MARXISM AND UNIVERSAL HAPPINESS –CAN IT EVER BE ACHIEVED?

By Dara

In 1848, radical German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto, the most celebrated pamphlet in the history of the socialist movement. This book, along with other works by Marx and Engels, forms the basis of the body of thought known as Marxism. This originally consisted of three related ideas: a philosophical anthropology (i.e., the nature of man and human consciousness), a theory of history (i.e., historical materialism), and an economic and political program. Essentially, Marx predicted the emergence of a stateless and classless society without private property. This vaguely socialist society would be preceded by the spontaneous seizure of the state and means of production by the proletariat (aka the working class), who would rule in an interim dictatorship.

Unlike the capitalist society of its past, in Marx’s communist utopia, the workers are appreciated and work to benefit the common good. One way he outlines this is through the Labour Theory of Value, a major pillar of traditional Marxist economics. In his book, Capital (1867), Marx explained that the value of labour power – the worker’s capacity to produce goods and services – must depend on the number of labour hours it takes society to feed, clothe, and shelter a worker so that they have the ability to work. So, if five hours of labour are needed to feed, clothe, and protect a worker each day so that they are fit for work the following morning, and one labour hour equals one pound, the correct wage would be five pounds per day. This seems like a fair system, which could provide a starting point for potential universal happiness – workers would not be exploited by those in positions of power who pay unjust wages (in Marxists’ eyes, capitalists), and no one would have to worry about lack of monetary access to basic necessities. However, the Labour Theory of Value has since been disproved and critiqued by mainstream economists. Whilst Marxism argues that capitalists earn profits by exploiting workers, it is now believed that capitalists earn a majority of their profits by refraining from current consumption, taking risks, and organizing production. This means that it’s possible, albeit difficult, for individuals to increase their economic status by taking advantage of the economy where possible, without exploiting others. Thus, even if we implemented a society based on the Labour Theory of Value, it’s likely that an economic disparity between different social classes would still arise. Eventually, we would fall back into a system in which a ruling class enjoys privileges unavailable to the rest of society – although perhaps this would be a fairer society with a higher standard of living.

The concept of alienation, in which Marx wove together philosophy and economics to interpret the human condition, also plays a key role in his striving for social equality as well as his critique of capitalism. Marx believed that people are inherently free, creative beings who have the potential to transform the world. However, the modern, industrial world is beyond our full control. Marx used the free market (an unregulated system of economic exchange in which centralised economic intervention by government is minimal to none) as one example, condemning capitalism as a system that alienates the masses. His reasoning was as follows: although workers produce things for the market, these things are controlled by capitalist market forces who have full control over the means of production. Work, therefore, becomes degrading, monotonous, and suitable for machines rather than free, creative people. Hence, people end up losing touch with human nature and making decisions based solely on cold profit-and-loss considerations. Marx concluded that capitalism blocks our capacity to create our own humane society and it should thus be abolished and replaced by communism. So, according to Marxist thought, universal happiness could potentially be achieved by implementing a communist system and consequently un-alienating the masses. Ideally, this society would be one where there is no government or private property, and the wealth is divided among citizens equally or according to individual need. However, in the numerous communist administrations that have cropped up throughout history, we have yet to see one actually foster social equality – rather, a majority see a poorer quality of life under authoritarian regimes. For example, Marxism was the basis of both Marxism-Leninism and Maoism, the revolutionary doctrines developed by Vladimir Lenin in Russia and Mao Zedong in China. Under communist governments, both China and the Soviet Union were plunged into dictatorships, where the freedom Marx sought to return to humanity was repressed. Regardless of whether Leninist and Maoist concepts represented a contribution to or a corruption of Marxism, it is evident that the implementation of Marxist societal constructs has often led to more harm than happiness.

To conclude, Marxism, in theory, could lead to a fairer, more equal society. Without class, exploitation of workers and autonomous control over production by certain groups or individuals, people would ultimately have less concerns and more time to pursue what makes us happy. However, in reality, a Marxist society leaves room for economic and societal injustice to arise, demonstrated through the oppressive regimes of both Maoist China and Stalinist Russia.