Is Marxism And Democracy Are Incompatible Politics Essay

Is Marxism And Democracy Are Incompatible Politics Essay

Karl Marx is widely thought of as the modern pioneer of the Socialist movement. His theory of radical social change through upheaval and class struggle has undoubtedly left its mark on the history of the world. Countries such as Russia, Yugoslavia, Albania and Cambodia have all attempted to use his model of Socialism. There are some present states such as Cuba, China and North Korea that would still be considered Communist.

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The question of whether or not Marxism is compatible with democracy is in effect two questions.  First whether Marxism can be brought about within a pre-existing democratic framework and secondly whether democracy can endure and thrive within a Marxist regime. As a starting point, it should be noted that there are a number of different models of Marxism, including many formulated since the death of Marx.

I will initially focus on the model as formulated by Marx himself, discussing some of the context in which he wrote and then I will then consider different critiques of the models that followed Marx’s writing.

The term democracy is made up of the two Latin words ‘Kratos’ (which means ‘rule’) and ‘demos’ (which means ‘by the people’). Democracy is widely defined by five key features: participation through elections, open and fair competition for power, avoiding tyranny of either the rulers or the majority, ensuring accountability of government and providing a forum for discussion of political issues. Whilst there are many different forms of democracy, Marx wrote extensively on his critique of liberal democracy and of the menace of Capitalism in The Communist Manifesto. Marx refers to the abolition of the state through radical change and social upheaval.

This change is needed because Marx contends that laws are made for and serve in the interest of the bourgeoisie. He writes ‘the executive of the modern state is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie'[1]and that ‘the first step in the revolution by the working class is to raise the proletariat to the position of the ruling class to win the battle of democracy’.[2]

As a starting point for a critique of Marxism’s compatibility within a pre-existing democratic framework, it is clear that, for Marx, winning ‘the battle of democracy’ is not about playing within the rules of democracy. The radical uprising and social upheaval he talks of in The Communist Manifesto involves power being seized by the workers from the ruling classes by revolutionary and non-democratic means.

Whilst the Marxist- Leninists of the early 20th century would say that this would be the lesser of two evils and that social harmony would be reached in the end, the road by which they achieved this would be undemocratic.

Marx talks at length in The Communist Manifesto about the means in which the proletariat would seize the power. He explains that they would abolish all private property, income tax, inheritance rights and ultimately the class system.

An aspect of Marx’s vision that one could argue is democratic is the way that he critiques Capitalism in terms of the way the individual is suppressed by the employer. He holds that in a truly democratic society people would be able to create what ever they wanted and that through the abolition of social classes people would become individuals, creative and free. ‘

In place of the old bourgeois society, with its classes and class antagonisms, we shall have an association, in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all.'[3] Carol Pearce writes that the desirability of Marxism lies in  ‘the freedom of the individual to express their own tastes and personality, explore her own interests, and thus develop her human potential’.

Whilst there are other positive aspects of the Marxist utopian vision that our modern society would advocate, such as the abolition of child labour, the growth of individual freedom and (for some) the state control of the transport networks, there are many aspects of the Marxist utopian vision that do not coincide with a truly de……………..