economic forces

play the determining role in bringing about social change and in leading to the historical class

struggle, has compelled his critics to dub his theories as Theories of economic

determinism. As we know all deterministic theories, in one way or the other, are one sided

and misleading; Much Against the assertion of Marx, Max Weber has established that even

the religious beliefs and attitudes contribute to the development of capitalism.24

Too much Emphasis on Alienation

Marx misjudged and even exaggerated the extent of alienation of the average worker.

The great depth of alienation and frustration which Marx witnessed among the workers of

his day and not typical of todays capitalism or its worker. Marx witnessed among the

workers of his day is not typical of todays capitalism or its worker Further, the workers

tend to identify themselves not entirely and only with their working class groups, but alsowith a number of meaningful, groupsreligious, ethnic, caste, occupational and local. This

does not mean that alienation does not exist in the modern capitalist societies. It could rather

be said that alienation results more from the structure of the bureaucracy.25

Polarisation of classes and Self-destruction of the capitalist class is too simplistic

Marxs theory of class conflict and his political ideas have been highly criticised. His

theory about capitalist societys inevitable tendency towards radical polarisation and self-

destruction is too simplistic and fallacious. The most distinct characteristic of modern

capitalist has been the emergence of a large, contended and conservative middle-class,

consisting of managerial, professional, supervisory, and technical personnel. Marx neglected

the importance of the role of this middle class. Todays capitalism does not justify Marxs

24Raymond Aron, Main Currents in Sociological Thought 181 (1998)25Ibidnote 5 at p. 743-745


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belief that class conflict is essentially revolutionary in character and that structural changes

are always the product of violent upheavals.26

Conclusion

The problem is, that Marxs grandesttheories are not substantiated adequately. But he

is not to be abandoned. His writings are among the most powerful in the Western intellectual

tradition, and, true or false, they are to be appreciated and admired. But further, he does say

many true and inspiring things. His work is full of insight and illumination. We have foundmany such assessment examples. Marx remains the most profound and acute critic of

capitalism, even as it exists today. As his critics would say, we may have no confidence in his

solutions to the problems he identifies, but this does not make the problems go away.The

theory of class struggle often known as the theory of class conflict is one of the most

important theories given by Karl Marx. The contributions of Karl Marx to the development of

political thought can hardly be exaggerated. He was undoubtedly a genius and a profound

scholar. It is not an easy task to evaluate the contribution and influences of Karl Marx and histhoughts on his followers and opponents. He has profoundly influenced western thought,

sociological, economic and political thought. That being said though, Marxism as a theory

has been losing its relevance in the modern world. After the fall of U.S.S.R. and other

socialistic states, the Marxian views are now treated as an ideology which is now no more

relevant. The most intriguing thing about Marxs theories is that they are half practical and

half imaginary. Although many of his predictions have not come true, the fact that those who

have read his works have changed the world also cannot be denied. Even the worst critics

agree that Marxian theory provides an excellent framework for analysis of conflict and

change in modern society.

References

26Ibidnote 8


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Morrison, Ken, Marx, Durkheim, Weber: Formation of Modern Social Thought, Sage

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Ritzer, George, Sociological Theory, Tata-McGraw Hill, New Delhi, 1996.

Rao, C.N. Shankar, Sociology: Principles of Sociology with an introduction to Social

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Gokhale, B.K., Political ScienceTheory and Governmental Machinery, Himalaya,1972

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Hobsbawm, E. J. How to Change the World: Marx and Marxism.

David M. Trubek, Radical Theory and Programmatic Thought, American Journal ofSociology 95, no. 2 (1989).

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Craig J. Calhoun (2002).Classical sociological theory.Wiley-Blackwell.

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