Marxism

The Myth of the Messiah

However, this is but one facet of Marxism; there is another side. Marxism is not merely a doctrine of historical and economic determinism, of the complete dependence of humanity on the economy. It is also a teaching of salvation, of the messianic calling of the proletariat, of a future perfected society in which humanity will no longer be beholden to the economy and will overcome the dominion of economic forces over its life—a triumph of humanity over the irrational forces of nature and society. This, so to speak, is a leap from the realm of necessity into the realm of freedom.

As noted by M. Berdyaev, the soul of Marxism resides here, in this "leap," rather than in economic determinism. According to Marxism, the active subject destined to liberate humanity from bondage and to forge a better life is the proletariat. The term proletariat, derived from the Latin proles—meaning offspring—and proletarius—denoting one who possesses nothing but the ability to reproduce—refers to the impoverished yet legally free Roman citizen who contributes to the state solely through procreation. This class represented the homeless, landless, destitute stratum of ancient Roman citizens who subsisted on the resources of Roman society. While the Roman proletarians lived at society's expense, Marx argued that capitalist society lives off the proletariat. This is a profound falsehood. According to Marxist doctrine, the sole source of the proletariat's existence is the sale of their labor power to the owners of the means of production. The proletariat is ascribed messianic (savior) qualities, mirroring the attributes of the chosen people of God ("the only truly revolutionary class"), positioning them as the new Israel. This represents nothing less than the secularization of ancient Jewish messianic consciousness. Thus, the lever with which to overturn the world has been found. It is here that Marx's materialism transforms into extreme idealism.

We now turn to a point previously referred to during the Soviet era as "revolutionary dialectics." The noted researcher M. Berdyaev drew attention to the unfortunate, indeed absurd phrase—"dialectical materialism." There can be no dialectic of matter, for dialectics presupposes the Logos, the essence; thus, only the dialectic of thought and spirit is possible. However, Marx transferred the attributes of thought and spirit into the depths of matter. Dialectics, as an art of conversation, in Marx's hands becomes an exaltation of human will and activity. Proletarians will never rebel until they become conscious, and they will not achieve consciousness until they rebel. This is the social dialectic of Marxism. Reflecting on this aspect of dialectics, the renowned Russian thinker L. Shestov remarked: "The aim of dialectics is not the search for truth but the annihilation of the opponent," for the revolutionary dialectic of Marxism does not represent a logical necessity of the self-revelation of the idea, but rather the activity of a revolutionary individual for whom the past is not obligatory.

From this understanding of dialectics, the philosophy of Marxism, or historical materialism, divides all recorded history into two great epochs: the realm of necessity and the realm of freedom.

Thus, history, as envisioned by Marx, is sharply divided into two parts (in analogy to Augustine): the past, when humanity was enslaved, and the future, which commences with the victory of the proletariat through communist revolution. The communist revolution is the turning point of universal history, akin to the Nativity of Christ for thinkers such as Augustine and Hegel. Moreover, the terminology of this new doctrine was not developed within the confines of Marxism but was borrowed long before Marx, who adeptly utilized it while imbuing it with new ideological significance: "messiah" and "the world-historical mission of the proletariat," "the fundamental turning point in world history connected with the actions of Jesus Christ" and "the fundamental turning point associated with the revolutionary actions of the proletariat." Everything that transpired before the Nativity of Christ Augustine deemed prehistory; true history begins with the Nativity. In Marx's view, prehistory is represented by primitive communalism or "primitive communism," a paradise on earth devoid of the rich and poor, oppressors and the oppressed, where all were equal in their poverty until private property emerged (a true original sin for the Marxist), followed by expulsion from paradise into the realm of necessity characterized by private property and class antagonism. Hence, the famous "Manifesto of the Communist Party" (1848) begins with the assertion that all prior history is a history of class struggles. In this eternal antagonism existed:

• the slave and the free man,
• the serf and the nobleman,
• the master and the apprentice,
• the hired worker and the bourgeois,
• that is, the oppressed and the oppressors.

Communism is destined to put an end to this; thus, the true (real) history, from the perspective of the founding classics, begins with the victory of the communist revolution and the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat, continuing until all sources of societal wealth flow abundantly and the great principle "From each according to their abilities, to each according to their needs" is realized.

Every vector of historiography implies a direction and encompasses three essential points in its development: a beginning and an end, and where there is a beginning and an end, there must also be a middle. For Augustine, the beginning of history was the original sin; for Marx, the point of departure is the emergence of private property. The final point of history in Augustine's view is the Apocalypse (the Last Judgment), while in Marxism, it is communism as the resolution to the riddle of history.

The "leap" from the realm of necessity into the realm of freedom, in Marx's view, signifies triumph over original sin, which he perceives in private property as the economic basis for the exploitation of one person by another. Therefore, the difference between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie represents the difference between good and justice, and virtue and the bourgeoisie embody evil, injustice, and vice.

Thus, Marx constructed a genuine myth of the proletariat, and its world-historical mission becomes an object of faith; consequently, Marxism is not only a doctrine, a political ideology, but also a belief, a peculiar ersatz-religion. And therein lies its strength. "Marx's doctrine is all-powerful because it is true," said V. I. Lenin.

As we can see, Marxism encompasses two strands:
a) an objective-scientific perspective, determined by economic life ("Capital");
b) a subjective-doctrinal or revolutionary-class moment, epitomized in the "Manifesto of the Communist Party."

From this arise two strands in the development of Russian Marxism. Initially, the Russian intelligentsia predominantly embraced the objective-scientific side of Marx's teachings. Beyond the empire, a group called "Liberation of Labor," led by G. V. Plekhanov (1856-1918), emerged. This marked the inception of Russian Marxism and the socialist-democratic movement as a whole. Plekhanov particularly emphasized that "the entire dynamic of our societal life lies within capitalism." In stating this, the Marxists were not as concerned with the economic development of Russia as a positive aim and benefit but rather sought tools for revolutionary struggle. They focused not so much on industry and production in themselves, but primarily on the instruments of the future upheaval—the proletariat. They envisioned grand upheavals. Russian Marxism was inherently marked by a fundamental contradiction: the desire for the development of capitalism, the endorsement of this development, while simultaneously regarding capitalism as evil and injustice against which every socialist is called to fight. Indeed, one segment of socialists (the Socialist Revolutionaries) resorted to revolvers and bombs, while another—at least for the time being—was opposed to terror and instead delved into the theory of Marx.