Marx and Marxism in Modern Times
By V. Upadhyay
S. K. Dey Chair Professor, Institute
of Social Sciences, New Delhi
May
5, 2021 marked the 203rd birth anniversary of Karl Marx,
considered as “one of the greatest thinkers in human history”. Marx was born in
Germany but due to his political publications and activities, he had to live in
exile most of his life. He was exiled from his native country in 1849. After
spending a few months in France, he settled in London with his family. In
London, Marx was provided financial help by Friedrich Engels, his collaborator for
his entire political career, that made it possible for Marx to do research and
write. Marx died on March 14, 1883, in London.
.
Marx
authored many books (several with Engels) on diverse subjects of dialectics,
material conception of history, class conflict, labour theory of value, surplus
value, exploitation and alienation. His most influential works are The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital. Marx was able to write and
publish only the first volume of Das
Kapital. Based on Marx’s copious notes, the second and third volumes were
edited by Engels after Marx’s death. The main thrust of Das Kapital is to reveal the economic patterns underpinning the
capitalist mode of production. The
Communist Manifesto, written in 1848, provides an analysis of the internal
conflicts of capitalism, focusing on the class-struggle between labour and
capital. The Manifesto has become one of the most important documents
influencing revolutionary movements world over.
Marx’s
one famous quote reflects his critique of his contemporary thinkers:
“Philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways. The point,
however, is to change it.” Classical political economists such as Adam Smith
and David Ricardo provided a historical understanding of the decline of
feudalism and the emergence of bourgeoise during the period of industrial
revolution in Europe. But for most of the economists in the classical political
economy tradition, history stopped once the transition towards capitalism was
accomplished. For Marx, even capitalism was a transitory phenomenon.
Marx
contended that capitalism was prone to systemic crises and internal conflict
between the bourgeoise and the proletariat. According to him, these contradictions
within the system would ultimately lead to breakdown of the capitalist system and
replacement of capitalism by a higher economic mode of production called
socialism. A very distinctive aspect of the Marxist theory is that in addition
to the examination of the existing capitalist system as such, it provides tools
to understand the dynamic and historical process of the transformation of the
capitalistic mode of production.
Coming
to the recent times, there are various approaches to global political economy
which elucidate the contemporary challenges posed by global capitalism. These
approaches range from liberal mainstream approaches to Marxist approaches. The
mainstream approaches have a serious drawback because of their ahistorical
approach as they take the capitalist system as given and do not consider the
global economic problems as an outcome of the accumulation logic of capitalism.
The conventional wisdom that has been developed by the neoliberal politicians
and intellectuals of the Global North about the advantages of neoliberal
policies came under severe criticism after the outbreak of the global financial
crisis of 2008. The ideology of neoliberalism posits that the only hope for
prosperity for the people of the Global South lies in opening all the markets
(and even the social and cultural spaces that have traditionally not been part
of the market) for capital, domestic as well as foreign. The deregulation of
capital in the name of free market has given birth to multiple threats in
developed as well as developing countries that have not been the subject matter
of mainstream economics. The failure of neoliberal capitalism and the growing
economic and power imbalances in the world economy suggest that it is time for
Marxist scholars to build a consensus and rethink political economy of global
capitalism by paying adequate attention to new existential crises – the
environmental crisis, the growing threat of nuclear war, and the threats from
new dangerous technologies.
The
influence of Marx’s ideas, already popular in parts of Europe in his life time,
became a global force to be reckoned with by the victory of Bolsheviks in the
1917 Russian Revolution. The Russian Revolution was the first revolution in the
world that established a socialist state in a country. The 1917 Revolution gave
a huge impetus and encouragement to anti-colonial movements across Asia, Africa
and Latin America. It gave hope to millions of people engaged in national
liberation struggles across the globe that it was possible to score victory
against the capitalist imperialist forces and to establish a social system in
their societies based on the principles of freedom, equality and justice.
The
collapse of socialism in Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the doctrinal changes
in China after Mao and revival of capitalism in many other erstwhile socialist
countries clearly point to the fact that linear progression towards socialism
has not proven to be possible. The Communist Party of China (CPC) makes
abundant use of Marxist phraseology. The CPC’s official ideology – Socialism
with Chinese characteristics – is claimed to be based on the Marxian
philosophical concept of ‘dialectical materialism’. It, however, needs to be
understood here that ‘class struggle’ is the essence of Marxian politics. The
socialist rhetoric used by the communist leadership, however, does not point to
any class struggle being waged in the Chinese society. In case of Russia, even
this debate – capitalism vs socialism – does not exist. All this, however, does
not automatically lead to the conclusion that socialist experiments in many
countries have all been worthless and without any positive contribution.
The
most significant contribution made by Soviet Union to world history is that it saved
the world from Hitler. During World War II, Soviet Union suffered the most
destruction and casualties at the hand of the Nazi war machine. The Soviet Red
Army played the most important role in the defeat of Germany. Although in the
public memory it may not be acknowledged now in the West, the fact remains that
the Soviets played the most crucial role in ending the menace of fascism in
Europe.
For
about four decades during the Cold War era, Soviet Union was able to provide a
counterbalance to the U.S. and other Western powers. Just four years after the
American bomb, Soviet Union succeeded in in producing its own nuclear weapon.
This fast catching up in the area of mass destruction technology was the
primary reason why America was not able to use nuclear weapons in its wars in
Korea, Vietnam and other places during the Cold War period. Even after the
collapse of Soviet Union and despite the devastating experience of the
nineties, Russia – with a much smaller population base compared to the U.S. and
Europe – continues even today to match the military might of the U.S. With
seven decades long continuity in maintaining military balance with the West,
Soviet Union’s (and now Russia’s) historic role in preventing the Third World
War so far should be considered nothing but phenomenal.
Socialist
planning played a very important role in the economic and political history of
many countries during the last century. Detailed theoretical and practical
constructs of socialist planning were first designed and developed and put in
practice in Soviet Union during 1920s and 1930s. These ideas spread not only to
socialist countries in Eastern Europe and China where there were repeated
attempts to replicate them but also influenced economic institutions and
economic policies in countries following capitalist path or mixed economy
models (such as the U.S., Japan, France and India).
It
is true that most countries who experimented with these ideas have now
abandoned them. But the developing crisis of capitalism in many parts of the
world and the environmental crisis affecting the whole world may create
conditions that necessitate the adoption of socialist planning ideas.
The
phase of unipolarity has ended and a new world order characterised as
multipolar is emerging. It represents a fundamental break from the last several
centuries’ long history of European domination. In the global transformation
that is underway, the role of China has been the most crucial. China’s rise in
recent years as a major power is the main causal factor behind the global
transformation towards multipolarity. A multipolar world provides some space
for independent action to other nation states. And this is true even for major
powers such as India and Turkey.
The
most significant aspect of the geopolitical reality today is that imperialism
is becoming increasingly aggressive. Although it is true that Western
imperialism faces new unprecedented challenges in the form of emerging
multipolarity in world affairs, it however still remains a threat to world
peace as ever. The fears posed by Western powers are the reason why the vast
majority of global population is unable to choose paths of living of their own
choice. The responsibility to provide counterbalance today to the Western
powers majorly falls on the shoulders of Russia and China in the same way it
did during most of the twentieth century.
Like
the Soviet Union during the Cold War era, Russia today is able to provide a
counterbalance to the U.S. in military terms. Despite very close relations with
China, Russia is the main proponent of multipolarity in world affairs. Russia
has acted very forcefully and decisively against Western designs in many
places, such as Syria. There are many countries, such as Iran, and Venezuela,
who are victims of U.S. aggression in the forms of economic sanctions and even
threat of direct military action. These countries invariably turn to Russia for
support not only at the United Nations Security Council but also in the forms
of direct material assistance.
It
is true that by no stretch of imagination, Russia can be called a socialist
country today. But on the other hand, no one can deny the fact that all the
strength the Russian state is able to display today on the international stage,
has its genesis in its socialist past.
S.
K. Dey Chair Professor, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhia
few months in France, he settled in London with his family. In London, Marx was
provided financial help by Friedrich Engels, his collaborator for his entire
political career, that made it possible for Marx to do research and write. Marx
died on March 14, 1883, in London.
Marx
authored many books (several with Engels) on diverse subjects of dialectics,
material conception of history, class conflict, labour theory of value, surplus
value, exploitation and alienation. His most influential works are The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital. Marx was able to write and
publish only the first volume of Das
Kapital. Based on Marx’s copious notes, the second and third volumes were
edited by Engels after Marx’s death. The main thrust of Das Kapital is to reveal the economic patterns underpinning the
capitalist mode of production. The
Communist Manifesto, written in 1848, provides an analysis of the internal
conflicts of capitalism, focusing on the class-struggle between labour and
capital. The Manifesto has become one of the most important documents
influencing revolutionary movements world over.
Marx’s one
famous quote reflects his critique of his contemporary thinkers: “Philosophers
have only interpreted the world in various ways. The point, however, is to
change it.” Classical political economists such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo
provided a historical understanding of the decline of feudalism and the
emergence of bourgeoise during the period of industrial revolution in Europe.
But for most of the economists in the classical political economy tradition,
history stopped once the transition towards capitalism was accomplished. For
Marx, even capitalism was a transitory phenomenon.
Marx
contended that capitalism was prone to systemic crises and internal conflict
between the bourgeoise and the proletariat. According to him, these contradictions
within the system would ultimately lead to breakdown of the capitalist system and
replacement of capitalism by a higher economic mode of production called
socialism. A very distinctive aspect of the Marxist theory is that in addition
to the examination of the existing capitalist system as such, it provides tools
to understand the dynamic and historical process of the transformation of the
capitalistic mode of production.
Coming to
the recent times, there are various approaches to global political economy
which elucidate the contemporary challenges posed by global capitalism. These
approaches range from liberal mainstream approaches to Marxist approaches. The
mainstream approaches have a serious drawback because of their ahistorical
approach as they take the capitalist system as given and do not consider the
global economic problems as an outcome of the accumulation logic of capitalism.
The conventional wisdom that has been developed by the neoliberal politicians
and intellectuals of the Global North about the advantages of neoliberal
policies came under severe criticism after the outbreak of the global financial
crisis of 2008. The ideology of neoliberalism posits that the only hope for
prosperity for the people of the Global South lies in opening all the markets
(and even the social and cultural spaces that have traditionally not been part
of the market) for capital, domestic as well as foreign. The deregulation of
capital in the name of free market has given birth to multiple threats in
developed as well as developing countries that have not been the subject matter
of mainstream economics. The failure of neoliberal capitalism and the growing
economic and power imbalances in the world economy suggest that it is time for
Marxist scholars to build a consensus and rethink political economy of global
capitalism by paying adequate attention to new existential crises – the
environmental crisis, the growing threat of nuclear war, and the threats from
new dangerous technologies.
The
influence of Marx’s ideas, already popular in parts of Europe in his life time,
became a global force to be reckoned with by the victory of Bolsheviks in the
1917 Russian Revolution. The Russian Revolution was the first revolution in the
world that established a socialist state in a country. The 1917 Revolution gave
a huge impetus and encouragement to anti-colonial movements across Asia, Africa
and Latin America. It gave hope to millions of people engaged in national
liberation struggles across the globe that it was possible to score victory
against the capitalist imperialist forces and to establish a social system in
their societies based on the principles of freedom, equality and justice.
The collapse
of socialism in Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the doctrinal changes in China
after Mao and revival of capitalism in many other erstwhile socialist countries
clearly point to the fact that linear progression towards socialism has not
proven to be possible. The Communist Party of China (CPC) makes abundant use of
Marxist phraseology. The CPC’s official ideology – Socialism with Chinese
characteristics – is claimed to be based on the Marxian philosophical concept
of ‘dialectical materialism’. It, however, needs to be understood here that
‘class struggle’ is the essence of Marxian politics. The socialist rhetoric
used by the communist leadership, however, does not point to any class struggle
being waged in the Chinese society. In case of Russia, even this debate –
capitalism vs socialism – does not exist. All this, however, does not
automatically lead to the conclusion that socialist experiments in many
countries have all been worthless and without any positive contribution.
The most
significant contribution made by Soviet Union to world history is that it saved
the world from Hitler. During World War II, Soviet Union suffered the most
destruction and casualties at the hand of the Nazi war machine. The Soviet Red
Army played the most important role in the defeat of Germany. Although in the
public memory it may not be acknowledged now in the West, the fact remains that
the Soviets played the most crucial role in ending the menace of fascism in
Europe.
For about
four decades during the Cold War era, Soviet Union was able to provide a
counterbalance to the U.S. and other Western powers. Just four years after the
American bomb, Soviet Union succeeded in in producing its own nuclear weapon.
This fast catching up in the area of mass destruction technology was the
primary reason why America was not able to use nuclear weapons in its wars in
Korea, Vietnam and other places during the Cold War period. Even after the
collapse of Soviet Union and despite the devastating experience of the
nineties, Russia – with a much smaller population base compared to the U.S. and
Europe – continues even today to match the military might of the U.S. With
seven decades long continuity in maintaining military balance with the West,
Soviet Union’s (and now Russia’s) historic role in preventing the Third World
War so far should be considered nothing but phenomenal.
Socialist
planning played a very important role in the economic and political history of
many countries during the last century. Detailed theoretical and practical
constructs of socialist planning were first designed and developed and put in
practice in Soviet Union during 1920s and 1930s. These ideas spread not only to
socialist countries in Eastern Europe and China where there were repeated
attempts to replicate them but also influenced economic institutions and
economic policies in countries following capitalist path or mixed economy
models (such as the U.S., Japan, France and India).
It is true
that most countries who experimented with these ideas have now abandoned them.
But the developing crisis of capitalism in many parts of the world and the
environmental crisis affecting the whole world may create conditions that
necessitate the adoption of socialist planning ideas.
The phase of
unipolarity has ended and a new world order characterised as multipolar is
emerging. It represents a fundamental break from the last several centuries’
long history of European domination. In the global transformation that is
underway, the role of China has been the most crucial. China’s rise in recent
years as a major power is the main causal factor behind the global
transformation towards multipolarity. A multipolar world provides some space
for independent action to other nation states. And this is true even for major
powers such as India and Turkey.
The most
significant aspect of the geopolitical reality today is that imperialism is
becoming increasingly aggressive. Although it is true that Western imperialism
faces new unprecedented challenges in the form of emerging multipolarity in
world affairs, it however still remains a threat to world peace as ever. The
fears posed by Western powers are the reason why the vast majority of global
population is unable to choose paths of living of their own choice. The
responsibility to provide counterbalance today to the Western powers majorly
falls on the shoulders of Russia and China in the same way it did during most
of the twentieth century.
Like the
Soviet Union during the Cold War era, Russia today is able to provide a
counterbalance to the U.S. in military terms. Despite very close relations with
China, Russia is the main proponent of multipolarity in world affairs. Russia
has acted very forcefully and decisively against Western designs in many
places, such as Syria. There are many countries, such as Iran, and Venezuela,
who are victims of U.S. aggression in the forms of economic sanctions and even threat
of direct military action. These countries invariably turn to Russia for
support not only at the United Nations Security Council but also in the forms
of direct material assistance.
It is true
that by no stretch of imagination, Russia can be called a socialist country
today. But on the other hand, no one can deny the fact that all the strength
the Russian state is able to display today on the international stage, has its
genesis in its socialist past.
.
