Plato and Marx: Political Philosophy and Social Change
Plato and Marx: A Philosophical Comparison
Relationship with Other Philosophies and Relevance
Everyone is aware of Hegel’s influence on later philosophy, and Marx was no exception. Establishing a relationship with Hegel, who built the largest philosophical system of all time, seems logical. However, for this discussion, it is more fruitful to connect Marx with a philosopher more distant in time: Plato.
Both Plato and Marx share a fundamental concern: the political and social nature of the individual. Plato believed that humans become fully human within the polis (recalling the political involvement of the Athenians) and need society to meet their material needs. Marx agrees on this point. Humans need to produce their own material sustenance because, unlike animals, they are not provided for. The production of life requires the cooperation of others. Furthermore, the era in which Marx lived compelled individuals to actively participate in societal change.
From their different conceptions of reality, both propose changes in society that ultimately fall into the realm of utopia, despite their efforts to make them effective.
Plato’s Ideal Society
Deeply disillusioned with the political systems of his time, Plato envisioned an ideal society ruled by the wisest. This ideal is presented in his dialogue, The Republic. In this dialogue, he outlines how a just state should be organized. Plato believes that three functions must be fulfilled within the polis: governing, defending, and producing. These functions would be carried out by three social classes: rulers, warriors, and artisans. Each class should dedicate itself to its mission within the state, oriented towards the common good. This would lead to harmony and justice in the state. The ruler, responsible for guiding the ship of state, must be aware of ideas, especially the ideas of goodness and justice, as their knowledge will determine whether actions are good and just.
Differing Views on Consciousness and Society
How do we determine which individuals fulfill each function? Plato believed that the degree of knowledge and education attained by citizens would determine their place in society. One could say that Plato would agree that ideas determine society, history, and development. In contrast, Marx believed that “it is not consciousness that determines their being, but their social being that determines their consciousness.” We are not as we think, but we think as we are and live. What defines a person, what gives them reality, is their transformative productive capacity. Ideas do not move the world; it is the contradictions inherent in society (the Heraclitean dialectical perception of reality) that produce the movement of history.
Marxist Philosophy and its Legacy
Many states that adopted a Marxist-inspired economy fell into a deep crisis during the 1980s and 1990s, leading them to abandon that model. Only remnants of the communist economy remain in countries like Cuba and China. However, this failure does not mean that the Marxist proposal of replacing competition with cooperation is entirely unworkable. Furthermore, no state has fully realized the Marxist program; all attempts have remained at the stage of the “dictatorship of the proletariat.” Many have reached socialism, but Marx believed it was necessary to abolish the state once humanity understood the benefits of this system.
On the other hand, Marxism has inspired much of the criticism launched by the anti-globalization movement against neoliberalism. The methods used in times of crisis (business bailouts, infrastructure investment, social measures, etc.), such as those we are currently experiencing, are recipes close to the Marxist concepts of planning and cooperation.