THE PHILOSOPHICAL ELEMENT PRESENT IN MARXISM
Marxism is a school of thought which contains the philosophical ideas of Karl Marx. Karl Marx himself never called his philosophy Marxism as it is said that he frowned at such a name due to the fact that it emphasized a personal identity; and he fought for the good of all. However, Marxism is divided into three parts which are “dialectical materialism” which entails philosophy, “historical materialism” which entails history and “Marxist economics” which entails economics. The main focus here is dialectical materialism- the philosophy of Marxism (Marxist philosophy). But how philosophical is Marxist philosophy (dialectical materialism)?
· A concern with the problems of human existence
Philosophy as a discipline has some consensus definitions which arose as a result of prescribing a solution to its definition problem. Each of these consensus definitions focus on one or more core areas or issues which philosophy as a universal discipline deals with. Of all these consensus definitions, one of them plays a high relevance in Marxism. This is the definition of philosophy as the concern with the problems of human existence. Dialectical materialism- the philosophy of Marxism is highly pragmatic in the sense that it aims at eliminating the socio-economic problem of exploitation of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie which is plaguing the present capitalist human society. Thus, it is clear that dialectical materialism is purely philosophical.
EMERGENCE OF MARXIST PHILOSOPHY (DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM)
As a foundational rule, any socio-political philosophy must be influenced by at least one of these three qualities; “a metaphysical orientation of man”, “the present socio-economic happenings as at the era in which the philosopher lived” and “the ideas of previous philosophers”. Fundamentally, dialectical materialism is deeply influenced by all three, and these are evaluated below;
· Marx’s prescribed metaphysical orientation of man
At a young age, Karl Marx had already been expressing a pure philosophical character and mentality. It is said that he once wrote a letter to his father as at the age of 17, while in school. Marx’s metaphysical orientation of man can be gleaned from some parts of the (paraphrased) letter; which says “...But the chief guide which must direct us in the choice of a profession is the welfare of mankind and our own perfection. On the contrary, Man's nature is so constituted that he can attain his own perfection only by working for the perfection, for the good, of his fellow men”. What Marx is saying here in a nutshell is, man is an altruistic being whose life is anchored on two things, attaining perfection of his nature and being of a great good to the welfare of others; of which he can never attain perfection of his nature without attending to helping others have a better life. In essence, a virtuous man is one who lives for others. So, whenever a man does not seem to be like this, he is a vicious man. This also explains why Marx was indeed a revolutionary; a man of the proletariat (working class).
· The socio-economic happenings and experiences of Marx’s time
The socio-economic events during the era in which Marx lived (which invariably influenced his philosophy) can be broadly divided into two.
Firstly, Karl Marx lived at a period when capitalism was on the rise and was just in its budding stage. This was about the mid-nineteenth century (around 1850’s). Capitalism was already taking over feudalism (a previous form of society) in most countries as it was characterized by rapid production of goods and services, dynamism in science and technology and a general improvement in culture. This was a time when the craze for massive production as well as high profits was priority, and the market economy became competition stifled. This led to an inherent contradiction in the system which was destined to break the back of the capitalist system. Logically, massive production and market competition meant rapid employment of workers as well as the over working of the labourers. But, high profits implied that the workers would be underpaid. This meant that the working class would be denied the opportunity of a comfortable life at the expense of the stupendous abundance of the exploitative bourgeoisie whom are enriching themselves for aesthetic gains. This contradiction, according to Marx, would lead to the revolutionizing mentality of the proletariat which is destined to overthrow the capitalist bourgeoisie.
Secondly, Karl Marx lived at a period when there were materialistic advancements in natural science. The areas of energy, cell and evolution were dynamically improved. The discovery of the law of conservation and transformation of energy proved the material unity of the world as well as the indestructibility of matter and motion. The theory of the cellular structure of living tissue proved that the cell (a material element) is the foundation of every organism. Also, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution proved that complex higher organisms were formed from simple lower organisms via the laws of natural selection inherent in nature itself. Aside these, most metaphysical explanations in science gave way to theoretical and practical explanations. All these buttressed the dialectical materialist principle of progressive change in a world that is basically matter.
· The ideas of some pre-Marxist philosophers
Karl Marx’s revolutionary philosophy was also influenced by especially two philosophers before him; these are “Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel” (1770-1831) and “Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach” (1804-1872).
As a young boy, Marx was a fan of Hegel’s idealistic philosophy but as time progressed and as he became more mature, he became a critic of same. It is said that Marx’s philosophy was built on the foundation of his criticism of Hegel’s dialectic. Hegel’s dialectic (an idealistic philosophy) held that reality was a creation of consciousness (the mind) and that history is the product of an eternal (continuous) struggle between opposing forces present in consciousness. In contrast Marx held that reality was material and not ideal as the human brain which is the center of consciousness is an evolution of matter. He also held that the history of society can best be understood as the history of class struggle. Like Hegel, Marx actually believed that progress is as a result of conflict between opposing entities (dialectics); however, these entities are not spiritual but material. Regarding the capitalist society, these opposing entities are the classes of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, present as a result of social stratification based on economic relationship, means and availability. It is this Marx’s rejection of Hegel’s dialectic that gradually developed to be known as “dialectical materialism”.
On the other hand, Feuerbach’s materialist philosophy was of a great help to Marx and Engels. Feuerbach himself was a prodigy of Hegel (a left winged Hegelian) whom sought to radicalize Hegel’s idealistic philosophy. Thus, Marx and Engels followed the footsteps of Feuerbach and this helped them in personally overcoming the concept of Hegel’s idealism. Feuerbach’s materialism also helped them in articulating Marxism in the sense of dialectical and historical materialism. However, the only thing that hurt Marx and Engels about Feuerbach's materialist philosophy is that it is too theoretical and un-pragmatic. In other words, it is far removed from the concrete problems of human existence (especially that of the proletariat of which Marx and Engels fought for).
Lastly, it is the synthesis of Hegel’s dialectical character and Feuerbach's materialist philosophy that Marx and Engels formed to become dialectical materialism. They embraced both philosophers’ ideas but due to the fact that the core aims of both philosophers’ ideas were against or unsupportive of the ambition of Marx and Engels (which is the redemption of the proletariat from the shackles of the bourgeoisie), they had to refine it to achieve what they wanted- dialectical materialism. However, it is noteworthy that the term "dialectical materialism" was actually coined by Karl Kautsky and did not become popular among Karl Marx's followers until after his death.
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