Marxism: Definition and Meaning

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Chapter -1
Marxism: Definition and Meaning

I) Introduction:
The Industrial Revolution took place in England in 1750 and it spread
up gradually all over Europe till the end of 18th century. The emergence of
Industrial Revolution is an epoch-making event in the histoiy of human
society. This Revolution changed the overall face and structure of society at
the global level. The social, political, economic and religious scenario of the
then world was overthrown totally by the Revolution. It no more remained
as it was before 1750 but got drastically changed. Even the cultural and
philosophical attitudes of the world started to change during this period due
to industrialization. In a nutshell, the Industrial Revolution spared no field
unchanged.

With the emergence of Industrial Revolution, a new system of

production came into existence in the society and that was capitalism. The
capitalistic system gave rise to two classes - owners’ class and workers'
class. The capitalists were men of wealth, power and property and they
started to exploit the workers. They committed injustice upon the workers'
class as a result of which the atmosphere of unrest and displeasure got
aroused in the workers' class. A large number of philosophers and thinkers
got united against the injustice and exploitation done by the capitalists
during this period. Among these philosophers and thinkers, the German
philosopher, Karl Marx, was a leading figure. Karl Marx is the pioneer of
modern communist philosophy. He is a philosopher and thinker who led the
struggle against injustice. He gave a new turn to the conflict between
capitalists and workers. Alongwith Friedrich Engels, he supported all
movements for the ammelioration of workers' condition and for their
democratic rights. He thoroughly devoted himself to the welfare and
upliftment of this class. Through his writings, Marx has expressed his
thoughts on the sorrow and misery of the exploited class in a simple but
very effective manner. In a sense, it is but a revolutionary ideology of Marx
which has carved out a special niche for him as an epoch-making reformer
and philosopher of the modem world. Prior to Karl Marx, many other
philosophers have attempted to establish "socialism" as a new ideology.
However, the analysis of this term was never done scientifically. It was
Marx alone who tried to give a new form of socialism. This type of
socialism introduced by Marx is known as 'scientific socialism' because it
was different from that of the philosophers before Marx. In a real sense,
Marx's socialism attempted for organizing society. Even the socialist
philosophy of Marx made its influence over East Europe, China and many

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other leftist countries as a result of which socialist revolution started to take

place in these countries.

In his. philosophy, Marx believed that labour, value and materialism

are the basic things and further maintained that labour of the worker should
be honoured with its due returns. He also remarked that the progress of
society is possible with the help of workers' labour only. Therefore, the
workers must get a just share of their labour in the form of wages for
maintaining their expenses on food, shelter, clothing, education for children
etc. which will bring happiness to the worker and his family. It is for the
sake of giving comfort to him and to his family the worker puts his labour
in the system of production. However, as a matter of fact, the worker is not
benefitted from his labour. Instead of it, the capitalist gets the real profit of
the workers' labour. Thus, the capitalists' class exploits the workers' class.
And here starts the economic inequality in the society. Such an economic
inequality gives rise to class conflict. In order to abolish this inequality, the
society anticipates revolution. We can put an end to this conflict and to such
an atmosphere of revolution by establishing an ideal society which is based
on communism. Marx expressed this precious thought in his ideology. In
short, Marx believed that social change could be made possible through the
conflict between the exploiters' class and the exploited class. For their
freedom and liberty, the workers' class should launch a revolution. He
further believed that economic factor plays an important role in the society
because the relations of production give rise to the thoughts and ideology in
the society. He also tried to convince that labour is a very important concept
in human society. All these thoughts of Marx are based on facts. They are
evolved out of the contemporary actual social situation. By observing this
situation carefully, Marx propagated his thoughts and ideas for putting an
end to the misery and sorrow of the workers’class by taking them out of
the difficulties like bad working and living conditions, low wages, their
alienation from labour etc.

Marxism is a political and economic theory of Karl Marx. It predicts

the abolition of private ownership of means of production with provision of
work and subsistence for all. It is a social, political and economic ideology
which has been expressed through the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich
Engels. It is regarded as an overall manifestation of life. A copious writing
has been done on the philosophy of Marx, his views of political economy,
human science, society,and history. Marx's analysis of capitalism, class
theory, labour theory, materialism, interpretation of history, thoughts, on
revolution, etc. are the theories which have always been significant for the
students of Marxism.
The word 'Marxism' derives its name from that of Karl Marx, a
famous German economist and social philosopher of the 1,9th century. Marx
is the chief exponent of this theory. In a sense 'Marxism' is a body of
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doctrine developed by Karl Marx and to a lesser extent, by Friedrich Engels

in the middle of the 19th century and consists originally three interrelated
ideas - philosophical view of man, a theory of history and an economic and
political programme. During his time, Marx attempted to maintain
consistency and coherence among these ideas. However, after the death of
Marx, many new interpretations became a part of this doctrine. At the same
time when Marxism was developed as the official creed of the Soviet Union
in 1917, this act of adoption of Marxism gave birth to political pressures
which led to many compromises and adjustments. The term Marxism'
refers to the doctrine of the Soviet government. It is known as a Marxism-
Leninism'. It also refers to the ideology of communist or socialist parties in
other nations. Ahead to this, it refers to the doctrine of a number of loosely
related perspectives or philosophical or social problems as developed by
certain Western thinkers who have been inspired by Marx.

Marxism is a doctrine developed by Marx and Engels and it has

different shades of meaning. From time to time, many philosophers and
thinkers have interpreted this term in a new way and therefore oply one
meaning of this term will not give us a clear idea of this philosophy.
• Therefore, for understanding the philosophy of Marxism we have to go
through the study of social, political, economic conditions of different times
which have enabled many philosophers and theorists to give a new meaning
of it. Thus, due to additions of many more meanings to it from the early
times of Babeuf till the days of Sartre and Althusser, it has become a.
complex philosophy. For getting a more detailed and clearer meaning of
this philosophy, it is necessary to study it at different levels. For example, at
first the definitions of 'Marxism' will help us for understanding Marxism at
primary level. Secondly, the detailed study of the features of Marxism will
help us to comprehend Marxism at a broader level. Thirdly, the different
names given to this term such as Communism, Socialism, Leftism,
Fabianism, Scientific and Evolutionary Socialism, Syndicalism, Leninism,
Maoism, Revisionism etc. focus on the variant nature of this term.
Therefore, the detailed study of Marxism under these different titles of
different times will enable us to provide more detailed and more adequate
knowledge of Marxism.

Keeping in mind the above plan for a better comprehension of

Marxism, the scheme of this chapter is worked out as follows :

1) Introduction
2) Definitions of Marxism
3) Features / Elements of Marxism
4) D ifferent philosophies / types of Marxism.
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II) Definitions of Marxism :

The term 'Marxism' doesn’t have one exact meaning. It is a multi­

faceted term. It has been, interpreted differently by different theorists of
different times. Before Marx and -Engels,the socialist thinkers like
Plato,Aristotle,Babeuf, Robert Owen , Fourier,Saint Simon etc. have given
their own views on political economy, history, revolution and class-
struggle: After Marx, the thinkers like Lenin, Stalin, Kosygin, Li-Tao-Chao,
Mao Tse-Tung developed their own ideology of Marxism. Even the
Western writers and philosophers in the 20th century - Althusser, Walter
Benjamin, George Lukacs etc. have brought a new development in the
theory of Marxism. Thus, the different social, political and economic
situations of different times have shaped the term Marxism' differently
suiting to the needs of social, political and economic situations of those
times. For comprehending these different interpretations of the term
'Marxism' it is essential to glance at some of the definitions of'Marxism'. In
this regard the following definitions will help us to develop a certain
attitude for understanding the ideology of'Marxism':

1) Political and economic theory of Marx, predicting abolition of

private ownership of means of production, with provision of work
and subsistence for all (The Con. Ox. Diet.: 1981, 622 )

2) The system of thought developed by Karl Marx, his co- worker

Friedrich Engels and their followers. ( The Webster's New World
TM College Dictionary : 2005, 883 )

3) Marxism is the highest development of humanism, it is the form in

which the age-long contradiction between human advance and
human subjection is resolved, it is the last rebellion of the
oppressed, and the only one in which success is possible. It takes its
origin from the rebellion of man against inhuman conditions and its
single aim is the recovery of man's lost humanity. This is the very
essence of humanism and Marxism is humanism in its contemporary
form. (John Lewis: 1976, 152).
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4) Marxism is a dialectical theory of human progress. It regards

history as the development of man's effort to master the forces of
nature and, hence, of production ("economic interpretation of
history"). Since all• production is carried out within social
organization, history is the succession of changes in social systems,
the development of human relations geared to productive activity
("modes of production"), in which the economic system forms the
"base" and all other relationships, institutions, activities and idea
systems are "superstructural”. (The 'International Encyclopedia of
the Social Sciences : 1968, 40-41).

5) The term Marxism is used in a number of different ways. In its

most essential meaning it refers to the thought of Karl Marx
sometimes extended to include that of his friend and collaborator
Friedrich Engels. There is also Marxism as it has been understood
and practiced by the various socialist movements, particularly
before 1914. Then there is 'Soviet Marxism' as worked out by Lenin
and modified by Stalin which under the name of Marxism-Leninism
became the doctrine of the communist parties set up after the
Russian Revolution. An offshoot of this is Marxism as interpreted by
the anti-Stalinist Leon Trotsky and his followers. There is Mao-Tse-
Tung's Chinese variant of Marxism-Leninism. There are the post
World War-II non-dogmatic Marxisms that have modified Marx's
thought with borrowings from modern philosophies, principally
from those ofEdmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger, but also from
Sigmund Freud and others. ( TNEB,MAC : 1985, 577 )
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6) Even though the term 'Marxism' gives a certain sense, there are
so many shades of meaning included in it. The Marxism developed
by Marx, Engels and further developed by Lenin, lays stress mainly

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on the economic aspect of society and it aims at political revolution.

The human relationship in any society is determined by the
production system in that society. This production system is but an
economic system. It functions as the base of the society. The
economic base is supported by a religious, moral, political ideology
which is called as superstructure. The different elements of this
superstructure are affected by the economic system in that society.
This economic or production system is but a type of materialism. In
this case, Marxism is a materialistic concept. However, this
materialism is of dialectical nature and hence differentiated from
the materialists. Marxism based on 'dialectical materialism' is
called as 'classical Marxism whereas in the 20th century, we see a
'

new Marxist ideology which does not agree with classical or

traditional Marxism. The thinkers like Lukacs, Gramsci, Walter
Benjamin, Sartre, Frankfurt, Soule, Althusser developed a new type
of Marxism. It is an anti-Leninist Marxism recognized by Morris
Mario as 'the Western Marxism': The basic difference between the
classical Marxism and Western Marxism is that the classical
Marxism aims at the economic interpretation of history of society
and techniques of class-politics whereas the Western Marxism gives
importance primarily to the cultural aspect of society and ideology.
The classical Marxists considered capitalism and the crisis aroused
by it and the recreation of social relationship. Instead of these, the
Western Marxism concentrated on the problems of alienation in
capitalistic society and ideology. The classical Marxism is society
oriented and the Western Marxism prefers an individual to society.
However, this doesn’t mean that the Western Marxists neglect the
economic aspect of society. They have concentrated more on the
superstructure than on the base. And hence their Marxism is known
as the 'Marxism of superstructure'. In fact, the Western Marxism is
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more liberal and philosophical. It is developed during the period

between the two World Wars in Western countries. - (Karogal (ed):
1999, 122-124)

III) Principles of Marxism:

The basic principles of Marxism are as follows :

1) Dialectical materialism :

Dialectical materialism is one of the basic principles of Marxism.

Marx, in his early scholarly career was deeply influenced by Hegel's
philosophy. Hegel was a German Philosopher. He gave a philosophy of
history. He had formulated a new logic with the help of which he
interpreted the process of the evolution of the world. The essence of logic
formulated by him is known as the 'dialectic'. Here the word 'dialectic'
means discussion. It refers to the process whereby ideas are formed and
clarified in the course of intellectual debate.

Hegel was a German idealist. His philosophy is called as 'dialectical

idealism'. He developed a philosophy of history. According to his
philosophy of history, progress results from the dialectical conflict of
opposite forces. This conflict is the conflict of ideas and the material forces
are merely reflections of these ideas. The conflict takes place in a sequence
of thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis. Hegel believed that the materialistic
world is not a manifestation of the idea or concept of the world within the
human mind. The material life is but a reflection of the spiritual life. He
called the material life as secondary life and the spiritual life as primary life.
He thought that idea existed at first and die world existed later. Here, he
calls every idea as 'a thought'. He says that every thought or proposition or
thesis includes a contradictory or opposite thought within itself. He calls it
anti-thesis or anti-thought or anti-proposition. The thesis and anti-thesis are
never balanced with each other and hence a straggle takes place between
them as a result of which a new thought is produced. It is known as
synthesis. Ahead to this, this new thought also includes an anti-thought
within itself and they also clash with each other and beget a new thought
which in turn conflicts with the anti-thought within itself and begets a new
one and so on. F.or Hegel, the progress of the idea through a succession of
historical epochs is dependent upon conflict. "This progress of idea is but
the plan of God for the world." Hegel says, "and no one can halt this march
of the progress of idea." (Laidler : 1948, 160 ). This idea of thesis, he calls
as non-material force and further says that the material manifestations' of
this conflict of ideas are but only reflections of the non-material ideas or
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forces. This is called "dialectical method" or "dialectical idealism" of

Hegel.

On die basis of this theory, Hegel expressed his view that social
institutions only reflect the ideas behind them and it is the movement of
ideas through the dialectical process which is responsible for the
development of these social institutions. He took the nation, the state as the
highest stage of social evolution and recognized idea or consciousness as
the real force behind social revolution.

Marx, like Hegel developed a philosophy of history. At the

University of Berlin Marx had come under the influence of Hegel's ideas.
However, he didn’t accept Hegel's ideas uncritically. He took the dialectical
method from Hegel. He accepted Hegel's view that progress is but an
outcome of the conflict of opposite forces. However, he did not accept
Hegel's view that the conflict is in the realm of ideas and the material forces
are but only reflection of those ideas. He rejected ideas as primary and
spiritual life and material life as the secondary. Instead, he thought that the
. clash is not of ideas but of material forces and ideas are merely the products
of the material environment in which men live. In his view, the theory of
Hegel is "standing on its head". On the other hand, he thought that matter
existed independent of and outside the mind. Matter or Nature is the source
of ideas and it is primary and mind or idea is but the mirror of matter or
Nature and it is secondary. He further says that matter is active. It moves at
its own. It has a self-determining power. It is never passive. It carries with
itself the necessary energy to transform itself. In this world, there are forces
of self sufficiency, self-creation and self-perpetuation. Marx advocated the
theory of philosophical materialism. As per this theory the world is, by
nature, material and the different phenomena in the world are different
forms of matter in movement. From this argument it follows that material
life of society is primary and spiritual life is secondary. The material or
economic life of society depends upon the method of securing the means of
livelihood and the way of producing material values.

The concept of dialectic materialism represents that opposite forces

which are always present, form the moving force of history. Marx had a
conception of progressive evolution or historical dynamics operating in
response to economic forces. He took this concept from Hegel who thought
of history as a dialectical process or struggle of opposites. In this struggle of
opposites, the dominant idea of each age came to be looked upon as a
thesis. The thesis was confronted by anti-thesis and out of the conflict of
these two, synthesis Was produced. This synthesis included within itself the
more valuable elements of both thesis and anti-thesis. Marx says that
history presents the process of action and reaction between the forces. For
example, capital, which shows one force is thesis and labour which shows
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another force is anti-thesis. These form a new synthesis. For Marx, struggle
is the driving force of social change and it is but the result of the opposite
forces. It is the struggle between social classes and not between nations.
The determining factor of this struggle is not political power but it is
economic power. In a sense, even the political power is a consequence of
economic power.

2) Historical materialism or the materialistic interpretation of

history:

Marx used the principle of dialectical materialism for the

interpretation of history. Materialistic interpretation of history is one of the
basic principles of Marxism. It is called as an essential outcome of Marx's
theory of dialectical materialism. In the words of Harry W. Laidler,
materialistic interpretation of history means:

in any given epoch the economic relations of society, the

means whereby men and women provide for their sustenance,
produce, exchange and distribute the things they regard
necessary for the satisfaction of their needs, exert of a
preponderating influence in shaping the progress of society
and in moulding political, social, intellectual and ethical
relationships.
(Laidler: 1948,160)
The above argument of Laidler implies that all the mass phenomenon
of history is determined by material or economic conditions. Marx's
materialistic interpretation of history is in connection with this argument of
Laidler.

Marx says that the survival of man depends upon his efficiency in the
production of material things. Production is the most important activity of
all human activities. Our society comes in existence mainly for the purpose
of economic production. The reason for this is that men in association
produce more than men in isolation. A perfect society will meet all the
necessities of life to the satisfaction of all its members. But according to the
dialectic concept, this perfection is achieved through a very long process.
From the very beginning, society has always been subject to internal
stresses and strains. Because there are unsatisfied needs. These unsatisfied
needs are but the result of the defective modes of production.
The process of material production is a key to man's social life. The
changes in this process are responsible for all historical development.
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Marx's argument of historical development is based on the concept of

historical materialism. According to him:
In the social production of their life men enter into definite
relations that are indispensable and independent of their will,
relations ofproduction which correspond to a definite stage of
development of their material productive forces. The sum total
of these relations of production constitutes the economic
structure, the real basis on which rises a legal and political
structure
( Eagleton : 1976,4 ).

This interpretation of Marx indicates that mode of production in a

given society forms the 'base' of that society. The legal, political
institutions, religions and morals form the superstructure of that society.
The superstructure of society is shaped according to the changing character
of the base.

The change in mode of production lakes place because according to

Marx:
at a certain stage of their development, the material productive
forces of society come in conflict with the existing relations of
production .............. within which they have been at work
hitherto; from forms of development of the production forces
these relations turn into their fetters.................. Then begins
an epoch ofsocial revolution. (Mukh. & Rama: 2000, 115).

For understanding the above mentioned process, let's distinguish

between forces of production and relations of production. Both these terms
constitute together 'mode of production'. The term 'forces of production'
includes two elements :

1) Means of production, e.g. tools, land, machines, factories and so on.

2) Labour power - the skills, knowledge, experience and other human
faculties used in the work.

Secondly, the term 'relations of production' means those relations of

production which are constituted by the pattern of economic ownership of
means of production. In this sense, at each and every stage of historical
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development, the owners of means of production belong to the dominant

class and those left with labour power belong to the dependent class.

Man constantly attempts to improve production with a view to put an

end to scarcity. This attempt of man of improving production leads to the
development of forces of production. With the help of science and
technology means of production are improved - whereas labour power is
developed by the acquisition of new knowledge, education and training.
This development of the forces of production takes to a contradiction
between the forces of production and relations of production. This
contradiction becomes intense at a stage when the existing relations of
production are unable to co-exist with the level of development of forces of
production. The result of this is the breakdown of the existing mode of
production and its superstructure. For example, when there is rise of
industrialization in the sphere of forces of production, the feudal system
existing before in the sphere of relations of production (division of society
into lords and serfs) is bound to collapse which is now replaced by a new
capitalist mode of production. This is a process of historical development.

We can explain this process of historical development with the -help

of dialectical method also. According to the dialectical concept, the
established order is a thesis. This established order produces its own anti­
thesis. This anti-thesis is in the form of a new mode of production. In short,
as a result of some new discovery or invention, the productive forces come
into conflict with the existing relations of production, especially with the
production system of that time and instead of enhancing their development
becomes fetters upon it. The clash between the existing social relations and
the new productive forces results into the emergence of a new revolutionary
class. And this new revolutionary class overthrows the existing order in a
violent revolution. What Marx implies here is that the old order gives way
to the new. For example, slave society is replaced by feudal society, feudal
society is replaced by capitalist society and capitalist society is replaced by
socialist society. It is because of dialectical logic. According to this logic
every stage of society which is short of perfection includes within itself the
seeds of its own destruction. Marx found that his contemporary capitalist
society was in an imperfect stage because of its division into antagonistic
classes, i.e. between ’the haves' and 'have nots', between 'the dominant' and
"dependent' classes and the exploitation of the dependent class. Therefore it
was liable for its own destruction due to its own inherent contradictions. In .
the opinion of Marx, this phenomenon has occurred so many times in
history. Here, Marx and Engels have identified four main stages, of
historical development in the past: Those are as follows :
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1) The Primitive Communist stage :

'In this stage, the means of production are owned by the community
and those means of production are meagre.

2) The Ancient stage :

This stage includes ancient slave-owning society. In this stage slaves
and means of production are owned by masters and the slaves are made to
put in their labour for production. The slaves are but ‘the exploited lot’ here.
3) The Feudal stage:
In this stage land is the most important means of production. It is
owned by feudal lords. The other class in this stage is the class of the serfs.
In this type of society labour for production is put in by the serfs. It
belonged to the mediaeval age.
4) The Capitalist stage :
It is modern capitalist society. In this type of society, means of
production are owned by capitalist and labour for production is done by the
proletariat. The proletariats are but propertyless workers.

From the above four stages of historical development we find that at

every stage the society is divided into antagonistic classes. In all of these
stages there is one class which owns the means of production and controls
the forces of production, rules over the rest and thus perpetrates tension and
conflict. The famous thinker, C.L. Wayper explains this thought as follows :

In all stages of human life the forms or conditions of

■* production determine the structure of society. Thus, the hand
mill gives you society with the feudal Lord, the steam-mill
society with the industrial capitalist. The structure of society
, will in its turn breed attitudes, actions and civilizations.
Therefore all the social, political and intellectual relations, all
religious and legal systems, all the theoretical outlooks which
emerge in the course of history, are derived from the material
conditions of life.
(Wayper: 1973,203-4)

During the capitalist stage the forces of capitalism predicted a new

era of progress. It destroyed the feudal system. Marx calls capitalism as a
transitory phase. During the capitalist stage of historical development class-
conflict was inevitable. This anticipated another revolution - a revolution
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which would pave way for the termination of the era of exploitation. Here,
Marx anticipated for socialist age, i.e. the labourers' class annihilates the
capitalist class and it rules over the society. It destroys the class system and
expects for the society without state. In this type of new society, every
individual has a right to live as per his ability and-enjoy as per his own
ability.
Thus, here Marx has defined history from materialistic point of view.
He has given a new and totally revolutionary thought about the
development of society in different periods on the basis of materialism.

3) The concept of'Surplus Value':

According to Marx, in the capitalistic system of production, the
working class gets exploited. With the help of his theory of surplus value,
Marx points out how this exploitation of the working class takes place. In a
sense, Marx's theory of surplus value is but a theory of labour value
involved in a commodity. Marx says that there are four elements of
production and these are - land, labour, capital and organization. Out of
these four elements of production, the element of labour is the sole creator
of the value of a commodity. The other three elements are not the creator of
the value of a commodity. They reproduce only what is put in them. They
are not source of value of commodity and labour is the only variable
element which produces value in society. For the production of a
commodity, a certain amount of labour is required. In the process of
production or manufacturing of a commodity, labour is employed from the
beginning. For example, in producing the raw material labour is employed.
Labour is employed in processing the raw material. It is employed in the
sources of energy like coal, oil, gas etc. It is also used in constructing the.
machinery Mid building.

According to Marx, the value, of a commodity is determined by the

quantity of labour employed in producing the commodity in a given state of
society, under certain average conditions of social production and average
skills of the labour employed. Here, the term 'value' is different from 'price'.
Price means only a monetary expression of value. If the price of a
commodity is as good as its value in monetary terms, it is called natural
price. But if there is some different price which fluctuates heavily
depending upon the conditions of demand and supply, such a price is called
as 'market price'.

This market price is sometimes much higher or lower than the natural
price of a commodity. The system of the free market economy is a part of
the capitalist system. In this type of market economy, the worker is made to
sell his labour in the open market at the market price. However, the market
price of labour is not determined by its potential value which can be added
to the value of the commodity produced by it. Instead, it is determined by
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the vaiue of necessities required for the maintenance of the worker himself
and his family so that the worker will bring up his value only to replace him
in the labour market and to flourish the capitalist system itself.

Marx says that labour is the only element of production which

produces value. In other words, labour can produce much more than what is
required to maintain, develop and to continue it permanently. If a worker
works at an average of thirty hours a week for meeting the value of the
needs required for maintaining him and his family only then, he doesn’t
produce surplus value. But in the capitalist system the worker is made to
work to his maximum capacity and he is given only 'subsistence wages' at
the market rate. In this way, he gets back only a part of the value that he
produces in the form of wages. The value produced by the labour can be
divided into two parts. The first part includes that value which is paid to the
worker as wages and the second part includes the value of extra or surplus
labour put in by the worker which is not paid to the worker but which goes
in the pockets of the capitalist and which becomes a part of his profit. In
fact, it is an illegal income of the capitalist. It is a sheer exploitation of the
worker. This surplus value is a part of the worker's labour but he is not paid
the fruit of his labour which he deserves to be paid. The worker doesn’t get
a just share of the value of his skill or labour. Marx believes that after
overthrowing the capitalist system, there will be socialization of the mean
of production in the socialist system and the exploitation of the labourer in
respect of his extra labour will come to an end. The exact value of his
labour would be paid to him, or some part of that value would be utilized
for common services which in return would definitely benefit the worker.

4) The concept of class struggle :

In the Communist Manifesto Marx says, "The history of all hitherto
existing society is the history of class struggle." (Marx and Engels : 1952,
419). The concept of class struggle or class war is very important in Marx's
theory. It is originated from Marx's theories of dialectical materialism,
historical materialism and surplus value. Marx says that in the history of
human society, there has been war or struggle between two classes from the
very beginning. Every society includes two classes having hatred or
antagonism against each other. For example, the landowner exploits the
landless; the factory owners exploit the workers. In the 'Communist
Manifesto' Marx says:
Freeman and slave, patrician and plebian, lord and serf,
guild master and journey man, in a word, oppressor and
oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried
on uninterrupted, now hidden and now open fight, a fight that
each time ended either in a revolutionary reconstitution of

i
 15-
-

society at large or in the common ruin of the contending

classes.
(Marx and Engels : 1952,419).

In the 'Communist Manifesto' Marx argues that with the development

of productive forces men enter into; social relations corresponding to the
existing mode of production. Thus,, ahcient society was characterized by the
relations between master and slave. The mediaeval society was
characterized by the relations between feudal lord and serf whereas the
modem society is characterized by the corresponding relations between
capitalist and worker. Each stage of: social development is known by the
division of society into social class. In fact, Marx has no where given a
clear definition of class.

In Marx's theory class structure is dependent upon the production

forces of society. The dominant class utilizes the culture of a society or the
components of the superstructure for holding another class in subjection.
Here, we can take for granted that at a very early stage of the history of
society both the class structure and the cultural aspects were suitable to the
prevailing forces of production. At that time, the foundation or base was
firm and it was totally adequate to support the superstructure. There were no
tensions or conflicts between the classes. One class used to command and
the other class would obey without any grudge. What made this balance to
get disturbed? The answer to this was the changing technology in the
method of production. The owners of the instruments of production wanted
to maximize their advantages. For this they changed and improved their
techniques of production. However, while doing this, they didn’t understand
that they were destroying the foundation upon which their system was
resting. In short, their act was in accordance with the argument - forces of
production ........ come into conflict with the ............. relations of
production" (Harmon : 1964, 397). For establishing balance it was
necessary to alter the relation of production which would adjust to the class
structure. But the dominant class did not do this. It tried to maintain the
situation as it was. It utilized the factors in the superstructure for holding the
subordinate class in subjection. As a result, the tensions and contradictions
in the system became intense. Here, a point got aroused at which the forces
of production were unable to co-exist with the class structure and the social
superstructure. This was the period ■ of "social revolution." During this
period, a class realignment took place and a new superstructure got emerged
to meet the needs of the new situation. This dialectical process was both
revolutionary and progressive. In the opinion of Marx, it was not possible to
create a class relationship and superstructure which would not be justified
by the existing forces of production.

I
 The workers class got in conflict with the capitalist class because the
problems of. unemployment, low wages and bad working conditions
increased the misery of the workers. The workers got conscious of their
exploitation by the capitalist. They also got conscious of their rights as
workers and hence they started to protest against capitalists. This resulted in
class struggle. In Marx's theory, production relations are determined by the
forces of production. But when these two cannot co-exist together, the
struggle or revolution is inevitable.

5) The law of concentration of capital in the hands of the few :

The next feature of Marxism is the concentration of capital in the
hands of the few. In ’ this regard Marx argues that the wealth of the
community gets concentrated in the hands of people like industrialists or
capitalists. These capitalists or industrialists are the owners of the means of
production: With the help of the means of production, they-exploit workers
by paying them low wages and no share of profits. As a result, they amass a
huge wealth. With the help of this wealth they create another wealth. Thus,
day by day they get richer and richer whereas the workers who don’t have
anything in their hands, get poorer and poorer.

If the few capitalists continued to collect wealth on a large scale it

would be a danger to capitalism itself. One day the number of capitalists
will get reduced. The concentration of capital takes place in the hand of
both capitalists and landlords. Marx believes that one day the proletariats
will overthrow both the landlords and capitalists.

6) The dictatorship of the Proletariat:

The dictatorship of the proletariat is one of the basic aspects of
Marxism. Marx, in his theory, speaks of the dictatorship of the proletariat
also. "The proletariat". The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines as
"lowest class of community" or the "wage earners esp. those without capital
and dependent on daily labour for subsistence." (Con. Oxford : 1982, 823).
Thus, the proletariat means landless and propertyless masses who are being
exploited mercilessly, will overthrow the capitalists and establish a
dictatorship, which will live for some time only. The concept of the
'dictatorship't has been well explained in the Concise Oxford English
Dictionary as "Communist ideal of domination by the proletariat after the
suppression of capitalism and the bourgeoisie." (Con. Ox. Diet. : 1981,
823). The ultimate aim of the dictatorship of the proletariat is to bring about
a classless society. For establishing a classless society all capitalist property
will be seized by the proletariat. They will abolish all rights of inheritance.
They will centralize means of transport & communication. In this type of
ruling system labour charges will be paid according to his work.

1
 17-
-

The proletarian dictatorship is different from earlier dictatorship

because this type of dictatorship provides for the first time in history,
majority control. Marx says that the government of the proletarian
dictatorship is far more democratic than other governments have been. This
includes even the bourgeois democracy of capitalism. For the time being,
such a ruling of system’ will work as an exploiting class. However, its
purpose is not to continue permanently its own power but its main purpose
is to eliminate oppression permanently. For the elimination of oppression,
for abolition of private property and for carrying out a programme that will
take society towards the perfect (communist) society, a careful use of
coercion or force is inevitable in the early stages of the proletarian
dictatorship. Because at this time the strength of the remaining elements of
the capitalist will be greatest especially in terms of numbers and the
influence of its ideology. Hence, to protest this much strongly and boldly,
the power of the proletariat dictatorship must be employed.
■>

Here, Marx wishes to bring in liquidation the capitalist class and the
influence exercised by that class. After the capitalist class and the remnants
of its superstructral elements are abolished, there will be a need of using
force of coercion. With the end of capitalism, there will be only one class,
the proletariat. This class will live according to its own ideas. Here, one
class means no class at all and a classless society will be established. At this
time, only the state which was in the process of withering away from the
time of the completion of revolution, will also disappear absolutely. Thus,
men will have new and perfect communist society.

7) The complete disappearance of the state :

Marx says that with the disappearance of class, the state which was in
the process of withering away from the time of the completion of
revolution, will also disappear completely. In the stage of transition, the
proletariat will make use of the state for destroying any resistance from the
bourgeoisie. There will be no free and popular government because all the
power will be used to crush the bourgeois reactionaries. The proletarian'
dictatorship will bring about social and economic justice. Then there will be
no more thesis, anti-thesis and class war. One man will never exploit
another man. One class will never exploit another class. In short, the
necessary ground for the disappearance of state will be created. After the
proletarian dictatorship is established, the process of the withering away of
the state will start. The complete absence of the state is thus but the highest
achievement of Marxian socialism.

8) Religion - the opium of the people :

Marx says that religion is but the opium of the people. The Marxist
theory is against religion. Marx believes that religion works like opium on
the mind of the people. In fact, Marx displayed unusual courage to talk
4
 - 18-

against religion when religion had gripped the whole world in its hand.
Marx says that religion has some connection with capitalist exploitation.
The capitalists use religion as a cover to hide their ideology of exploitation.
The capitalists deceive the masses of people by making use of this tool of
- religion. Since religion is but a handmaid of the capitalists, it is liable for
condemnation. It came to be looked upon as an instrument of social
injustice and disorder.

9) The establishment of the communist society:

The Marxist theory aims at a classless and stateless society. It is in
fact an attempt to create 'a brave new world'. In this classless world,
equality will be established among men. The differences of ability will be
worked out in the administrative structure of society. Men will not be
treated' anymore as tools as they were treated by the dominant class. But
they will be looked upon as 'ends'. This society will be without a state,
because state means the organized expression of class violence. Since there
is no other class or only one class, state will not be there any more. In this
new society, there will be no political problems at all. The problems in case
of rights and representation will disappear in this type of society. Such
problems are supported in case of class interest only and in this classless
society they will have no place. There will be no private property in this
society. Because private property is but a feature of a system of production
in which one class exploits another class. There will be no possession of
commodities nor will there be accumulation of commodities. In terms of
use only, commodities will have significance.

Thus, the communist society will be a highly industrialized society.

Automation, the substitution of machines for men will be things of
advantage to communism eventhough these created difficulty for the
capitalists. In such a society, there will be a proper distribution of
commodities produced. The concept of surplus value will no more exist
here. As a result, the problems of overproduction, underconsumption,
unemployment and depression will not come up in this society. The new
techniques of production will continue to develop in this new society. Here,
men will work for fewer hours and at their own leisure they will cultivate
interest in cultural activities. They will develop a big variety of interests and
will mould up their truly human personality. Under capitalism, this type of
human personality could not be maintained. It will be a really civilized life.
At last, this new society will be based on the feeling of co-operation and
non-copipetition. In this true community, freedom will be possible to all
men. Marx thinks that such type of society will emerge very soon. He thinks
of this type of dialectical stage of society. But dialectic, in his opinion, is an
unending process. Even the thesis of communist society has an anti-thesis
within it which will attack upon the thesis and a new social system will
emerge. However, Marx is not worried about the conflict of the future. He
 19-
-

opines that every better society will enable to emerge one better society as
per the dialectic theory.

10) The concept of alienation in Marxist theory:

In his 'Economic and Philosophic Manuscript of 1844' Marx
discusses the concept of alienation. This concept of alienation is an
important issue of this earlier work of Marx. Like his later works, Marx is
very critical of capitalists' society in these manuscripts also and he
advocates for its replacement by communist society. However, his analysis
of the capitalist system in these manuscripts is not from the point of view of
relations of production, surplus value, class struggle or dictatorship of the
proletariat, as he has done the analysis of capitalists system elaborately in
his later works like 'Capital'. In the 'Manuscripts' he criticises capitalism
mainly for its dehumanizing effect, for the alienation of labour.

In the first and second decades of the 20th century, George Lukacs, a
Hungarian Marxist, had written a series of essays on alienation and
objectification in capitalist society. By this time, Marx's 'Economic and
Philosophic manuscripts of 1844' were not discovered yet. Thus, Lukac's
theory of alienation was developed entirely at his own level. After the
publication of Marx's ’Manuscripts' the work of Lukacs became more
influential and in the contemporary Marxist theory, an important factor. In
theory of alienation, Marx has identified four levels of alienation. They are
as follows:

In the book 'An Introduction to Political Theory' O.P. Gauba,

analyses the four levels of alienation as follows :

1) In the first place, man is alienated from his own product

and from his work process, because the workers plays
no part in deciding what to produce and how to produce
it.

2) Secondly, man is alienated from nature. His work

. / »
doesn’t give him a sense of satisfaction as a creative
worker, under mechanization, the work tends to become
increasingly routinized and monotonous.

4
 -20.-

3) In the third place, man is alienated from other men

through the competitive character of the economic
system which forces everyone to live at someone else's
expense and divides society into irreconcilable class
interests and

4) Finally, man is alienated from himself because the

'realm of necessity' dominates his life and reduces him to
the level of an animal existence, leaving no room for a
taste of literature, art and cultural heritage. In other
words, the capitalist system subordinates all human
faculties and qualities to the conditions created by the
private ownership of capital and property. The capitalist
, himself no less than the worker, becomes a slave of the
tyrannical rule ofmoney
(Gauba: 1995, 357).
When the theory of alienation came to be introduced as an indivisible
part of Marxist theory, it started some new trends in Marxist social analysis.

11) The concept of freedom in Marxist theory :

Marxism is a humanist philosophy and as a humanist philosophy it is
primarily a philosophy of human freedom. It aims at the liquidation of the
conditions of domination and subjection. These conditions have plagued
human society since the dawn of civilization. Freedom doesn’t mean only
securing material satisfaction of human needs but it also means to remove
the conditions of dehumanization, estrangement and alienation. Engels
argues that the capitalist system is characterized by necessity and it is
opposed to freedom. Necessity reveals the condition under which the life of
man is governed by inevitable law of nature. These laws of nature exist
independent of man's will. Man can get scientific knowledge of these laws
for his own benefit but he cannot change those laws at his will. There is no
freedom in the escape from necessity to .a dreamland but we can see
freedom in the knowledge of these laws and the ability to make these laws
act towards definite ends, which again depends on their knowledge. This is
applicable both to external nature and the inward human nature.
 -21 -

The Marxist theory aimed at the emancipation of human society. For

acquiring this emancipation at first there is a need of a sound knowledge of
the productive forces operating behind the capitalist system. Secondly, there
is also a need of a programme to make those forces work towards human
ends - the emancipation of human society. Thus, these two are but essential
instruments of human freedom. This knowledge indicated that only a
programme of socialist revolution would achieve humanity's jump from the
kingdom of necessity to the kingdom of freedom.

12) The theory of revolution :

In his 'Communist-Manifesto' Marx has explained how revolution
cannot be avoided. Further he says that the owners of the means of
production do not allow historical forces to have their normal course. At
such a time revolution becomes absolutely essential for fighting against the
peculiar complexities created by capitalists. The landless and propertyless
masses of people are made to react violently against their exploiters and
stage a revolution. Thus, revolution occupies a prominent place in the
theory of Marx. In the words of O.P.Gauba, "The Marxist theory of
revolution is an integral part of dialectical materialism. According to
dialectic model of analysis, development of thesis and anti-thesis takes
place slowly and gradually, but as a result of the clash between the two,
synthesis appears in a sudden stroke." (Gauba : 1995, 353).

Any significant social change is always the product of a revolution.

Revolution is an indispensable midwife of social change. Each stage of
social development brings out a set of ideas, attitudes and moral values for
sustaining the existing pattern of social relationships. These ideas make the
system legitimate and they form the dominant ideology. The dominant class
always has a vested interest in the existing system. Even if the existing
system is outmoded, in such an outmoded system also the dominant class
has a vested interest. When the existing system is incapable of meeting the
demand of new productive forces, the dominant class would still resist any
attempts to change it. The reason for this is that the dominant class doesn’t
wish to get its vested interest in such a system adversely affected. In short,
the ‘unwillingness of the dominant class to go with the new productive
forces reveals but a sort of resistance to the new productive forces. The new
productive forces must get over all such resistance and they must have their,
own way. These new productive forces must destroy completely the
existing economic substructure alongwith the entire superstructure for
constructing the foundations of a new socio-economic, legal-political order..
The dominant class will always be unwilling to part with its power. It will
not give up power so easily. And therefore the new revolutionary class must
force this dominant class to part with its power. Thus, revolution is an
essential concomitant of class struggle. It is but a condition which is
necessary for an effective transfer of power. It is but an inauguration of a
I
 - 22 -

*■ new epoch. For any social change, social revolution is must. Social
revolution is but a necessary lever of social change. In the book 'Society :
An Introductory Change’ R.M. Maclver and C.H. Page have elaborated the
concept of revolution as follows :

The productive process demands ............... and of

necessity will secure .............. a transformation of economic
relationships and therewith of the whole social superstructure.
But the social and economic order doesn’t conform to the
gradual emergence of the economic demand. For the older
order has created its 'ideologies' and its vested interests. It is
those who are fettered by the now obsolescent order who
awaken to the consciousness of its decay and accomplish its
overthrow. A social revolution thus attends the birth of each
new stage of society. The ideology of the dominant economic
class opposes itself to the ideology of the class whom that
order suppressed and whom the new would liberate .
(Gauba: 1995,354).

Thus, each new epoch of social history is a product of revolution. In

the 18th centuiy, we see the end of the feudal system and the establishment
of the capitalist system. The capitalist system was established by a
revolutionary overthrow of the feudal system. But a time got aroused when
the capitalist system became a fetter on the new forces of production and it
became necessary to overthrow it. It must be overthrown by the new
revolutionary class - by the proletariat class - in a revolution.
i

In connection with this argument on revolution, Marx and Engels

give their own thought on revolution in the concluding part of 'The
Communist Manifesto1 as follows :

The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They

openly. declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible
overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at
a Communistic revolution. (Marx and Engels : 1975, 96 )

Even Marx and Engels insist on the development of a revolutionary

class consciousness. They also insist on a strong organization of the
 -23-

proletariat to fulfil their historic mission. Eventhough revolution is

inevitable, a conscious effort on the part of the proletariat will accelerate the
process leading to revolution. The revolution started by the proletariat will
be different as compared to all previous revolutions of human history. In the
past, a small class would start a revolution in its own interest. This small
class wanted to establish its own supremacy and dominance and ultimately
exploit another class that was in existence, with the introduction of a new
mode of production. Thus it was die bourgeois revolution made by a small
bourgeois class. The bourgeois class attempted to establish the capitalist
system for the exploitation of the proletariat.

However, the proletarian revolution would be different because it

would be a revolution of the majority against a minority. It would be a
revolution of the masses against the class of exploiters. Such a revolution is
designed for putting an end to die system of exploitation itself and is no
more designed to conquer power for a certain class for exploiting any other
class. In short, the aim of this revolution would be to establish socialism in
place of capitalism. It would be the final revolution in history. It would
socialize the means of production by abolishing the institution of private
property. While doing this, there is a high possibility of counter revolution
from the capitalists' class. In order to suppress such a possible counter
revolution and to abolish the capitalism, this revolution would establish
temporary dictatorship of the proletariat. This would be a pre­
announcement of the emergence of the communism. In the words of
Wayper, "Under the loving care of the dictatorship, socialism will blossom
into communism." (Wayper : 1973, 208).

While continuing the dictatorship of the proletariat there will be

classes and even there will be oppressive mechanism of the state. But this
state will be different from all previous states. It will not be a state of
property holders for the oppression of the propertyless. As a matter of
contrast, it will be a state of the propertyless for the liquidation of private
property alongwith its ideology and culture. Such a state will undertake the
fullest development of the new productive forces. It will maximize
technological development and gear up the productive process for meeting
social needs and not for raising private profits. Thus, it will pave the way
for the evolution of a classless society. It will also pave the way for a
withering away of the state. As a result of this, communism will blossom
from the soil of socialism. There is no need of new revolution for bringing
about communism. In his book'State and Revolution' Lenin expresses his
view that socialist society is still an imperfect society and hence it retains
the bourgeois right of 'from each according to his ability, to each according
to his work.' But communism represents the perfect system of production
with the highest development of the forces of production. Therefore,

L-'itfAfi
* * Lii.
 -24-

'communism' is governed by the communistic principle' from each

according to his ability, to each according to his need.'

Some later Marxist writers like Mao-Tse-Tung thinks that the class
struggle doesn’t end with the establishment of a communist state but it
only takes new forms. Even in a communist state, contradictions will
continue to persist. There will be contradictions between progress and
conservatism. There will be contradictions between the advanced and the
backward. There will be contradictions between the positive and the
negative. Even there will be contradictions between the productive forces
and the conditions of production. All these contradictions in a communist
state must be fought perpetually for achieving the goal of communism. This
is but an act of revolution. Thus, revolution is a perpetual and continuous
process. This view of Mao is called as 'the doctrine of permanent
revolution.'

13) The philosophy of state in Marxist theory:

In his book 'Communist Manifesto' Karl Marx has expressed his
views on state. In the opinion of Marx, state is an exploiting institution. No
state is evolved or bom for the welfare of the people. The institution like
state is but a means of ruling by the influential upon the poor and weak. A
state is but a tool in the hands of wealthy people. It is an institution which
protects the interests of the minority like capitalist and which exploits the
majority class. The wealthy class manipulates its wealth for exercising
power and influence over the mling power of the state. The institution of
state was not in existence during the ancient period. Because in the ancient
society, there was no class system. Due to non-existence of class, there was
neither class-conflict nor state. However, when the class system came into
existence, conflict started among different classes. The wealthy and
powerful class started to exploit the poor, helpless and weak by resorting to
the state institution. It continued to dominate over these classes. According
to Marx, "The institution ofstate is but a means of compulsion or an engine
of tyranny." (Patil and Chavan : 2003, 74). A state is but a type of support
given to the exploiters' class': Marx's view point of a state is that a state is
but an executive council established for carrying out the work of the
wealthy class. The purpose of every state is to protect the wealth of
capitalists from internal or external aggression and safeguard their interests.
He further says that a state is evolved as a means of dominance of the
exploiters' class. The ruling class uses the mechanism of force for
establishing their power. For this they establish army, police force, judiciary
etc.

According to Marx, on the basis of exploitation, we can divide state

into three types. Till the history of our time, we have seen the state of
slavery, the state of feudalism and the state of capitalism. One common
 25-
-

thing among all these three states was that the exploiters belonged to the
minority class and they used to exploit the masses, the majority class of the
poor. Further to this, Marx opines that the type or class of state is’confirmed
in accordance with the ownership of the means of production. The forces of
production in a society, the production relationships in a society and class
relationship in a society determine the nature of state. Thus, in every phase
of histoiy, states are evolved on the basis of class system devised by the
methods of production. Every state was evolved as a means of exploiting
the masses of people in society.

4) The different philosophies of Marxism :

The term 'Marxism' was unknown in Marx's own life time. It was not
in existence in Marx's own time. In this regard, Friedrich Engels, a close
friend and collaborator of Marx, recalls a comment made by Marx himself:
"All I know, is that, I am not a Marxist." (Gauba : 1995, 342). Marx
expressed this remark because he never claimed that his philosophy would
offer a comprehensive world-view. It is believed that Marx did not advance
such a claim out of modesty also. However, the Russian Marxist G.K.
Plekhanov declared that 'Marxism is a whole world-view.' (Gauba : 1995,
342). Eventhough this term contains the name of Marx, it should not be
regarded as a system of thought specially belonging to Marx. Marxism
consists of a rich tradition of social ideology. It is a living tradition. This
tradition of social ideology got aroused much before the term 'Marxism'
came into use. Thus, it contains a tradition of thought which begins even
before Marx and Engels gave out their theories. This tradition of thought
which is now-a-days called as 'Marxism' in general has been identified by
different names upto the time of Marx and after Marx as well.

The different names by which Marxism is recognized are

Communism, Socialism, Fabianism, Leninism, Maoism, Syndicalism,
Revisionism etc. However, out of these philosophies, we can't develop one
exact attitude of Marxism. On the contrary, each of these terms slightly
differs in meaning from all other terms. The detailed information of all
these theories is as follows :

I) Communism

1) Definition and meaning of Communism :

It is easy to give the basic principles of communism. But to define

communism is a difficult task. Many times the term 'communism' is
indiscriminately mixed up with the term 'socialism' and therefore the

I
 -26-

confusion regarding the meaning of the term gets increased. In one sense,
communism is a form of socialism.

2) Marx, not the first socialist thinker :

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were not the first socialist thinkers to
give socialist ideas. When we think of communism in- connection with
democratic socialism, we find communism in Plato's Republic. In the
modem times we observe socialist ideas in the works of St. Simon, Fourier
and Owen. Marx and Engels introduced revolutionary socialism of
communism. It was obviously different from democratic socialism.

3) Socialism and Communism :

It is said that all communists are socialists but all socialists are not
communists. The terms 'communism' and 'socialism' were looked upon as
synonymous in the 19th century. During the period 1848-1918, the term
'communism' was not widely used.
The revolutionary followers of Lenin in Soviet Russia called
themselves communists. They had broken away from socialists. The
country like Soviet Russia is called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR) and there only, the term communism is avoided. Socialism is
regarded as a prelude to communism. Thus, when the state will disappear,
Russia will become 'communist' in the future. Communism is in favour of
state ownership of the means of production and equal distribution of wealth.

Marx and Engels have used the word 'communism' as identical with
socialism in the 'Communist Manifesto'. When Lenin and his followers
established the dictatorship of the proletariat after Nov. 1917, the party was
named as 'the communist party.'

4) Distinction between 'Socialism' and 'Communism':

' The difference between socialism and communism is as follows :

1) Communism is applicable to the goods of consumption also :

Socialism aims at bringing about the common ownership of all means
of production and communism aims at their common enjoyment. In
short, communism like socialism is applicable to consumption of
goods also.

2) Communism is revolutionary : Communism believes in class-

war. We have seen these class wars in China and Russia. In this
sense, it is revolutionary and is prepared to resort to all methods
 -27-

including the most violent ones to destroy capitalism and

imperialism. Socialism, on the other hand, is evolutionary. It
believes in reconstruction of society with the help of peaceful'
methods. It believes in constitutionalism also.

3) Communism teaches fanaticism : Communism teaches

fanaticism and hatred towards other religions whereas socialism
doesn’t teach hatred. It shows tolerance to those who do not agree
with it.

4) State withers away in communism : Socialism believes in the

state as a tool to realize human welfare. Communism believes in
seizing the state in favour of the so-called dictatorship of the
proletariat. As per this ideology, the state is to destroy the capitalist
and bourgeoisie. The state should last only during the transitional
period and at the end of that period the state will begin to wither
away.

5) Communism is against religion : Communism is anti-religious. It

shows no religious sympathy. It cares for Materialism only. It is
against all religious and spiritual values. Socialism, on the contrary,
establishes religious toleration.
(5) Drawbacks of Communism : The drawbacks of communism are
as follows :

1) Absolute Power :- In the opinion of Milovan Djilas, a Yugoslavian

communist writer who later on turned anti-communist, communist
leaders enjoy absolute power under the veil of public ownership. The
communist break the shackles of capitalism but they rivet their own
fetters on the feet of the so-called liberated people.

2) No liberty for the individual : Communism means no liberty for

the individual. It doesn’t respect human dignity. In such a system, the
dignity of the human personality is totally destroyed. Liberty is the
monopoly of the state and no more of the individual. For example,
the individual in Soviet Russia and Communist China has no liberty.

3) Against religion : Communism is against religion. It loves

materialism and hates religious and spiritual values. It shows no
religious toleration.

4) Communism is ruthless and violent : In its approach,

communism is ruthless and violent. It knows only force. It has no
sense of sympathy, understanding and compassion. It implements any

i
 -28-

programme by the way of violence and bloodshed. In this regard, the

remark of Jawaharlal Nehru is mentionworthy here. He says:

communism has definitely allied itself to the approach

of violence even if it does not indulge normally in
physical violence. Its language is of violence, its thought
is violent and it does not seek to change by persuasion
or peaceful democratic pressure, but by coercion and
indeed by destruction and extermination (Gauba : 1995,
508).

5) Communists do not act as they speak : For the communist the

end always justifies the means. They violate their principles which
they preach, when it.suits their purpose. In this sense, they are
opportunistic.

6) Incorrect theories of the communists : Communists have

propagated different theories. These include the theory of historical
materialism, the theory of class-struggle, the theory of surplus-value,
etc. In fact, all of these theories are partially or fully incorrect
theories. Thus, the communists have misled people by giving such
incorrect theories.

7) State doesn’t wither away : It is said that in the communistic

system the state gets withered away. But it is a false principle. The
communist state in fact grows very powerfully. They implement
totalitarianism. For example, Soviet Russia and China are powerful
states.
8) The communists themselves are imperialists : The communists
regard that the capitalists and exploiters are imperialists. They believe
that communism means to fight against imperialism. However, they
themselves are imperialists. When they get opportunity, they launch
an aggression on other states. For example, the occupation of Tibet
by the Chinese Communist armies.

9) The authoritarianism of the communists : Communism accepts

' the authoritarian rule of only one party. It is a dictatorial type of rule
and it is no more democratic. For example, Stalin, Krushchev,
Kosygin and Breznev manoeuvered power in Russia.

t
 -29-

II) Socialism

The term 'socialism' is a multi-faceted term and it has been defined

differently by different critics. Therefore, for the clear understanding of this
term, we need to look at the term from different angles. Norman Thomas, a
thinker, says that it is difficult to give the precise meaning of the term
socialism. In this regard, he further says:
the truth is that socialism like other great words such as ■
Christianity has come to mean many and rather different
things to different men. I should be willing as a beginning to
accept the definition given in Webster's unabridged
'International’ "Socialism is a political and economic theory of
social organization, the essential feature of which is the
government control of economic activities to the end shall give
way to co-operation and the opportunities of life that
competition and the rewards of labour shall be equitably
apportioned.
(Gokhale : 1982,428-29).

C.E.M. Joad in his 'Introduction to Modem Political Theory' gives his

observation of socialism as follows :
Socialism proves to be a different creed in the hands of its
exponents, varying with the temperaments of its advocates and
the nature of abuser which have prompted their advocacy-----
----------socialism, in short, is like a hat that has lost its shape
because everybody’wears it. (Joad : 1974, 39,40 )

Eventhough there is a little problem in defining clearly 'socialism',

there are a large number of works on socialism and those works give a clear
notion of this term. But in order to understand the various applications of
socialism at least a working definition of socialism' is necessary. The
definition of socialism given in the Concise Oxford English Dietionaiy is as
follows:

Political and economic theory of social organization which advocates

that community as a whole should own and control the means of
production, distribution and exchange. (The Con.Ox.Dict.: 1982,1006 ).
 -30 -

The definition is not very comprehensive. However, it presents the

chief method and goal of socialism. Joseph A. Schumpter on the other hand
. gives a more comprehensive.definition of socialism in his book 'Capitalism,
Socialism and Democracy. He defines socialism as "that organization of
society in which the means ofproduction are controlled, and the decisions
on how and what to produce and on who is to get what, are made by public
authority instead of by private owned and privately managed firms."
(Schumpeter: 1952,421)

Besides the above two definitions, the following definitions give

important ideas of socialism :

A) Dr. A. Appadorai:
"Socialism may be defined as a theory and a movement aiming at the
collective organization of the community interests of the mass of the people
through the common ownership and collective control of the means of
production and exchange." (Gokhale : 1982,429-30).

In this definition, the ideas of common ownership and collective

control are emphasized.
i

B) G.D.H. Cole :
Means found in closely connected things - a human
fellowship, which denies and expels distinctions of class - a
social system in which no one is so much richer or poorer than
his neighbours as to be unable to mix with them on equal
terms, the common ownership and use of all vital instruments
ofproduction, and on obligation upon all citizens to serve one
another according to their capacities. (Gokhale : 1982,430).

The definition lays emphasis on two concepts. Those are 'common

ownership' and 'equality'.

C) Encyclopaedia Britannica:
In the words of C.A.R. Crosland, a British socialist, socialism is, "a
set of values or aspirations, which socialists wish to see embodied in the
organization ofsociety ": (TNEB, MAC.: 1975, 965 )

D) Prof. Ely says, "A socialist is one who looks at society organized in
the state for aid in bringing about a more perfect distribution of economic
 -31 -

goods and an elevation of humanity; the individualist regards each man to

■work out his salvation, material and spiritual" (Gamer: 1951, 435).

TMs definition lays stress on better distribution of economic goods

and improvement of the condition of all individuals in the state.

E) E.M. Bums:
Accurately defined, socialism means the abolition of
private enterprise and the substitution of collective ownership
and control, for the benefit of the whole society, of at least the
principal instruments ofproduction, distribution and exchange.
It involves the destruction ofprivate investment and the profit
system and the adoption of an entirely new standard for the
distribution ofwealth. (Gokhale : 1982,430-31).

In this definition, ' the abolition of private ownership, the

establishment of collective ownership, the destruction of private investment
and the profit system are given weightage.

In a nutshell, we can say that socialism is a theory, a movement and a

way of life opposed to the capitalist social and economic order. It is
opposed to the unrestricted individualism, private property and free
competition. It hopes for the common good by the way of promoting social
and economic justice and by controlling the economic activities of
individuals. It aims at economic organization and social reconstruction by
suitable political means. In such an organization, the major instruments of
production are under the ownership and control of public authority because
it is expected that the public authority will utilize these instruments of
production for securing the public interest. It establishes one view that"
liberty and equality granted to citizens in the political field should not be
meaningless. For making them meaningful they should be accompanied by
a reorganization of the economic life of society. Only then liberty and
equality will become substantive rights for citizens. The theorists and
practitioners of socialism belong to different schools, e.g. Fabian school of
socialists, Guild school of socialists etc. However, there is one common
fabric running in the theories of all these different socialists. All these
socialists are opposed to individualism and capitalism.

Evolution of socialism:
We can assess the evolution of socialism as follows :

I
 -32-

1) Plato's Republic:
Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher has expressed his socialistic
ideas in his book 'Republic'. In this book, Plato speaks of the ruling class
having no property of its own. This ruling class is called 'the guardians of
the republic.' The guardians of the republic work for the promotion of the
welfare of the community. They exercise power. They don’t own private
property. This is also called Plato's 'communism'. But this communism was
more spiritual and economic. Plato didn’t apply it to the whole community
but it was restricted to the members of the guardian class. He had restricted
his communism of property and wives to members of the 'guardian class.'
He did not seek for implementing the system of common ownership of
property and wives as a universal principle. In fact, Plato wanted to keep the
guardian class away from worldly affairs. He thought that they should not
secure an equal satisfaction of needs which the community enjoys. Thus, his
theoiy of communism or socialism is not applicable to the whole
community but only to the ruling class. Due to this we cannot regard Plato
as an exponent of socialists.

2) Judaism and Christianity :

In 'the Old Testament' we can observe socialist ideas. In this book,
the first socialist code in the interest of workers, women and the weak is
presented. The early Christians are against the idea of 'mine and thine'.
Jesus Christ emphasized that man's brotherhood is as good as God's
fatherhood is. In this sense, he preaches the principles of equality.

During the middle ages, the church represented a way of life. This
way of life was against wealth, money-lending and commerce. So many
religious movements have opposed the desire to acquire wealth during the
medieval period. They have condemned the greedy and voracious nature of
men and have favoured austere life in which property can be shared.

3) Thomas More's 'Utopia':

In 1516, Thomas More, published a book entitled as 'Utopia.' The
term 'utopia' indicates an imaginary island governed by a perfect political
and social system. It gives an imaginary or utopian picture of an ideal
society in which there is common ownership of property and people don't
know injustice. Thus, Plato's 'Republic' is regarded as an example of utopia.
But, Plato had restricted his communism of property and wives.

4) The diggers or the levellers :

It was a radical group of Puritans in the 17th century. It opposed to
the private land property and insisted on the common ownership of landed
property.
 -33-

5) Industrial and Intellectual Revolutions :

The industrial revolution in England and the intellectual revolution in
France took place in the second half of the 18th century. These revolutions
prepared a ground for socialist thought. The Industrial Revolution gave
fresh and revolutionary thoughts to socialist thinkers. There was the rise of
rational thinking. The socialist thinkers protested the exploitation of,
workers.

6) The use of the term ’socialism':

Even though the socialist ideology has been in existence since the
days of Plato, in different forms, till the Industrial and intellectual
revolutions in the second half of the 8th century, the term socialism came to
be used at first only in the early part of the 19th century.

The term ’socialism* was probably, used for the first time by the 'Poor
Man’s Guardian' in the year 1833. It was Robert Owen, a British capitalist
socialist and the member of the Association of All classes of All nations ( a
society established at the instance of Owen himself in 1835) who used the
terms 'socialism' and 'socialists.' Later on a French writer Reybaud,
borrowed the term socialism from the British thinkers. He gave a wide
publicity to this word by using it in his 'Reformation Modemer.’

Sir Thomas More, St. Simon, Charles Fourier, Robert Owen, R.H.
Tawney, G.D.H. Cole and Clement Attlee are regarded as the leaders of the
modem democratic socialist movement.

7) Robert Owen, the father of British Socialism :

The industrial revolution in England introduced the callous
exploitation of wage labourers but surprisingly a humanistic attitude
towards the exploited workers was cultivated for the first time in the same
country. Socialist ideas got practised in England only because there was the
development of liberal institutions. These institutions developed liberal
ideas. A surprising thing to note down here is that Robert Owen was a
British capitalist socialist who opted at first for doing economic and social
justice to the workers. Therefore, Owen has been regarded as the father of
British Socialism. Besides him, there are some other thinkers also who have
made their contribution to socialist philosophy.

Varieties of Socialism:

The distinction between the different forms of socialism will help us

to understand the true nature of socialism. The different forms or varieties
of socialism are as follows :
 -34-

III) Revolutionary Socialism

In common parlance, the term 'socialism' is usually used to show

evolutionary socialism. Evolutionary socialism is a kind socialism which is
achieved by evolutionary process or by degrees and not by wholesale
transformation or total transformation of society in a single stroke.
Evolutionary socialism is different from revolutionary socialism.
Revolutionary socialism aims at introducing socialism in its totality in order
to replace capitalist system by the socialist system. It seeks for transforming
the social system completely and doesn’t accept small concessions or
concessions in part for the underprivileged sections. It makes a direct attack
on the prevailing contradictions of the social order. It, therefore, belongs to
the Marxist tradition. It is called 'Marxian socialism.' It insists on organizing
the working class for fighting against capitalism so as to overthrow the
capitalist order and establish complete socialization of the instruments of
production and distribution by revolution. Revolutionary socialism rejects
theory of equilibrium between different interests in society. It seeks to
change the position of the dominant and dependent classes of capitalist
society and ultimately to destroy the conditions of domination itself so as to
establish a classless society.

IV) Evolutionary Socialism

Evolutionary socialism admits an attitude of compromise -

compromise between capitalism and socialism. It allows the capitalist
system to continue with some changes here and there in the socialist
direction. It, thus, belongs to the liberal tradition. For this, it may be
described as 'liberal socialism.' It believes in the democratic method,
parliamentary reform and even economic planning. It expects that the
interests of the underprivileged sections especially the working classes,
might be represented and taken care of by their representatives and
leadership. It aims at securing the rights of the working classes, especially
their economic rights as a part of the supposed common interests of the
community. In short, it seeks for the reconciliation or accommodation of the
interests of the working classes with those of other classes. Thus, it
advocates the theory of harmony or equilibrium as the governing principle
of social relationships, corresponding to the positions taken by modem
liberalism.

(V) Utopian Socialism

In the first decade of the 18th century, some philosophers and

humanitarians attempted to draw the picture of an ideal commonwealth
which would be acceptable to society. These philosophers are called
 35-
-

'utopian.' They are called so because they created highly fascinating pictures
of an ideal social- and political order which are far away from tihe hard
realities of life. They didn’t realize that society was not prepared for the
transference of private ownership of industry to common ownership. They
even didn’t understand that the privileged classes would not part with their
established position without any pressure from the underprivileged sections.
Besides these, they didn’t think that their schemes would not decide the
future social order but the play of historical forces would determine it.

The pioneers of utopian socialism are Robert Owen and Charles

Fourier. Owen was a Scottish manufacturer. He was of the opinion that the
people could be taught the principles of co-operation rather than the
principles of competition. He also thought that the reconstruction of
environment would transform human nature. These ideas of Owen helped to
establish model communities in Scotland, England and America. Fourier
was a Frenchman. He had a much more elaborate plan for a model
community. He thought that in such a model community, there would be
neither waste nor inefficiency nor boredom nor inequality. He hoped that if
his ideas were propagated, the ways of the world would definitely be
mended. The next utopian thinker, P.J. Proudhon (1809-65) was French.
He thought that it was necessary to set up a nationwide system of
decentralized workers' co-operatives. They would bargain with one another
for a mutual exchange of goods and services.

Thus, from the theories of these utopian thinkers, we get one common
point. All of them thought that individual enterprise and market competition
were inimical to human welfare and a co-operative form of social
organization would provide the solution to the existing ills of society. These
thinkers painted a picture of society as free from inequality, exploitation
and injustice.

(Vl)Collectivism or State Socialism

'Collectivism' or 'State Socialism' is a form of socialism which

emerged as a reaction against the extreme individualism of the 19th century.
Broadly speaking, it is a term used for a trend in social development. It is a
programme of economic reform. It is a theory of general welfare. It is an
utopian order of mankind. It is also a general label for comprehensive
scheme of authoritative control such as socialism, communism, syndicalism
and Bolshevism. Specifically it is a name for the trend away from the
extreme 'laissez faire' of the 19th century. The principles of collectivism can
be found in the works of Edward Bernstein in Germany. Jean Juares in
France, Karl Branting in Sweden and Edward Anseel in Belgium. But it is

*
 -36-

not as radical as revolutionary socialism or communism, syndicalism or

anarchism.

Individualism advocates the individual good whereas collectivism

advocates the promotion of common good. The collectivists want the state
for abolishing the evils of capitalism, private property and competition.
They are of the view that society is capable only of gradual change and that
each change must be conditioned by the nature of the social structure that
preceded it. For this, it is essential to start with what exists and allow the
present to decide the direction as well as the rapidity of the steps which are
taken into the future. In this theory, the collectivists are expected to
organize a party of their own. That party must have a majority in the
legislature. Only then the party can form a government and only then the
government formed by the party can introduce the necessary legislation for
making collectivism a reality. Unlike communists, collectivists are for the
ballot box and are against bullet.

VII) Fabianism

Fabian socialism made its appearance in England some thirty five

years after the 'Communist Manifesto' was published. It is the first
systematic doctrine of evolutionary socialism as a substitute for the Marxian
revolutionary socialism. It aims at the promotion of the welfare of society
through slow, evolutionary and democratic methods. In the words of E.M.
Bums:
Perhaps the most important variety of contemporary
socialism which does not trace the paternity of its doctrines to
Marx is Fabian socialism. The principal sources of Fabian
socialism were British and American. They include the
writings of David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill and Henry
George. The most dominant ideas derived from these sources
was the premise that most forms of unearthed wealth are
created by society. (Gokhale : 1982, 516).
This type of socialism tried to modify Marxian concepts as follows :

The origin of Fabian Socialism :

The Fabian society was founded in England in the year 1883 by

France Pardmore and Edward Piedge. The term 'Fabian Socialism' derived
its name from the term 'Fabian society.' The group of the Fabian socialists
 37-
-

included the thinkers like G.B. Shaw, Graham Wallas, Sydney Webb,
Beatrice Webb, Sidney Oliver, Annie Besant and G.D.H. Cole.

The term 'Fabian' was adopted after the name of Quintus Fabius (275-
203 B), a great Roman General who used his tactics in the fight against
Hannibal. These tactics proved to be a useful guide for the society. The
motto of this society was based on Fabius' fighting tactics with the enemy.
This motto was as follows :

"For the right moment you must wait as Fabius did, most patiently,
when warring against Hannibal, though many censured his delays; but
when the time comes you must strike hard, as Fabius did or your waiting
will be in vain and fruitless." (Gokhale : 1982, 517).

Fabian Socialism and Marxian Socialism:

1) The Marxian socialism which was. developed in the late forties of the
19th century, believed that revolution was an essential medium of
change from communism to socialism. However, the Fabian
socialism regarded the change from communism to socialism as a
gradual process. It hoped for the socialization of industry by. the
peaceful use of economic and political agencies already in hand.

2) For bringing about social change or the change from capitalism to

socialism,- Marxian socialism was relied on the working class. Fabian
socialism, on the other hand, opted for the use of the services of the
middle class for developing the techniques of bringing about a new
social order.

3) The Marxian socialism believed in the labour theory of value but the
economics of Fabian socialism was based on the Ricardian law of
rent.

4) Actually the term Fabianism got originated in the wake of the

establishment of democracy in Great Britain during the years 1865 to
1885. At first, during this period, we see that the working class was
given the Franchise (right to vote). Secondly, the legalization of trade
union took place. And thirdly, the influence of the working class on
legislation and wage contract was on the increase.

Thus, in the above senses, the Fabian socialists are different from
Marxian socialists. The Fabians undertook the task of making the
democratic state an instrument of systematic social reform. In the words of
O.P. Gauba:

*
 -38-

Sydney Webb (1858-1947), the leading Fabian socialist,

insisted that the mission of the socialists was to acquire
knowledge by means of specialized research into the various
manifestations of economic and social life to acquaint
themselves with the machinery of legislation and
administration and to put their knowledge and experience at
the disposal ofall political agencies. (Gauba : 1995,367).

The basic principles of Fabian Socialism :

The different features of Fabian socialism are as follows:

1) Emancipation of land and industrial capital: The Fabian society

sought for the restructuring of society by emancipating land and industrial
capital from individual and class ownership. The Fabians thought that the
community as a whole should own the land and industrial capital. The
management of these must be in the hands of.the community.

2) Respect to Labour :
The Fabians opined- that labour should be rewarded. The labour
produced by the workers is the fruit of their sweat and the profit derived out
of the labour should be pocketed by labourers and not by capitalists.

3) Equality of opportunity :
The Fabians thought that after the emancipation of land and industrial
capital from the individual and class ownership, a new condition would
arise in which rent and interest would be added to the reward of labour. The
idle class living on the labour of others would disappear. There would be no
individual interference and the economic forces would maintain political
equality of opportunity.

4) Dissemination of social ideas :

The Fabians aimed at spreading socialist ideas. These socialist ideas
focused on the relation between individual and society in its economic,
ethical and political aspects. These ideas also aimed at the establishment of
equal citizenship for men and women. For this purpose, they attempted to
use the democratic method of a slow and gradual turning of the popular
mind to the new principles of social reorganization. •
 39-
-

5) Education for all:

The Fabian-socialist Sydney Olivier, regarded universal education as
a necessary means of emancipation of the working class. He further thought
that the educational system was an essential instrument of nurturing social
morality. He emphasized the release of children from all non-educational
labour until their mind and physique have had a fair start and training. Even
he emphasized the need of a wider arrangement for the education of adults.
He thought that the school of the adults was the journal and the library,
social intercourse, fresh air, clean and beautiful cities, the joy of the fields,
the museum, the art gallery, the lecture hall, the; drama and the opera. All
these schools must be free and accessible to all and only then the bad
disgraceful condition of the working class will come to an end.

vni) Guild Socialism

Guild socialism was originated in the 20th century and it got
flourished in the first quarter of 20th century. As a trend in the British
labour movement, it enjoyed a great ideological success in the period from
1916 to 1926. But the basic ideas of Guild socialism were already given in
the year 1906 by Arthur Joseph Penty in his, book 'The Restoration of the
Guild System.' The movement of the Guild socialism aims at autonomy in
industry through the formation of Guilds. In this regard, F.W. Coker says:

Guild socialism is like the earlier French syndicalism in its

aversion to all doctrines that make productive activity
dependent upon political authority. It would protect the worker
not only against exploitation by capitalists but also against any
bureaucratic suppression of craftsmanship. Its object is to
make work more interesting and the whole economic structure
ofsociety more democratic
(Coker: 1966,274).

Guild socialism is called as an intellectual child of Fabianism and

syndicalism. The English intellectuals who at first had given support to
Fabianism gave birth to Guild socialism. In 1915, Guild socialists
established the 'National Guilds League' in Britain. It included eminent
thinkers like S.G. Hobson, A.S. Penty, A.R. Orage and G.D.H. Cole. These
men gave the basic principles of Guild socialism.

J
 40-
-

The basic ideology of Guild socialism :

Guild socialism attempted to bring together the good point of
socialisih with those of the ancient guild system. Its basic ideas are as
follows:

1) It supported the Marxian emphasis on class struggle.

2) It attacked the wage system
3) It demanded representation of the workers in industrial control.
4) It tried to modify syndicalism by introducing the importance of
consumer side by side with the worker.
5) It attempted to abolish the old state, which was an instrument of
exploitation. But it insisted on the evolution of a new organization,
which will take charge of the many civic activities necessary to the
life of the community.

In short, Guild socialism was strongly opposed to communism as

well as to all forms of collectivistic socialism. Like syndicalism, it tried to
restrict and counter balance the power of the political state by independent
economic organizations of workers and consumers.
IX) Syndicalism
Syndicalism is a form of socialism developed in France and Latin
countries. It originated as a trend in the French labour movement and it
considers labour union and their federations as cells of the future socialist
order. It expects the complete independence of labour unions from political
parties. In French language, the word 'syndicate' means trade union and the
term 'syndicalism' is derived out of it. In this movement, trade unions are
against capitalist system of production.

Different definitions of Syndicalism :

1) J.S. Roucek:
The ideology of syndicalism justifies direct action or the
general strike to obtain control over production by
organizations of workers. -----------Syndicalism represents a
revolutionary labour movement making trade union the basis
of social revolution as well as offuture society. It combines the
political theory that distrusts the state as a tool of capitalists
with direct, non-political methods of trade unionism.
(Roucek: 1954, 96).
 41-
-

2) Ernest Barker:
Syndicalism like Marxism, is a doctrine inimical to the
bourgeois or capitalistic state, but while Marxism erects a
whole class, called the proletariat, as the enemy of the
bourgeois state and proposes to build on that class......... a
new state representing the dictatorship of the proletariat,
syndicalism has evolved a different system of tactics. It erects
as the enemy of the bourgeoisie the various and separate
syndicates. (.Gokhale : 1982,523 )

The basic ideas of syndicalism are as follows :

1) Syndicalism accepted the class struggle theory of Marx,

2) If propagated for the abolition of the political state.
3) It thought that industrial action was the only effective means of
bringing about a revolutionary change in society.
4) It looked upon the general strike as a means of securing workers'
control over industry.
5) It hoped for a social order in which all power would be given to the
producer and in which trade and industrial unions would serve as the
economic framework of society.

The movement of syndicalism got great ideological success in France

during the period between 1899 and 1937. In the very beginning, this
movement aimed at the exclusive right of workers to control industry.
However, after the First World War (1914-1919), it widened its scope and
agreed upon the equal right of consumers in this field of control. The
movement stood for socialization without state. It opposed the state in two
different ways -

1) State should have no right in the control of industry.

2) Independent economic organizations should be used -to restrict and
counter balance the power of the state.
• t i ■>

X) Scientific Socialism '

Socialism is a modem system of thought and it deals with problems
of injustice and exploitation caused by the industrialization of society. Some
writers are of the view that the idea of socialism belongs to an earlier
period, that is, to the ancient times. However, all early socialism upto the
early 19th century was hardly realistic. It is with Marx that we see tire real

• 15710
 - 42-

beginning of the systematic formulation of socialism. In this regard, the

opinion of C.E.M. load is worth remembering here. He says, "Karl Marx is
in a very real sense the father ofsocialism." (Joad : 1976,40). Marx himself
regarded all previous socialist thought as Utopian and claimed that he
introduced scientific socialism.

Scientific socialism got originated as a reaction to Utopian socialism.

It is also known as Marxian socialism. Marx and Engels dismissed all
earlier socialist thinking as Utopian because it was not based on a scientific
understanding of the mechanism of social injustice in capitalist society. The
earlier thinkers had simply believed in the benevolence of some enlightened
capitalists and it was no more different than a dream. On the other hard,
Marx and Engels studied deeply the cause of social injustice which had
existed throughout historical revolution and gave a practical solution to end
that injustice by suggesting a revolutionary overthrow of capitalism. They
were of the view that violent revolution was indispensable for the victory of
socialism. Because they thought that the capitalists were well-established
and they would never give up their established position without a fierce
struggle. They further held a view that the struggle against capitalism must
be led by the working class because the working class was the main sufferer
from social injustice.

Marx had a good deal of connection with the Hegelian school of

philosophy. One of the noblest works of the schools was to create a
philosophy of history. Marx followed Hegel's dialectical method but he
didn’t follow Hegel's philosophy of history. The dialectical method is a
process which generates new ideas through an intellectual debate, i.e.
through the clash of conflicting ideas. Thus, in the Hegelian system of
thought (Hegelian idealism) 'the idea' represents the motive force of history.
Social and political institutions are but manifestation of the existing 'idea.'
For the term 'idea' Marx used the substitute term 'matter.' He took matter as
the mode of material production in society, as the driving force of historical
development and evolved his 'materialistic' interpretation of history.

According to this materialistic interpretation of history, the society

constantly searches for a better system of production and this search of
society for a better system of production gives rise to change in the mode of
production and consequent changes in social relationship, ideas and
institutions. This process of changes is responsible for the progress from
one historical stage to another. For example, the progress from primitive
communism to slave-owning society, fronr slave-owning society to feudal
system, from feudal system to capitalist system, from capitalist system to
socialist system and from socialist system to communism has taken place
because of this process of changes. According to Marx, every epoch
(primitive communism, feudal system etc.) in human history is but an effect

I
 43-
-

of a revolution. He further says that revolution is the indispensable midwife

of social change. The capitalist system represents the progress from the
feudal system because its industrial production is a superior mode of
production to the feudal one. But this capitalist system doesn’t meet social
needs sufficiently because it is based on the division of society into 'have's
and have nots', 'capitalists' and 'workers' 'bourgeoisie' and 'proletariat', the
exploitation of the proletariat and the wrong choice of production policies.
As a result of these inadequacies the capitalist system must therefore give
way to socialism. In this way, socialism is but an inevitable outcome of
historical forces. Besides this, if the working class makes conscious and
organized effort in this direction, the process of change can be sped up.
Marx made aware the proletariat of realizing their historical role and
working continuously for bringing about socialism speedily. Socialism puts
an end to the exploitation of man by man and makes a way for the
emergence of a classless and stateless society by placing means of
production under common ownership and control of society (i.e. by
socializing means of production).

Thus, the attitude of Marx towards socialism was based on a

scientific understanding of the process of history and the role of the
working class in bringing about socialism. Therefore, the Marxian socialism
is recognized as 'scientific socialism.'

XI) Democratic Socialism

Democratic socialism, surprisingly, got originated in England in a

capitalist country. It is looked upon as a modem version of Fabian
socialism. The advocates of this type of socialism give equal value to
democracy and socialism. According to them, the goals of democracy and
socialism cannot be separated from each other. Both expect for the
ammelioration of the ordinary man. Democratic socialism signifies use of
the democratic method for achieving the socialist goal. It attempts to
modify Marxian socialism in case of some important aspects.

Britain has rejected Marxism and accepted democratic socialism.

This movement owes much to the ideas of Robert Owen, Sidney and
Beatrice Webb, R.H. Tawney, H.J. Laski, G.D.H. Cole, E.F.M. Dyrbin and
others. There are very few people in England who have become socialists
from the techniques of Karl Marx. Clement Attlee opines that in no other
country Christianity supported socialism so much as in England. In this
regard, he says, "Avoiding both fascism and communism, this country, I
believe can afford to the world, an example of how society can adapt itself
to new conditions and base itself on new principles without breach of
continuity and without violence and tolerance." (Ebenstein : 1960, 596).

4
 - 44-

Out of the above thinkers, Harold J. Laski (1893-1950) has made a

noteworthy contribution to the theory and practice of democratic socialism.
Laski has attempted to combine the ends of socialism with the democratic
method of liberalism.' In many of the famous works, he has made good
attempt to combine the concept of liberal freedom with the goal of socialist
justice. In this regard, we can particularly refer to his books such as 'Liberty
in the Modern State, 'State in Theoiy and Practice' and 'A Grammar of
Politics.' Even the philosopher, E.M.F. Durbin has worked out elaborately
the principles of democratic socialism in his book 'Politics of Democratic
Socialism.' Today, many countries in the world are following the
philosophy of this movement. The countries like Sweden, Norway,
Denmark and even India are following the path of democratic socialism.
The salient features of democratic socialism are as follows :

1) There is partial socialization of production and distribution

in democratic socialism:
The democratic socialists thinkers are of the view that there is no
need of wholesale socialization of the means of production and distribution.
Instead of it, for ensuring the supply of essential goods and services for the
bulk of the population, some essential means of production and distribution
are placed under state ownership. And only this would bring a substantial
achievement in the direction of socialism.

2) There is satisfaction of material as well as moral needs in

democratic socialism :
According to democratic socialists, socialism should not only satisfy
material needs of human being but it should satisfy their moral, intellectual
and emotional needs also. They think these needs essential. Only then, they
think, the overall development of the personality of each individual is
possible. For this overall development, the state should provide not only
food, clothing and shelter but it should care for their education,
entertainment, art and culture etc.

3) There is freedom of thought and expression in democratic

socialism:

The democratic socialists believe that for the overall development of

personality the atmosphere of freedom is essential. The fuller development
of personality is not possible only by abolishing private property, by putting
an end to exploitation and by satisfying the material needs of all individuals.
Only such conditions will not create conducive or favourable atmosphere
for the better development of personality. In addition to these all, there is a
need of freedom of thought and expression, freedom of religion and
worship, freedom of movement and other similar types of freedom.
 -45-

4) There is no dictatorship in democratic socialism :

The democratic socialist state is not a state of dictatorship. It is
opposed to all forms of dictatorships. There is a dictatorship of the
proletariat as suggested by the Marxian theory of socialism. Dictatorship in
any forms isn't conducive to human happiness but it leads to the suppression
of one's personality.

5) There is free competition for power in democratic socialism:

The democratic socialists think that for achieving the ends of
socialism democratic structures are necessary. The democratic structures
means - free competition for power among political parties, freedom of
pressure groups, parliamentary institutions with an effective role for the
opposition etc.

In a nutshell, we can say that eventhough Marxism is a multifaceted

term, it works commonly as a political and economic theory of Marx and
his followers. It aims at the abolition of private ownership of means of
production. It anticipates work and subsistence for all. It also anticipates
the rule of the mass society and its welfare.

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• C.E.M. Joad. 1976. Introduction to Modern Political Theory.

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• C.L. Wayper. 1973. Political Thought .London : StPaul's House.

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