POLITICAL IDEOLOGY: MARXISM-1
The Following Are The Basic Principles Of Marxism:
Dialectical Materialism,
Historical Materialism,
Theory Of Surplus Value,
Class Struggle
Revolution
Dictatorship Of The Proletariat And Communism .
Dialectical Materialism
Dialectical Materialism Is The Scientific Method Developed By Marx And Engels For The Interpretation Of History. Here, Marx Borrows Heavily From His Predecessors, Especially The German Philosopher Hegel. Dialectics Is A Very Old Method Employed To Discover Truth By Uncovering Contradictions, Through The Confrontation Of Opposite Ideas. Hegel Refined This By Developing A Trilogy Of Thesis, Antithesis And Synthesis. This Is Known As The Dialectical Triad. Progress Or Growth Takes Place Through A Dialectical Process. At Each Stage Of Development, It Is Characterized By Contradictions. These Contradictions Drive Further Change, Progress And Development. The Thesis Has Been Challenged By Its Opposition. Both Contain Elements Of Truth And Falsehood. Truth Is Permanent, But Falsehood Is Fleeting. In The Ensuing Conflict Of Thesis And Antithesis, The Truth Remains, But The False Elements Are Destroyed. These False Elements Create The Paradox. The Actual Elements Of Both The Thesis And The Antithesis Are Linked Together In A Synthesis. In The Course Of Time This Developed Synthesis Becomes A Thesis And, Therefore, It Is Challenged Again By Its Opposite Adversary, Resulting In A Synthesis Again. This Process Of Thesis, Antithesis And Synthesis Continues Until The Stage Of Completion Is Reached.
There Will Come A Stage In This Evolutionary Process When There Will Be No False Elements. These Will Perish At Different Stages Of Development. Ultimately Only The Truth Remains, Because It Never Perishes. This Will Form The Perfect State And There Will Be No Contradiction And, Therefore, No Further Development. After Arriving At The Absolute Truth The Dialectical Process Will End. It Is The Contradictions That Give Impetus To The Dialectical Process And The Complete Elimination Of Contradictions Is The End Of The Dialectical Process.
As For Materialism, Marx Is Highly Indebted To The French School Of Materialism, Primarily The French Materialist Thinker Ludwig Feuerbach. It Is The Matter Which Is The Ultimate Truth, Not The Thought. The Latter Is A Reflection Of The Former. How We Earn Our Bread Determines Our Thoughts. It Is Not The Consciousness Of Man That Determines His Existence, But On The Contrary, It Is His Social Existence That Determines His Consciousness. Marx Has Observed That "Hegel's Dialectics Stood At His Head And I Have Made Him Stand At His Feet. " Hegel Developed Dialectical Idealism. For Him, It's The Idea, Which Ultimately Matters. The Idea Lies In The Base Or Infrastructure, Which Determines Everything In The Superstructure. Society, Politics, Economy Are In This Superstructure Which Are Shaped By The Dominant Ideas Prevailing Of That Era. Ultimately, It Is The Thought That Matters, And Everything Else Is Only A Reflection Of That. Marx Replaced Ideas With Matter. According To Marx, Physical Or Economic Forces Are In The Infrastructure And Thought Is A Part Of The Superstructure. Thought Is A Reflection Of Material Forces. Economic Forces Determine The Idea And Not Vice Versa. Thus, Marx Has Reversed The State Of Thought And Matter. That Is Why He Claims Relations Of Production. Thus, A Change In The Mode Of Production Brings About A Corresponding Change In The Superstructure. Society, Politics, Religion, Morality, Values, Norms, Etc. Are A Part Of The Superstructure And Are Shaped By The Mode Of Production.
Historical Materialism
Historical Materialism Is The Application Of Dialectical Materialism To The Interpretation Of History . It Is An Economic Interpretation Of World History By Applying The Marxist Method Of Dialectical Materialism. World History Is Divided Into Four Phases: Primitive Communism, Slavery, Feudalism And Capitalism. Primitive Communism Refers To The Early Part Of Human History. It Was A Propertyless, Exploitative, Classless And Stateless Society. The Means Of Production Were Backward, As Technology Was Underdeveloped. The Community Had The Means Of Production. They Were Not Privately Owned And Hence There Was No Exploitation. Hunting Weapons, Fishing Nets And Hooks Made Of Stone Were The Means Of Production. These Were Owned By The Entire Community. Production Was Limited And Meant For Own Consumption. There Was No Surplus Production And Therefore No Private Property. Since There Was No Private Property, There Was No Exploitation. . Thus, It Was A Communist Society, But Of A Primitive Type. Although Life Was Difficult, It Was Characterized By The Absence Of Exploitation, Conflict And Conflict. Technology Is Not Static; It Develops Continuously. Technological Development Leads To An Improvement In Production. This Leads To Surplus Production, Resulting In The Rise Of Private Wealth. The Means Of Production Are No Longer Owned By The Community, But In Private Ownership. Thus, The Society Is Divided Into Property Owning And Propertyless Classes. The Property-Owning Class Exploits The Propertyless Class Because Of The Ownership Of The Means Of Production. Class Division And Exploitation In The Society Give Rise To Class Struggle. Since Class Struggle Takes Place, The Dominant Class, That Is, The Property-Owning Class, Creates An Institution Called The State To Suppress The Discontent Of The Dependent Class, Which Is The Propertyless Class. Thus, The State Is A Class Instrument And A Coercive Institution. It Protects The Interests Of Its Creator, That Is, The Class That Owns The Property.
Theory Of Surplus Value
Marx Developed The Theory Of Surplus Value To Explain Exploitation In Capitalist Society. Here Marx Was Influenced By The Principles Of Classical Economists. The Value Of A Commodity Is Determined By The Amount Of Labor Involved In Its Production. Labor Is Also A Commodity. Labor Is The Most Important Of The Four Factors Of Production. In Its Absence Other Means Of Production Are Useless. Land, Capital And Organization Are Other Factors Of Production. It Is The Application Of Labor To These Factors Of Production That Makes Them Productive. In The Absence Of Labor, They Are Sterile. If Wages Are Paid In Proportion To The Value Created By The Worker, There Is No Exploitation, But This Is Not The Case In Capitalism. Labor Is Unique In That It Produces More Value Than Is Necessary For Its Maintenance. The Difference Between The Value Created By The Worker And The Value Paid To The Worker As Wages, Constitutes The Capitalist's Surplus Value And Profit. For Example, If An Employee Has Paid A Value Of Rs. Value Has Been Created. 35,000 In A Month And Has Been Paid Rs. 15,000 As Wages, Then The Remaining Rs. 20,000 Would Constitute The Profit Of The Capitalist. Thus, The Worker Always Produces More Value Than He Is Actually Paid. This Surplus Value Created By The Worker Is The Profit Of The Bourgeoisie, Defended By Classical Economists, As It Leads To Capital Accumulation, Which Is Further Invested In New Industries And Enterprises And Leads To Growth And Prosperity. For Marxists, It Is The Exploitation Of Workers, Which Has To Be Ended. With The Growth Of Capitalism And Increased Competition, The Wages Of Workers Are Continuously Falling And Reaching The Subsistence Level. The Living Wage Is The Minimum Possible Wage; The Salary Cannot Be Reduced Beyond This. It Is The Minimum Possible Wage For The Survival And Stability Of The Labor Force. Thus, Cut Throat Competition In Capitalism Leads To The Degradation Of The Position Of The Proletariat. This Intensifies The Class Struggle And Eventually Leads To Revolution.
Class Struggle
According To Marx, The History Of All The Societies That Have Existed So Far Has Been The History Of Class Struggle. Except For The Primitive Communist Phase, All Historical Eras Have Been Characterized By Opposition Between The Dominant And Dependent Classes Or The Rich And The Disadvantaged. This Conflict Is Due To Class Contradictions; It Is The Result Of Exploitation Of The Property-Less Class By The Property-Owning Class. Throughout History, There Have Been Two Opposing Classes In Every Era. In The Slavery System, They Were Masters And Slaves, In Feudalism, Feudal Lords And Peasants, And In Capitalism, The Bourgeoisie And The Proletariat.
The Masters, The Feudatories And The Bourgeoisie Are The Owners Of The Means Of Production. Although The Slaves, Peasants And Proletariat Produce Political Ideologies, Their Produce Is Snatched Away By Their Exploiters And In Return, They Are Given Enough For Their Survival. The Property-Owning Class Exploits The Propertyless Class Because Of The Ownership Of The Means Of Production. It Is The Main Source And Cause Of Class Struggle. The Interests Of The Opposing Classes Are Irreplaceable. No Compromise Or Reconciliation Is Possible Between The Opposing Classes. The Inherent Contradictions Of The Opposing Classes Of Each Era Can Be Resolved Only By The Destruction Of The Exploiting Classes.
Revolution
The Class Struggle Paves The Way For Revolution. The Class Struggle Is Imperceptible, But The Revolution Is Perceptible. The Intensity Of Class Struggle Prepares The Ground For Revolution. The Class Struggle Is A Long Drawn Out Affair, But The Revolution Is Short, Swift And Violent. In The Words Of Marx, 'Revolution Is The Inevitable Right Hand Of Social Change'. The Transition From One Historical Stage To Another Takes Place Through Revolution. The Feudal Revolution Abolished The Slavery System; The Bourgeois Revolution Put An End To Feudalism And The Proletarian Revolution Would End Capitalism. Thus, Any Era That Brings About Social Change Is Always Brought About By A Revolution. Revolution Occurs When There Is A Discrepancy Between The Means Or Forces Of Production And The Relations Of Production. To Resolve This Inconsistency, There Is Revolution, Which Brings About A Corresponding Change In The Relations And Superstructure Of Production So As To Adapt It To The Forces Or Means Of Production. Technological Development Brings About Changes In The Means Of Production. The Hand Mill Gives You A Society With The Feudal Lord, And The Steam Mill Gives You A Society With The Industrial Bourgeoisie. The Proletarian Revolution Will Be The Last Revolution In The Annals Of History. Revolution Is Meant To Resolve Contradictions. So There Will Be No Revolution, If There Is No Contradiction In The Society. There Will Be No More Revolution After The Proletarian Revolution, Because There Will Be No Contradiction. However, The Revolution Will Take Place Only When The Forces Of Production Are Fully Matured.
Revolution Can Neither Be Carried Forward Nor Postponed. This Will Happen When The Forces Of Production Mature And Will No Longer Coincide With The Relations Of Production. Revolution Puts An End To This Mismatch. The Order And Direction Of Social Development Cannot Be Changed. No Phase Can Overlap Another Phase. No Phase Can Be Short Circuited. Primitive Communism Would Move From Slavery System, Slavery System To Feudalism And Feudalism To Capitalism. The Dictatorship Of The Proletariat Or Socialism Will Replace Capitalism, Which Is The Final Stage Of Social Development. The Dictatorship Of The Proletariat Would Eventually Lead To The Establishment Of Communism. The Revolution Will End With The Proletarian Revolution.
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