Finding solace in philosophical Marxism

Once in a while at least we must take time off to consider our plight in the world. How many of us are satisfied with our jobs, income, lifestyle and education? However much we try, most of us cannot achieve higher goals in education and employment. Sometimes we feel that we are victims of circumstances. If we cannot earn a decent salary or build a comfortable house, there is something radically wrong with ourselves or our social system.

Although most of us do not think of these problems deeply, philosophers down the ages have discussed the causes of social inequality and tried to find solutions to them. Jeremy Bentham and his student John Stuart Mill tried to reform society by applying the greatest-happiness principle to solve social problems. They were not the only thinkers who were worried about the great inequality in society in the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. Reform movements sprang up in France and Germany under the banners of socialism and communism.

It was during that time Marxism, founded by Karl Marx, became an influential force to reckon with. However, Marxism in today’s political context is something different from philosophical Marxism. Although Marxism as a political force has failed in most countries, philosophical Marxism is still valid if we are serious about solving the multiplying social problems.

Jewish community

A peep into Marx’s life is worth at this point. He was a highly intelligent son of a Jewish lawyer. However, his parents distanced themselves from the local Jewish community by changing the family name Levi to Marx. After studying law at the University of Bonn he moved to the prestigious University of Berlin. As a young man Marx wrote romantic poetry and was a spendthrift. The University of Berlin more or less tamed the rebellious young man. Then he found himself among social reformers, radicals and intellectuals.

Soon Karl Marx came under the influence of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) who was the most dominant thinker at the time. In those days, one was either a Hegelian or an anti-Hegelian. Young Marx derived the crucial concept of alienation and the notion of historical evolution from Hegel. Thriving on the intellectual stimulation and radicalism, Marx’s ambition was to be a professor of philosophy.

However, destiny had other plans for Marx. On the death of his father, he had no steady income. So he agreed to work for a liberal publisher named Moses Hess. Marx had to edit a “democratic journal.” A turning point in his thinking came about when he read articles by Ludwig Feuerbach who was a well-known materialist. According to Feuerbach, material conditions controlled everything including how people behave, think and what they believe. After observing how landowners repressed workers, Marx realised that material conditions dominated everything in human life.

Oppressors

Marx had to pay a heavy price for his concern for the downtrodden and his regular attacks on their oppressors. Fearing reprisals from the powerful Russian government, the rulers of Prussia shut down Hess’s journal in 1843. Marx married Jenny von Westphalen in the same year. When living in Prussia became extremely difficult, Marx and Jenny moved to Paris which provided him with a freer intellectual climate. Before long Marx found himself among like-minded thinkers.

Soon Marx was drawn towards Comte de Saint-Simon who saw the emergence of a powerful new middle class known as the bourgeoisie. From him Marx learnt that economic conditions determine history. He also came to believe that historical change is the result of class conflict. Revolutionary groups of German and French origin agitated for radical changes. Those who demanded that property should be held in common came to be known as communists. They influenced Marx to develop a keen sense of the proletariat or the working class.

Capitalism

Before long Marx was expelled from Paris.Then he moved to Brussels where he organised unions for German workers. Marx and his friend Engels wrote the Manifesto of the Communist Party. Soon he came to be considered a “dangerous revolutionary” by Germany and France. Thereafter Marx and Engels moved to London where capitalist economy was thriving. Thus the greatest critic of capitalism found refuge in a capitalistic environment.

Marx wrote Das Kapital and published it in 1867 establishing himself as a brilliant philosopher. It soon became the “Communist Bible.” However, Marx died in his favourite armchair on March 14, 1883 in a state of grief and despair. His wife and three children predeceased him breaking his spirit. Although communism is more or less a spent force today, according to philosophical Marxism, workers are exploited, even though they do not realise it.