Marx’s Philosophy: Historical Context, Core Concepts, and Relevance
1. Historical-Cultural Context of Marx and Philosophical Influences
The 19th century witnessed significant events shaping Marx’s thought. The French Revolution abolished the old regime, leading to bourgeois dominance. Following Napoleon’s defeat, the Restoration ushered in liberalism and civil-political rights.
Economically, capitalism and the Industrial Revolution emerged, bringing wealth but also proletarian misery. Politically, European imperialism conquered parts of Asia and Africa. Scientific advancements, notably by Mendeleev and Darwin, were fueled by capital accumulation.
Culturally, romanticism emphasized passion and the exaggerated. Towards the end of Marx’s life, the labor movement gained momentum, leading to the 1864 formation of the First International after the publication of The Communist Manifesto with Engels.
Philosophically, two Enlightenment-derived currents dominated: idealism, seeking to unify subject and object, and positivism, with its extreme confidence in reason.
Marxist philosophy was influenced by:
- The Hegelian Left, particularly Feuerbach’s materialism and critique of religious alienation.
- Utopian socialism (Saint-Simon, Fourier), deemed naive and unscientific.
- Anarchists (Proudhon, Bakunin), rejecting all forms of power.
- Classical political economy (Adam Smith, David Ricardo).
2. Core Concepts in Marx’s Thought
A) Historical Materialism
Marx’s theory of historical materialism posits that the economy drives historical change and conditions ideology.
Key concepts include:
- Economic structure: The real basis of history, comprising productive forces (means of production and labor) and relations of production (ownership and worker relations).
- Ideological superstructure: Representations (politics, philosophy, religion, morality) reflecting the dominant class’s ideology.
The contradiction between productive forces and relations of production fuels social revolution.
The proletariat’s victory leads to the dictatorship of the proletariat, characterized by class consciousness and unity of action through an international workers’ party. This is a transitional phase towards a communist society without private ownership or class divisions, marking the end of “social prehistory.”
B) Alienation
Alienation is the loss of a property to a third party, explaining historical periods of exploitation and lack of freedom. For Marx, it signifies dehumanization and takes various forms:
- Religious alienation: Submission to a nonexistent entity.
- Ideological alienation: Submission to enforced misconceptions.
- Economic alienation: The core of being, work, becomes a commodity in a class society.
Workers sell their labor, their essence, and capitalists extract surplus value. Alienated workers are reified, reduced to commodities. Communism, achieved through revolution, eliminates private ownership and social classes, resolving alienation.
Ideology, in this context, is a mental construct justifying the social situation and concealing inequalities.
3. Comparison and Contemporary Relevance
A) Comparison with Economic Liberalism
Marx contrasted with 19th-century economic liberalism, rooted in classical political economy.
Political economy evolved from physiocracy and had two stages: classical (Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Malthus), with a liberal character, and scientific (Marx), with a social focus.
Classical political economy began with Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, opposing physiocracy’s land-based wealth theory and establishing the labor theory of value.
Smith and Ricardo provided the ideological basis for capitalism. Later, laissez-faire theorists advocated minimal state intervention in markets.
Economic liberalism’s foundations were:
- Opposition to state economic involvement.
- A minimal state.
Key figures include:
- Adam Smith: Argued that wealth comes from labor, developed the division of labor theory, and distinguished use value from exchange value.
- David Ricardo: A pioneer of macroeconomics, analyzed profit-wage relations, and formulated the theory of comparative advantage.
- Thomas Robert Malthus: Considered the father of demography, attributed poverty to overpopulation rather than social conditions.
B) Validity in the Present
Marx’s ideas remain relevant in understanding contemporary economic crises, characterized by capitalist overproduction and job insecurity.
Temporary employment contracts lead to income insecurity, low wages, and underemployment, impacting free time, social security, and occupational risk prevention.