The General Theory of Communist System
Back Contents Next
 

Barnes& Noble.com


Click to subscribe to witness-pioneer mailing list

 

The General Theory of Communist System

 

 
The basis of Karl Marx's ideology was that the history of each society was no more than the history of conflicts between classes, between workers and employers, slaves and masters. In his opinion, every society has to be divided into two opposite classes, the capitalists and the workers. The workers and the poor, the proletariat; collectively endeavor to smash other classes. Helped by Marx they form an engulfing revolution to destroy all other classes and eradicate the traditions, customs and religions of society. In his view, such a revolution was the sole means for setting up a communist society. In this respect, says Engels, much as Darwin discovered the law of evolution in organic nature, so had Marx discovered an evolutionary law in relation to human history. Engels went on to say «He (Marx) has discovered a simple fact which was hidden by a plethora of intellectual theories. Before dabbling in politics, religion, science, men have to eat, drink and find shelter and clothing. Accordingly, the production of the means of subsistence and the level of economic development of any people in a specified period become the two factors which determine the basis on which the system legislature, art and even the religious beliefs of the state stand. It is in this light that these things must be explained and not in any other, as was the case up to our time). In his book "The Communist Manifesto" Marx explains that the history of all present day societies is the history of conflicts between classes. One of the manifestations of this conflict was the struggle which took place in ancient time between the free and the slaves, between the lords and the commoners and later between leaders and foremen in party organization. The same thing occurred in recent history between the bourgeoisie and the workers during the French Revolution. At that time, the bourgeoisie were those who directed the economy and had possession of wealth and political power, whilst other classes were left to do the manual labor, despite the fact that the latter had the biggest and the most important part to play in production. It was obvious that the predestined result of such a conflict was the extinction of capitalism. In this connection Marx says that the coming into existence of the communist system was the last stage in any historical development and the final step class conflict in the abolition of ownership and destruction of class barriers, communism does not provide for competition or conflicts between different social groups. In Marx's view, wealth is not to be equally distributed to the members of a certain society. He believes that distribution systems differ according to different circumstances which exist in any society when it reaches a certain stage in its historical advancement and this makes all the difference in the manner of distribution within a state. For this reason, Marx was of the opinion that a big part of the funds are to be reserved for stepping up production, the financing of economic, cultural and development schemes, for financing social collaboration and cooperation and for insurance against illness and old age. The remaining amount, Marx thinks, is to be distributed to workers, each according to the volume and quality of the work he performs. When a society reaches the highest stages of the communist organization, namely, when conflicts between intellectual and manual work disappear, and as individual qualities develop, the productive forces work together for the increase of the resources of socialist wealth, and work itself becomes the goal of life and not merely a cheap means of living. In such case the motto of everybody will be «from each one according to his potentialities, and for each according to his needs». As the workers were to be initially the ruling class, Marx referred to this dictatorship of the workers as functioning only in the interim period. It was not to be regarded in the same light as despotic rules by an individual. It is understood that the new class will simply take over the administration from the previous rulers and for that reason the dictatorship of the workers must disappear after completing its mission and destroying capitalism for ever.

Moreover, the socialist system reaches its climax when all means of production, along with its components, are concentrated in the hands of a powerful government organized by the workers' authority, or in the hands of a workers' authority taking the shape of a government. In such a case, the conflicts between classes and their motives would disappear and not one of the many classes is to have the chance of dominating another class. In this way, any citizen will be permitted to achieve progress freely by himself, either in the intellectual or social field. Marxist socialism aims at the creation of a society in which each member can realize, as a political end, free and total progress.

 

 
 

Back Contents Next

Library ] [ Al-Qur'an ] [ Hadeeth ] Books ] Articles ]  

Send mail to webmaster@wponline.org with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2002 WPONLINE.ORG
Last modified: September 16, 2002