Philosophy of Society

Political Philosophy (Theory of the State)

Marxism

In the nineteenth century, a school of political philosophy emerged, whose influence on the political realities of the twentieth century proved immense. The founders of this school, Karl Heinrich Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895), asserted that the entirety of history is marked by a persistent class struggle: the wealthy endeavor to oppress the poor and compel them to labor, while the impoverished strive to liberate themselves from the yoke of the affluent. This struggle culminates in social revolutions, which dismantle existing relations of production and establish new ones. Though these new relations are initially beneficial for all, over time they foster a division of classes, wherein the affluent begin to subjugate the impoverished anew, rekindling the cycle of class struggle, which invariably concludes with another revolution.

Marx posited that humanity has traversed several social formations: the primitive communal order, characterized by the absence of private property and thus the absence of class struggle; the slave-holding system, in which all, even human beings (the slaves), could be owned; feudalism, where individuals ceased to be property but the ruling class retained dominion over land, the primary source of material wealth; and capitalism, wherein capitalists own the means of production, while subjugated workers are forced into complete dependency to earn a livelihood.

In this philosophical framework, the state receives a decidedly negative appraisal. It serves as the principal instrument of oppression wielded by the wealthy. The state comprises mechanisms of coercion that keep the subjugated class in submission to the ruling class. The most formidable force impeding revolution and the liberation of the oppressed class is the state’s punitive apparatus. According to Marxists, the state perpetually serves the interests of the affluent, aiding them in subjugating the poor. Thus, the state exists only where classes exist. In the primitive communal order, devoid of societal class division, the state was nonexistent. Given that such a state arises from class struggle, it cannot endure eternally. The state, which serves the ruling class, exists only in the presence of class division, and class division is predicated on the existence of capital.

Marxists called for the abolition of private property. The realization of this program is expected to render the state unnecessary. However, the transition to communism—defined as the formation in which private property will cease to exist—is a protracted process. It is insufficient merely to overthrow the powers that be; a transformation of human consciousness is requisite, which demands time. The transitional period between capitalism and communism is termed socialism by Marxists. During this phase, the state still exists, yet its nature diverges significantly from that of the capitalist state. The socialist state serves not the ruling classes, but rather the grand objective of building communism. In a socialist state, inequality, poverty, and the misery of the populace must be eradicated. Therefore, it is impossible to abolish the state immediately following the revolution; otherwise, the people would find themselves in chaos. It must be preserved as a necessary evil, destined to vanish once it becomes superfluous.

Given that the socialist state is tasked with constructing communism and eliminating class struggle, it must possess the capability to influence all spheres of human life. This necessity accounts for why all nations founded upon communist ideology have manifested as dictatorships, with the establishment of socialism invariably accompanied by terror, the suppression of human rights and freedoms, and the degradation of human dignity. Governments in socialist countries proclaimed that, as their objective is the formation of the "new man," the state must stand above law, morality, and culture, exercising control over thoughts and instilling communist values. Such a model of statehood is inherently unnatural. The widespread decline of socialism, alongside the moral, economic, and legal impoverishment of the peoples who fell victim to the socialist experiment, serves as the most compelling evidence of the fallacies and barbarism of communist ideology.