Karl Marx’s Materialist Philosophy and Critique of Capitalism
Karl Marx’s Philosophy (1818-1883)
The Social Nature of Humanity
Marx’s thought originates from a critical analysis of the economic (industrial capitalism), political (liberal), and social (bourgeoisie/proletariat) realities of the mid-19th century. Marx focused on the concrete, real individual. He agreed with Hegel’s idea of rational historical progression but interpreted it through a materialist lens. The driving force of change is the human being, whose essential nature must be understood. Humans are beings with needs, starting with those related to survival (food, clothing, shelter). Humans are active subjects, using their vital forces to obtain what they need to live. This activity is work, or productive activity. To understand humanity, we must analyze the conditions under which this activity takes place: labor.
Furthermore, humans are social beings. We are born among others and relate to them. Therefore, what defines humanity in each historical moment comes from analyzing this dual relationship: productive activity (humanity’s relationship with nature through work) and social activity (humanity’s relationship with other humans).
Both aspects have varied across different human groups and throughout history. Marx critiques idealist philosophy for merely seeking to understand history and deeming it necessary and rational. He believed philosophers should not be passive but should actively transform the world, particularly when it is unjust.
Alienation in Capitalist Society
Marx argued that bourgeois capitalist society alienates the worker, treating them as a mere object. This alienation manifests in several forms:
- Philosophical Alienation: A philosophy complicit with injustice (idealism and ideology).
- Religious Alienation: A religion serving power (Christianity).
- Legal and Political Alienation: Manipulation of laws and politics (liberal state).
- Socio-economic Alienation: An economic system leading to inequality (capitalism).
Marx’s Call to Action
Marx believed these forms of alienation must be fought. He aimed to unite theory and practice to build a more rational and just world. This is the goal of historical materialism, achieved through revolutionary praxis. Before changing society, one must analyze it.
Economic and Social Formations
Each society at a given historical moment is an “economic and social formation.” This formation consists of two elements:
- Economic Structure (Mode of Production): A synthesis of:
- Productive Forces: Human (labor) and material (machines, tools) elements involved in production.
- Relations of Production: Economic conditions that govern human interaction in production (ownership, distribution, exchange, consumption). These vary across historical periods.
- Ideological Superstructure: Non-economic elements of society: politics, law, morality, religion, philosophy, and art, embodied in ideas and institutions (government, parliament, political parties, churches, educational organizations).
The economic structure determines the ideological superstructure. The ruling ideas are those of the dominant economic class. Changing the economic base changes the ideas.
Social Revolution and Historical Change
Relations of production tend to remain static while productive forces evolve, leading to the former becoming an obstacle. This necessitates “social revolution.” Marx views history as a process of dialectical change, where each present moment overcomes the previous one. Change originates in the economic structure due to contradictions within the mode of production.
While Marx identifies four historical stages, he focuses on the bourgeois capitalist mode of production. Dialectical analysis reveals a social structure composed of two classes with opposing interests: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Social class is defined by a group’s relationship to the means of production. Under capitalism, the bourgeoisie owns these means, while the proletariat owns only their labor power.
Capitalism, Exploitation, and Class Consciousness
The capitalist economy aims to accumulate capital, enriching the owners of the means of production. This is achieved by producing goods for market exchange, generating profit. These goods are inherently linked to the human labor required to produce them.
A product’s exchange value in the market includes its use value and the value of the labor needed to produce it, which the capitalist purchases by paying wages. Exchange value fluctuates according to supply and demand. The capitalist’s goal is to accumulate capital through profit, achieved by appropriating part of the value created by the worker’s labor.
If wages equaled the value the worker adds to the goods, there would be no profit. The capitalist appropriates the “surplus value,” the increase in the goods’ value, leading to their enrichment. This inherent injustice in capitalist production constitutes an immoral, albeit legal, economic exploitation.
Marxist Morality and Revolutionary Praxis
Against this injustice, Marx proposes revolutionary praxis to achieve human emancipation, freedom, and the abolition of class distinctions:
- Conquest of Power: The proletariat must seize power to expropriate capital from the bourgeoisie. This requires force, as the capitalist class uses the state to defend its privileges. The “dictatorship of the proletariat” is necessary to fully expropriate capital, abolish existing laws, confiscate bourgeois wealth, socialize the means of production, and impose new rules for organizing life. This is the socialist state.
- Stateless Communism: With the exploiting class eliminated, class antagonism and struggle cease. The proletarian state loses its political character, becoming an administrator of society’s goods, a communist state.