PRINCIPLES OF MARXISM

The basic tenets of Marxism are the following: dialectical materialism, historical materialism,
the theory of surplus value, class struggle, revolution, dictatorship of the proletariat and
communism.

Dialectical Materialism
Dialectical materialism is the scientific methodology developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich
Engels for the interpretation of history. Marx borrowed heavily from his predecessors,
particularly, the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Dialectics is a very old
methodology, employed to discover truth by exposing contradictions, through a clash of
opposite ideas. Hegel refined it by developing the trilogy of thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis.
It is popularly known as the Dialectical Triad. Progress or growth takes place through the
dialectical process. At every stage of growth, it is characterised by contradictions. These
contradictions induce further changes, progress, and development. The thesis is challenged by
its anti-thesis. Both contain elements of truth and falsehood. Truth is permanent, but
falsehood is transitory. In the ensuing conflict of the thesis and the anti-thesis, the truth
remains, but the false elements are destroyed. These false elements constitute contradictions.
The true elements of both the thesis and the anti-thesis are fused together in a synthesis. This
evolved synthesis during the course of time becomes a thesis and so, it is again challenged by
its opposite anti-thesis, which again results in a synthesis. This process of thesis, antithesis,
and synthesis continues until the stage of perfection is reached. In this evolutionary process, a
stage will come, when there will be no false elements. These will be destroyed at different
stages of evolution. Ultimately, only the truth remains, because it is never destroyed. It will
constitute the perfect stage and there will be no contradictions and so, there will be no further
growth. The dialectical process will come to an end after arriving at the perfect truth. It is the
contradictions, which move the dialectical process and a complete elimination of
contradictions marks the end of the dialectical process itself.
For materialism, Marx is highly indebted to the French school of materialism, mainly the
French materialist thinker Ludwig Feuerbach. It is the matter, which is the ultimate reality
and not the idea. The latter is a reflection of the former. How we earn our bread determines
our ideas. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence but, on the
contrary, it is their social existence that determines their consciousness. Marx has observed
that “Hegel’s dialectics was standing on its head and I have put it on its feet”. Hegel has
developed dialectical idealism. For him, it is the idea, which ultimately matters. Idea lies in
the base or the sub-structure, which determines everything in the superstructure. Society,
polity, economy are in this superstructure which is shaped by the prevalent dominant ideas of
the age. Ultimately it is the idea, which matters, and the other things are only its reflection.
Marx replaced idea with matter. According to Marx, the material or the economic forces are
in the substructure and the idea is a part of the superstructure. Idea is the reflection of
material forces. The economic forces determine the idea and not vice versa. Thus, Marx has
reversed the position of idea and matter. This is the reason that he claims that “in Hegel it
was upside down and I have corrected it”.
The base or the substructure consists of the forces of production and the relations of
production. These two together constitute the mode of production. When there is a change in
the forces of production because of development in technology, it brings changes in the
relations of production. Thus, a change in the mode of production brings a corresponding
change in the superstructure. Society, polity, religion, morals, values, norms, etc. are a part of
the superstructure and shaped by the mode of production.
Historical Materialism
Historical materialism is the application of dialectical materialism to the interpretation of
history. It is the economic interpretation of world history by applying the Marxian
methodology of dialectical materialism. The world history has been divided into four stages:
primitive communism, the slavery system, feudalism and capitalism.
Primitive communism refers to the earliest part of human history. It was a propertyless,
exploitationless, classless and stateless society. Means of production were backward, because
technology was undeveloped. The community owned the means of production. They were not
under private ownership and so there was no exploitation. Stone made hunting weapons, the
fishing net and hooks were the means of production. The entire community owned these.
Production was limited and meant for self-consumption. There was no surplus production and
so there was no private property. Since there was no private property, there was no
exploitation. Since there was no exploitation, there was no class division. Since there was no
class division, there was no class struggle. Since there was no class struggle, there was no
state. It was, thus, a communist society, but of a primitive type. Though life was difficult, it
was characterised by the absence of exploitation, conflict and struggle.
Technology is not static; it evolves continuously. Technological development results in the
improvement of production. This leads to surplus production, which results in the emergence
of private property. Means of production are now not under the community, but private
ownership. Society is, thus, divided into property owning and propertyless classes. By virtue
of the ownership of the means of production, the property owning class exploits the
propertyless class. Class division in society and exploitation lead to class struggle. Since
there is class struggle, the dominant class, that is the property owning class creates an
institution called the state to suppress the dissent of the dependent class, that is the
propertyless class. Thus, the state is a class instrument and a coercive institution. It protects
the interests of its creator that is the property owning class.
In the beginning, this society is divided into masters and slaves. Masters are the haves and the
slaves are the have nots. The slaves carry out all the production work. The masters live on the
labour of slaves. They exploit the slaves and whenever the slaves resent, the state comes to
the rescue of the masters. Thus, the state serves the interests of the master class. It uses its
coercive powers to suppress the voice of the slaves. The slave system is succeeded by
feudalism. Technological development leads to changes in the means of production and this
brings about corresponding changes in the relations of production and the superstructure. The
slave system is replaced by the feudal mode of production and it is reflected in the society,
polity, morality and the value system. The division of society into feudal lords and peasants
characterises feudalism. The feudal lords own the means of production, that is land, but the
peasants carry out the production work. By virtue of ownership of the land, the feudal lords
get a huge share of the produce without doing anything. Thus, the feudal lords are like
parasites, who thrive on the labour of peasants. Feudal lords exploit the peasants and if the
peasants ever resist their exploitation, their resistance is ruthlessly crushed by the state, which
protects and serves the interests of the feudal lords. The peasants are a dependent and
exploited class, whereas the lords are a dominant and exploiting class.
Capitalism succeeds feudalism. Technological development continues and so there is change
in the forces of production, which leads to a mismatch between the forces of production and
the relations of production, which is resolved through a bourgeois revolution. Thus the
contradiction between the forces of production and the relations of production is resolved.
The feudal mode of production is replaced by the capitalist mode of production. Division of
society into the bourgeois and the proletariat class characterises capitalism. The bourgeois
class owns the means of production, but the proletariat class carries out the production.
Proletariats are the industrial workers. They sell their labour in lieu of meagre wages. It is
usually a subsistence wage, which is sufficient only to support them and their families, so that
an uninterrupted supply of labour force can be maintained. Production is not for consumption
by the self, but for profit. The desire to maximise profit leads to a reduction in wages and a
rise in working hours. This further deteriorates the lot of the working class, which is
eventually pushed into a situation, where it has nothing to lose except its chains. This paves
the way for the proletariat revolution.

Theory of Surplus Value

Marx has developed the theory of surplus value to explain the exploitation in the capitalist
society. Here, Marx was influenced by the theories of classical economists. He subscribed to
the labour theory of value. The value of a commodity is determined by the amount of labour
consumed in its production. Labour is also a commodity. It can be bought and sold like other
commodities. Out of the four factors of production, labour is the most vital. In its absence, the
other factors of production are useless. Land, capital and organisation are the other factors of
production. It is the application of labour to these factors of production, which makes them
productive. In the absence of labour, they are sterile. If a wage is paid in proportion to the
amount of value created by a labourer, then there is no exploitation, But this is not the case in
capitalism. Labour is unique in the sense that it creates more value than is required for its
maintenance. The difference between the value created by the worker and the value paid to
the worker, as wages, constitute the surplus value and the profit of the capitalist. For instance,
if a worker has created a value of say N25,000 in a month and has been paid N15,000 as
wages, then the remaining N10,000 will constitute the profit of the capitalist. Thus, the
worker always creates more value than he is actually paid. This surplus value created by the
worker is the profit of the bourgeois, which has been defended by the classical economist,
because it leads to capital accumulation, which is invested further in new industries and
enterprises and leads to growth and prosperity. For the Marxists, it is the exploitation of the
workers, which has to be abolished.
With the growth of capitalism and the rise in competition, the wages of the workers continue
to fall and reach the stage of subsistence level. Subsistence wage is the minimum possible
wage; beyond this the wage cannot be reduced. It is the minimum possible wage for the
survival and perpetuation of the labour force. Thus, cut throat competition in capitalism leads
to deterioration of the lot of the proletariat. This intensifies class struggle and eventually
leads to revolution.

Class Struggle
According to Marx, the history of all hitherto existing society has been the history of class
struggle. Except the primitive communist stage, all historical ages have been characterised by
the antagonism between the dominant and dependent classes or the haves and the have nots.
This antagonism is caused by class contradictions; it is the result of exploitation by the
property owning class of the property less class. Throughout history, there have been two
contending classes in every epoch. In the slavery system, they were the masters and the
slaves, in feudalism, the feudal lords and the peasants and in capitalism, the bourgeois and the
proletariat. The masters, the feudal lords and the bourgeois 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 owning class exploits the propertyless class. This is the main source and cause of
class struggle. The interests of the contending classes are irreconcilable. No compromise or
rapprochement is possible between the contending classes. The inherent contradictions of
contending classes of every epoch can be resolved only through the annihilation of the
exploiting classes.

Revolution
Class struggle paves the way for revolution. Class struggle is imperceptible, but revolution is
perceptible. Intensification of class struggle prepares the ground for revolution. Class struggle
is a long drawn affair, but revolution is short, swift and violent. In the words of Marx,
‘revolution is the indispensable mid-wife of social change’. Transition from one historical
stage to another occurs through revolution.
Feudal revolution brought an end to the slavery system; the bourgeois revolution ended
feudalism and the proletariat revolution will bring an end to capitalism. Thus, any epoch
making social change is always brought about by a revolution. Revolution occurs when there
is incompatibility between the means or forces of production and the relations of production.
To resolve this incompatibility, revolution occurs, which brings corresponding changes in the
relations of production and the superstructure to make it compatible with the forces or means
of production. Technological development brings changes in the means of production. The
handmill gives you a society with the feudal lord, and the steam-mill, a society with the
industrial capitalist. Proletarian revolution will be the last revolution in the annals of history.
Revolution occurs to resolve contradictions. So revolution will not take place, if there is no
contradiction in society. After the proletarian revolution, there will not be any further
revolution, because there will be no contradiction. However, revolution will take place only
when the forces of production have fully matured. Revolution cannot be advanced or
postponed. It will occur when the forces of production have matured and do not match the
relations of production. Revolution brings an end to this mismatch. The sequence and
direction of social evolution cannot be changed. No stage can overleap another stage. No
stage can be short-circuited. Primitive communism will lead to the slavery system, the
slavery system to feudalism and feudalism to capitalism. Dictatorship of the proletariat or
socialism will succeed capitalism, which is the penultimate stage of social evolution.
Dictatorship of the proletariat will eventually lead to the establishment of communism. With
the proletarian revolution, revolution itself will come to an end.

Dictatorship of the Proletariat

The proletariat revolution will lead to the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat.
It is also known as the socialist state. The state apparatus created by the bourgeois to oppress
the proletariat will be taken over by the proletariat themselves. Now, the table will be turned
and the proletariat will use the state apparatus against the bourgeois. The bourgeois will try to
stage a counter-revolution to restore the old system and so, the coercive institutions of the
state are needed to restrain thebourgeois.
The state has always been the instrument of oppression. The dominant class to oppress the
dependent class has created the state. It is a class instrument. The state protects and serves the
interests of its creator, which is the property owning class. This class has always been in a
minority, whether it is the masters or the feudal lords or the capitalists. Thus, a minority has
been oppressing a majority viz., the slaves or the peasants or the proletariat through the
coercive organs of the state. Under the dictatorship of the proletariat, for the first time the
state comes under the control of the majority. Now, for the first time, the state’s coercive
apparatus is used by the majority against the minority. According to Marx, all states have
been dictatorships and so the socialist state is no exception. It is also a dictatorship. The state
has always been used by one class to suppress the other class. In the socialist state, the
proletariat class will use the coercive organs of the state such as the army, the police, prison,
judicial system etc., against the bourgeois class. Marx argues that if democracy means the
rule of the majority, then the proletariat state is the most democratic state, because for the
first time in the annals of history, power comes into the hands of the majority. Before the
proletariat state, power has always been in the hands of the minority. So if majority rule is the
criterion, then only the proletariat state can be called a democratic state.

Communism
Under the living care of the dictatorship of the proletariat, the socialist state will blossom
forth into communism. Socialism is a transitory stage. It will pave the way for the eventual
emergence of communism which is stable and permanent. This will be the phase of social
evolution. After the establishment of communism, there will be no further social change. The
dialectical process will come to an end. A perfect, rational social system will be established,
free from antagonisms and contradictions. There will be no class contradictions and so, no
class struggle. Infact communism will be a classless, stateless, private propertyless and
exploitationless society. In a communist society, there will be no private property in the form
of private ownership of the means of production. The means of production will be under the
ownership of the community. Cooperation and not cutthroat competition will be the basis of
communist society. Production will be for consumption and not to earn profit. Profit motive
will be replaced by social needs. Since there will be no private property, there will be no
exploitation. Since there will be no exploitation, there will be no class division, no property
owning and propertyless class, no haves and have nots or no dominant and dependent class.
Since there is no class division, there is no class struggle and so no need of the state. This is
the reason why a communist society will be a classless and stateless society.
State is the instrument of exploitation. It is a class instrument and a result of class division in
society. Since there is only one class of workers in communism and no other class to suppress
or oppress, there will not be any need of the state. It will become redundant in a communist
society. It will be relegated to the museum. The state, however, will not be smashed; it will
gradually wither away.
Communist society will be governed by the Louise Blanc principle of ‘from each according
to his capacity to each according to his need’. There will be no place for parasites. He who
will not work will not eat also. There will be only one class of workers. The entire society
will be converted into the working class. There will be no place for exploitation. It will be an
egalitarian society. There will be harmonious relationship among the people.