What better way is there to spend Christmas than discussing the communist legend himself?
Before we dig in to Marx's madness, I just wanted to point out that I made a spelling mistake in last week's newsletter – I said towards the end of the Research Recommendation about Maoism that China still has 'billions' living in poverty, instead of 'millions' – a profound error to make. I apologise if this confused or offended anyone. The numbers on China's poverty rate are actually rather confusing when you look into them – some reports say that Xi Jinping has reduced them to zero (below the national poverty line of living on USD$2.30/day), some report otherwise. So, I could be wrong with the 'millions' thing, too. If you have any insight, feel free to reply this email. Anyway, I digress.
I thought about doing a Christmas special this week, but decided that we should trudge on with our research recommendations, seeing as I assume most of you are here for these. So, the one and only, Karl Marx, is up next on our list.
If you don't know already, Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a German philosopher, social revolutionary, political theorist, journalist, and the father of Marxism (the collection of all of his political, social, and economic theories). He studied law and philosophy in Bonn (ex-capital of West Germany) and Berlin and co-wrote (with Friedrich Engels) two of the most renowned communist works of all time; The Communist Manifesto (1848) and Das Kapital (1867-1883). Throughout his life, he published a number of other works, which, although they did not become cult classics like the aforementioned two, have been both praised and criticised.
Marx is often attributed for the popularisation of the word "capitalism" and for the theory of historical materialism (that historical changes in social structures have been driven by conflicts of material changes rather than changes in ideas). Although I'm not sure why Engels was not given some of the credit, Marx and Engels developed the theories of Marxism out of historical materialism to explain that societies progress through class conflict. Marxism holds that in a capitalist mode of production, class conflict exists between the bourgeoisie (the ruling class), who control the means of production, and the proletariats (the working class), who sell their labour-power in return for wages. In The Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels explain that eventually this internal tension would cause the capitalist society to self-destruct and necessitate a proletarian revolution to overthrow the bourgeoisie and establish a classless, communist (or socialist) mode of production.
This is what Mao, a Marxist through-and-through, envisioned for China in the mid 1900's – the overthrow of the bureaucratic state and ascension into a classless society to bring about socioeconomic emancipation.
It sounds reasonable on the surface – overthrowing the rich to establish a free society, where everyone is equal – right? Sure (and many people still strongly and wholeheartedly believe that communism is the way). But, capitalist scholars criticise Marx's idealisation of communism for 'failing' to factor in one 'essential' human quality – greed. Perhaps this is why attempts at communism have a propensity to turn into an authoritarian or dictatorial regime – people love power.
A Marxist might argue that greed is reflective of the capitalist mode of production and is a by-product of a society alienated by competition and this is a fair argument as well. Are we greedy just because capitalism requires us to be? This debate has been and is still ongoing since the 19th century and many rebuttals have followed.
For your research this week, why not figure out what you think? What is your rebuttal to a capitalist, or communist, or Marxist argument? This sort of opinion practice will come in handy in your essays (and your life).
Happy researching!
