Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844

Marx received his philosophic training from followers of Hegel, who viewed history as a “dialectic,” or the meeting of opposing forces that culminates in a synthesis that brings about a higher form of reality. Marx ultimately decided that the Hegelian version was too abstract, an intellectual exercise lacking a concrete foundation. He therefore proposed a revision known as “dialectical materialism,” in which the forces colliding were economic, most notably labor and capital. The struggle for power between the two groups was for Marx the principal fact of human history, and this age-old struggle was coming to a climax due to industrial capitalism. Capitalism was so efficient at creating wealth for its owners, and rendering everyone else utterly desperate, that it lays the groundwork for its dissolution. As technology develops, the value of labor will continue to plummet until the vast majority of people live in destitution while a tiny few control the overwhelming majority of wealth. The dialectical clash of labor and capital would ultimately achieve a synthesis when the workers launched a revolution and seized the means of production, leaving them free to enjoy the productive capabilities of capitalism with none of the exploitation.

These terms can be difficult to distinguish because they overlap in many important respects, and critics are often eager to conflate them so as to identify all forms of socialism with its most radical versions. So, it is critical to point out the differences as well as the precise similarities. Socialism refers to efforts by the state to ensure an equitable distribution of economic resources within a political community through measures as mild as taxes to benefit social welfare programs to more severe measures such as the state takeover of critical industries. Some communists regard socialism as a step in the right direction, but one that must result in the abolition of the state itself and the establishment of a classless society. Marx was both a socialist and a communist, tending to describe socialism as a more humane reorientation of economic priorities and communism as the ultimate goal. Marxism simply refers to the idea derived from the works of Karl Marx, the most prominent (but certainly not only) philosopher of socialism and communism alike.

Marx uses this term to describe Adam Smith and his fellow theorists of capitalism. It was coined by 18th-century French theorists of political economy and argues for a system of economics based on the purported laws of nature rather than the dictates of governmental policy. Though the term has fallen out of use, modern economics holds onto the key physiocratic concept of laissez-faire, which means permitting markets to operate with the least possible governmental interference. This theory reflects the belief that markets emerge spontaneously in response to human needs, and thus the laws of economics were more natural than those of other social sciences, such as politics. Marx’s main critique of the physiocrats is that by treating things like profit or property as natural, they elevate abstract principles over basic human needs, condoning oppression so long as it occurs with scientific precision.