Marxism emerged from the debris of the Industrial Revolution. The factory system had uprooted thousands of people and put them into ghetto-like situations as there was no fixed wage and working hours, and exploitation was rampant. Karl Marx, like early socialist thinkers like Saint Simon and Robert Owen, was peeved at their precarious living conditions and pathetic situations. He clearly understood that industrialization was wreaking havoc on workers’ lives.
He wanted to transform society on human grounds, so he underlined the contradiction inherent in a society working on crass profit, free competition, and laissez-faire principles. Marxism is one of the most powerful ideologies of the 20th century. Jean-Paul Sartre rightly said: If one wants to understand the 20th century, one must understand Marxism. Some have termed it as the dominant ideology of the last millennium. Marxism has some tenets like surplus value, revolution & dictatorship of the proletariat, and emergence of classless society that must be understood.
Also Read: Marxism – Introduction and Dialectical Materialism
Marxism – Historical Materialism and Class Struggle
Surplus Value
Marx was convinced that capitalism was bound to perish due to its inherent contradictions. He was very critical of capitalism. While underlining the basic contradictions in capitalist society, Marx maintained that it increases the interdependence of workers because of the factory system. On the other hand, it lends to the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a few private interests. This gives rise to a struggle between these two classes.
While capitalists want to maximize their profits by squeezing the wages and concerning the surplus value (difference between actual value produced by workers and the wages that they are paid), the labour class gets impoverished. Their exploitation and economic situation become so explosive that they rise in revolt against the capitalists. The surplus value is a profit of the capitalist, but it is derived from the value created by labour.
As Marx, indicating how the capitalist indulges in the exploitation says: ‘The rate of surplus value is defined as the ratio between surplus value and the variable capital’. The ‘rate of the surplus value…’ means the degree of exploitation, whereas the ‘variable capital’ is the wage that labour earns. Thus, the capitalism, in Marx’s view, would meet its end.
Revolution and Dictatorship of the Proletariat
The revolution and the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat are the logical conclusion of Marxism. Once the exploiter class or capitalists are thrown over, the power is transferred into the hands of the proletariat (workers). The bourgeois democracy is dissolved and the dictatorship of the proletariat is established.
As Marx has observed: “Between the capitalist and communist society lies the period of change of one into the other. This corresponds to a political transition period in which the state can be nothing else than a revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat”. It is essential as some reactionary forces might undermine the newly born proletariat revolution. Hence, dictatorship of the proletariat becomes necessary.
Emergence of Classless Society
Once the dictatorship of the proletariat is established and the last vestiges of the bourgeoisie are destroyed, where would there be a need for the state? The state would simply wither away. There would emerge a new society, in which there would be no state, law and law-enforcing agencies. These would not be required, as there would be no class. As there would be no class and class struggle, peace and prosperity would draw in the society. Each would contribute according to his capacity and receive according to his needs.