MARXIST VIEW OF POLITICS

The Marxist view of politics is completely different from its liberal view. He is opposed to
liberal principles, beliefs and values. According to liberals politics is the means through which
justice and order would be established - It believes that the state is a means to protect the
common good and common interests, which protects the society from personal interests. The
liberals believes that disputes and discourses led to problem that needs to be resolved. Therefore,
politics is the process of bargaining and adjustment among various individuals and groups who
have decided that they can live and want to live together. Marxism doesn't accept the said beliefs
of liberal politics. Marxists seen politics as a struggle. Maurice Duverger explains Marxist
politics, “Power is conflict, a struggle in which power allows those who possess it to ensure their
hold on society and to profit by it.” The Marxist concept of man and society is different from the
liberal concept. Marxism talks of classes rather than individuals. According to him, society is not
merely a gathering of individuals but it is an expression of the whole meaning relations, Class
struggle take place. There are always conflicting classes. Disputes can only end in a classess
society. Therefore, Marxism considers historical necessity for revolutionary change of society.

MAIN POINTS OF MARXIST VIEW ON POLITICS.

1. Politics is a dimension of social process

Both Hegel and Marx have dealt with a basic question - How is man to be reconciled with him
and with the world? , Hegel was of opinion that mind of man passes through history and finally
comes to realize what is world, this realisation is truth. Hegel also speaks of spirit and man
understands it through realisation of the world. But Marx did not support the contention of
Hegel. Marx wrote in his writings ‘Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844’ that “the
individual is the social beings. His life even if in the direct form of a communal life carried out
together with others; is, therefore, an expression and confirmation of social life.” According to
Marxists, Man is not a political animal from the beginning; though he is a social animal.
Therefore, politics cannot be understood by separating it from the social process. According to
Marxism, politics can be understood only in terms of social process, not apart from it.

2. Sociality is the essence of man

Marxists basically sees man as a human being and considers society as an organized form of
man. According to him, whatever is necessary for society is also necessary for human beings.
Therefore, Marxists rejects the difference between the objectives of both man and society.
Liberals considers human to be atomised, alienated and egoistic from social relationships. He is
related to society only to the extent that society is helpful in the development of his personality
and fulfilment of selfishness. Marxists, on the contrary, does not view man from it social context.
Karl Marx himself states in this regard, “Man is a social animal. Even if his life does not appear
as a community life, it is still an expression and confirmation of social life.” It is clear from this
statement of Marx doesn't think man alienated, isolated, atomised from social relations. Lefebvre
says, to Marx, “the subject is always a social man, the individual viewed in his actual
relationship with groups, classes, society as a whole.”
 3. Society is an ever growing and living organism

Marxists describes politics in terms of the rules of social development. According to him, society
is a constantly developing organization. Marx considers society to be a part of nature. Like the
laws of development of nature, there are some scientific rules for the development of society.
Marxists explores the rules of development of a society based on historical materialism.
According to him, in order to stay alive in society, human beings have to fulfill basic necessities
of life i.e., food, clothes, shelter etc. Production is necessary to meet these requirements.
Production requires labour and means of production needs forces of production. The
development of labor is the main reason for the development of the society. For production, the
person establishes relation with each other. The production system of a society is determined by
the forces of production and mode of production. This is the basis of all changes in society.
Human society and politics should be studied only on the basis of divisions of classes. Marx
considers class to be the main unit in the philosophy of society, not man. A swingewood says,
“Society is not simply a discrete leap of individuals but a complex, structural whole in which the
unit of analysis is not the individual but the group, the community and the class.”

4. Class-struggle in society is natural

According to Marx, politics is an instrument of class domination. Conflicts arise in society as the
system of production is not organised on a rational basis. According to Marx, the history all
existing society has been the history of class struggle. Except the primitive communist stage, all
historical ages have been characterized by the antagonism between the dominant and dependent
classes or the haves and have nots. This antagonism is caused by class contradictions; it is the
result of exploitation by the properly owning class of the property less class. Throughout history
there have been two contending classes in every epoch such as the masters and the slaves in
slavery system; in ferdalisms, the feudal lords and the peasants and in capitalism, the bourgeoisie
and the proletariat. The masters, the feudal lords and bourgeoisie are the owners of the means of
production. However , it is the slaves , the peasants and the proletariat , who carry out production
but their produce is taken away by their exploiters and in return , they are given just enough for
their survival . By virtue of the ownership of the means of production, the property owing class
exploits the property less class. This is the main source and cause of class struggle.

5. Politics is the study of class division, class struggle and class relations in society

All societies in history have been class societies. The contending class from 'freeman and slave,
patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild master and journeyman ' to bourgeoisie and proletariat
in the epoch of capitalism have stood in constant opposition to one another. All class societies
are characterised by domination and conflict which are based on specific and concrete features of
their mode of production. Class domination has been a historical process signifying a constant
attempt on the part of the dominant classes to maintain and extend their domination of the
society. The division of society into antagonistic classes gives rise to class conflict or class
struggle. All politics is the result of class struggle. This class conflict cannot be resolved by
politics. As a matter of fact, politics is used by the dominant class to suppress the conflict. So
long as society is divided into two classes, state and politics will continue to be used as the tools
of dominant class for the suppression of the dependent class. This state of affairs will continue
till a classless society is established. The end of class conflict will mark the end of politics itself.
 6. Economic basis (mode of production) is the basis of politics

Marxism view of politics has derivative and epiphenomenal character. The political life
processes are considered as part of the ‘superstructure’ standing on the economic structure of
society. The subsidiary and derivative character of politics can be deduced from the following
quotation from the ‘preface’ to a contribution to the critique of political economy (1859); “In the
social production of their existence, men enter into definite, necessary relations which are
independent of their will. The totality of these relations of production constitutes the economic
structure of society the real foundation on which there arises a legal and political superstructure
and to which their correspond definite forms of social consciousness”. In this view politics,
economics, cultural and ideology are all inseparably interurned. The forces of production at a
particular stage of historical development are matched by definite relations of production that
characterize the society. The relations of production taken together constitute the economic
foundation of the society. The legal and political institutions (superstructure) stand on this ‘real
foundation’ of economic structure.

7. Politics is the outgrowth of material conditions

In Marx’s view, all the events of history are the result of changes in the physical condition and to
gain knowledge of any political organization or its judicial system, knowledge of its physical
conditions is absolutely necessary. Human activities are not influenced by morality, religion or
nationality rather influenced by economic elements. In the words of Marx, “all the social,
political and intellectual relations, all religious and legal systems, all theoretical outlooks which
emerge in the course of history are derived from material conditions of life.” To gain knowledge
of politics knowledge of physical state to be gained is also necessary. As the hacker wrote, “If
the study of politics is to be scientific, Marx and Engels wrote, then both social and political
institutions must be regarded as outgrowth of material conditions with direct the major paths of
human behaviour.”

8. Every form of government protects the privileges of the ruling class

Marx’s ideology with respect to government is completely contrary to the general opinion.
According to him, whatever form of government, it protects the interests of the common people.
In all the states, the ruling class always rules in its own interest and also makes laws to protect it.
According to Marxists, it seems true in present scenario of so-called democratic state also.

9. Marxism supports Revolutionary politics

Revolution is the indispensable midwife of social change. Marxism supports Revolutionary

politics. Before Revolution, politics is important because it is necessary for the working class to
capture the power in the state. Revolution settles the political issue of state power once for all in
favour of the working class. State and Politics are the only means to end classes and establish a
classless society. Politics has an important place in the social process in class struggle and it
always has a class character. After revolution, politics will be unimportant and will be used only
in establishing classless society. In a classless society, politics and state will wither away.
 10. All politics will vanish in classless society

Politics will be used to annihilate the propertied class and thereby eliminate the hidden source of
class conflict. Hitherto, class struggle and politics have continued throughout history as long as
human society remained divided into classes. But when the working class assumes power, it
makes use of politics to end the class division and build a classless society in which all serve
society as a whole. When this process is complete there will be no class conflict because there
will be no class with separate interests. There will be no need of politics. The politics will wither
away and in its place we shall have ‘an association in which the free development of each is the
condition for the free development of all.’ In this way Marxism wants to end politics by political
means. In short, the mode of production, class division, class conflict and class domination are
central to the Marxist view of politics. Politics is the concrete expression of the class struggle in
society. Simultaneously, the struggle against class domination and to bring about a classless
society is also politics. It will also mean the end of politics.

Criticisms

1. Karl Popper considers the Marxist concept of politics as a ‘system of radical ideas’ which
in his view in the enemy of an independent society. Marxism seeks to destroy the
personality of the individual by holding it in the shackles of sociality and society.
2. Marx concludes on the basis of materialistic interpretation of history that there are only
two classes in a society - a class that dominate the means of production and a class that
sell its labour. Critics says that only they are not only two classes in society, the society is
divided on other grounds as well.
3. According to Marx, the production-system is a basis of politics. The nature of religious,
political and cultural institutions in human society depends on the type of production and
economic structure in it. Critics have refuted Marx’s belief that the same type of
economic structure can give rise to different types of political and cultural institutions.
4. Critics do not accept Marx’s view that society is divided into two opposing classes and
that the interests of these classes are so conflicting. According to him, unity is possible
even if there are classes in the society, coordination can happen.
5. Social democrats have criticised Marx’s idea of revolutionary politics on the basis that
socialism can be brought about in constitutional ways even without violence and
revolution.
6. Critics also say that the idea of establishing a classless and stateless society of Marxists is
an utopian concept. It is a far from reality.

Conclusion

Politics is the phenomena found in and among all groups, institutions and societies. It is involved
in all relations, institutions and structures which are engaged in the activities of production and
reproduction in the life of societies. It is expressed in all activities of cooperation, negotiations
and the struggles for the use, production and distribution of resources. Politics is about power
and the forces which influence and reflect distribution and use of power; it is about resolution of
conflicts and an instrument of social change; it is about class struggles and class conflicts and an
instrument to bring about revolutionary change in the society.