Summary of Marx’s political philosophy and how Marx’s position is related to Liberalism
Summarise Marx�s political philosophy. How is Marx�s position related to Liberalism?
Please ONLY USE resources below as provided in uploads. Please reference these resources
accordingly.
�Marx, Marxism and Liberalism� by R. Farrell
�The Communist Manifesto� by K. Marx and F. Engels
Marx,
Summary of Marx’s political philosophy and how Marx’s position is related to Liberalism
Summarise Marx�s political philosophy. How is Marx�s position related to Liberalism?
Please ONLY USE resources below as provided in uploads. Please reference these resources
accordingly.
�Marx, Marxism and Liberalism� by R. Farrell
�The Communist Manifesto� by K. Marx and F. Engels
Marx, Economics and Morality (from SEP)
Defence of Marx by Ellen Wood
Vigor on Marx and Modern Capitalism.
SUMMARY OF MARX’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND HOW MARX’S POSITION IS
RELATED TO LIBERALISM 2
Karl Marx, one of the most influential philosophers in the history of human existence
Karl Marx, one of the highly influential philosophers in the history of human existence, came up
with a philosophical system. His works stand out from the work of other philosophers who
contributed on the subject of human philosophy. The basic human history stuff according to Karl
Marx consisted of the principles of exploitation and class. In the context of modern capitalism,
there exists three classes in the sense of Marx’s world: those who employ labor; the employed
ones; and those in the third class of a single person business (Vigor 2004). These groupings
according to Marx were the most significant in the study of human existence, whereby the
classes are viewed as united within itself due to the common economic pitting sense. Marx went
on to breakdown his philosophic theory based on modern capitalism. Marxists theory can be
reconstructed upon the basis of some significant tenets of liberalism. In the discussion of how the
position of Marx relates liberalism, inherent tensions based on the premises of liberalism can be
differently interpreted. This paper summarizes Marx’s political philosophy and analyses how
Marx’s position relates to Liberalism.
Exploitation and inequality are mentioned to be the main tenets of Marx’s theory on
modern capitalism. In argument, the full corpus of the philosophical by Marx can be correlated
to three significant postulates according to Immanuel Kant, namely: freedom, equality and
rational autonomy. Rational autonomy of people is the state where individuals use reason in
making decisions regarding the way of life that a person deems fit, without reliance on cultural,
social, intellectual or religious tradition- whereby liberal individualism is one of the core tenets
of liberal individualism (Vigor 2004). The following is the discussion of both exploitation and
inequality as the core tenets of Marx’s theory.
SUMMARY OF MARX’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND HOW MARX’S POSITION IS
RELATED TO LIBERALISM 3
Inequality
The ideals of freedom, equality and rational autonomy standout as the core tenets of the
ideals of Marx regarding ethics and justice. It is in relation to such a vision that Marx conducts
evaluation of the human society. He discusses the empirical facts that constitute the human
society through an examination of contemporary and past social-political systems whereby he
discovered that the history of the society is a struggle between classes. The entire spectrum of the
human history has been characterized by oppression; the human existence facts and the
livelihood of most humans are not anything near the ideal. It is plagued by oppression, injustice,
inequality and lack of autonomy as the characteristics of the existence of humans (Vigor 2004).
In Marx’s view, regardless of the fact that the conditions of life for most humans had been
improved through the improvement of conditions of life for most humans, there was still a
ubiquitous existence of inequalities in the human life. In his analysis of the 19th-century
societies, he mentioned that there was a system of two classes that was developing in Europe.
One of them was Bourgeois, which was composed of a few people who owned the land and
controlled mines, trade, factories. The other class was Proletariat, which was an ever-rising
salary-earning working class who were under employment of the Bourgeois. A small number of
the people, Bourgeois, had attained a status of rational autonomy since they could pursue their
lives comfortably the way they deemed fit; but a large population, proletariat, did not enjoy
rational autonomy privileges (Vigor 2004).
The justification according to Marx for this huge disparity was unjustifiable. In other
words, the interests of the classes outlined according to Marx’s reasoning irreconcilable, and as
such that was the reason why they were inevitable for every human society, like in capitalism
SUMMARY OF MARX’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND HOW MARX’S POSITION IS
RELATED TO LIBERALISM 4
where it exists as a struggle between classes that takes the shape of a continuous civil war,
characterized by the misery, attendant waste, and frustration which the class struggle causes
(Karl & Friedrich, 2005). The frustration and misery of the conditions of class-struggle are
increased among the employees by the fact that they are subjected to inherent exploitation. There
was a revolt tendency in the lower class that was intensified by this fact, coupled with the boom-
slump cycle, as a sure characteristic of a capitalist society (Karl & Friedrich, 2005). Marx
reasoned that there was a defect in capitalist functioning, otherwise referred to as the ‘over-
population crises. Further, the struggle was intensified by the fact that the oppressed population
could not sufficiently purchase what was produced.
Exploitation
After an argument that there was no justification for the discrepancies between bourgeois
and proletariat led Marx to address the issue of whether such a discrepancy was evil or ethical.
He based his argument on the dynamic origin of the division between the two classes (Karl &
Friedrich, 2005).
Marx argued that the bourgeoisie and its exploitation of the world-market has resulted
into a cosmopolitan character in regard to consumption and production everywhere in the world.
Marx detailed how the bourgeoisie through the dramatic improvements of the various production
instruments had extended their exploitation to the lower class. They had subjected the economy
to the town ruling, creating bug cities resulting to increased population. He also mentioned that
the bourgeoisie find their way around crises that they have created through dominance and
insufficient purchase of what is produced through the conquest on fresh markets, and more
through the exploitation of the old markets that have been enforced by a mass destruction pf the
SUMMARY OF MARX’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND HOW MARX’S POSITION IS
RELATED TO LIBERALISM 5
production forces for high quantities. He notes that no sooner is the exploitation of the worker by
the manufacturer, so deep at an end, that the worker receives the cash salary, than he/she is beset
by the various bourgeoisie proportions like the shopkeeper, landlord, or the pawn broker, among
others (Karl & Friedrich, 2005). His philosophy was, therefore, centralized on this philosophy on
the basis of the exploitation of the many by the few. His initial argument is, therefore, that
capitalism is unfair because it is based on Marx’s observation that all the profit from the
capitalist is a product of worker exploitation. It an absurd secret devoid of harmony and mutual
benefit, but based in a system where the extraction of profit is systematically done unjustly.
However, at a certain point, the description of capitalism by Marx is not conclusive as he
incorporates such words as robbery, embezzlement and exploitation – he believes that capitalism
is unjust but he doesn’t belief that he believes it is unjust (Wolff, 2003).
Relation of Marx’s position to Liberalism
Karl Marx is still regarded to be the strongest of the critics of liberalism in the history of
western political thought. In his analysis, he argues that liberalism is made up of manifold
different political movements and outlooks, and goes on to argue that is underlined by the
principled commitment to equality and the freedom of individuals (Wolff, 2003). His critique of
Liberalism can be viewed through his dismissal of rights as illustrations of the egoistic and
estranged individual of the society ruled by bourgeois in his sentiments regarding “On the Jewish
Question”. In his arguments, it can be deciphered that he views human rights only as barriers
rather than bridges to the freedom of the human. In his ancient assessment of human rights which
is considered as the most mature assessment of rights, he is inherently negative (Robert, 2011).
SUMMARY OF MARX’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND HOW MARX’S POSITION IS
RELATED TO LIBERALISM 6
The consensus surrounding the negative depiction of rights and rights by Marx, as well as
their irrelevance historically in regard to communalism, are not confined to Marxists as it is
confined for the case of Pushakanis. He even mislead the numerous scholars who adopted his
arguments regarding rights and rights, whereby they echoed his arguments that the end of
domination by one-class will also imply the end the rights and rights concept. It is clear that
Marx had little patience for the considerations of bourgeois in the liberated society. There is
good reason to confirm that the approach Marx took regarding this issue criticized the
conventional liberal interpretation on the abolition of rights and rights in a community that is
based on communism (Wolff, 2003).
The earliest appraisal of “on the Jewish Question” in regard to Declaration of the Rights
of Man and of the Citizen is a starting point that appropriately points out the earliest proof that
Marx had a disdain for liberalism, and rights and rights. “On the Jewish Question” which was
written in 1843, it was a time when Marx wasn’t conversant with the decisive role that was
played by political economy historically (Ellen, 2011). In his recount, Marx mentions that when
he was requested by the Jews to support a parliamentary petition so as to grant equal political
and civil rights to the Jewish Community in Prussia, which is an initiative he endorsed
positively. “On the Jewish Question” Marx does not agree with Bruno Bauer, who was formerly
his mentor on the issue that Jews have to be granted political and civil rights until the
renunciation of religion for Judaism. In his revelation of flaws that Bauer commits, it is clear that
he is strangling liberalism. It is noteworthy here that political emancipation is a reference to the
liberal state of the constitution that is not bound to private or religion property at the political
SUMMARY OF MARX’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND HOW MARX’S POSITION IS
RELATED TO LIBERALISM 7
level. The fact that he refutes these claims proves that he does not support liberal state of the
constitution (Ellen, 2011).
In the outline of his theory, Marx proceeds to show that the unchallengeable rights of
security, property, liberty and equality cannot exceed the bourgeois civil society contradictions.
His arguments are that the right to liberty equals to not more than the protection of the
competitive and atomistic individual from the dangers of the individuals they are in competition
with. This is not to imply that Marx could not figure out any positive way to put rights into use.
Actually, he embraces political emancipation by mentioning that it was a step in the required
direction towards the human emancipation struggle, by stating that it is the last representation of
huge progress towards human emancipation – it is a final human emancipation form in the
framework of the social order that is prevailing (Ellen, 2011).
Fat forward, in Capital Marx manages to demonstrate that the equality and freedom of
individuals in the exchange arena in challenged by capitalist approach to production, whereby
capital domination over the level of labor triumphs under the realms of equality of rights. He
argues that equality of rights and freedoms results to freedom and inequality in the capitalistic
approach to the production sphere. Later on in Capital he argues that an equality of rights to all
persons is actually a mere ‘deceptive semblance’ in the context of capitalistic approach to
production (Robert, 2011). Therefore, in regard to liberalism, the assessment of rights by Marx
assume two different dimensions. The first one is whereby he outlines the right of individuals as
an advance historically, while on the other one he identifies that these individual rights also
portray exploitive production relations in a community that claims to operate in an equal and free
society. The point he eminently dwells on in Capital is that the abstract individual is viewed as a
SUMMARY OF MARX’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND HOW MARX’S POSITION IS
RELATED TO LIBERALISM 8
owner of commodities, whereby he proceeds to address independent producers of commodities,
who socially relate in an environment meditated by community exchange at the marketplace
(Robert, 2011).
In conclusion, exploitation and inequality are mentioned to be the main tenets of Marx’s
theory on modern capitalism. In argument, the full corpus of the philosophical by Marx can be
correlated to three significant postulates according to Immanuel Kant, namely: freedom, equality
and rational autonomy. The ideals of freedom, equality and rational autonomy standout as the
core tenets of the ideals of Marx regarding ethics and justice (Robert, 2011). It is in relation to
such a vision that Marx conducts evaluation of the human society. Marx argued that bourgeoisie
and its exploitation of the world-market has resulted into a cosmopolitan character in regard to
consumption and production everywhere in the world. Karl Marx is still regarded to be the
strongest of the critics of liberalism in the history of western political thought. In his ancient
assessment of human rights which is considered as the most mature assessment of rights, he is
evaluated to be inherently negative (Robert, 2011).
SUMMARY OF MARX’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND HOW MARX’S POSITION IS
RELATED TO LIBERALISM 9
References
Vigor P.H. (2004). MARX AND MODERN CAPITALISM.
(from SEP)
Defence of Marx by Ellen Wood
Vigor on Marx and Modern Capitalism.
SUMMARY OF MARX’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND HOW MARX’S POSITION IS
RELATED TO LIBERALISM 2
Karl Marx, one of the most influential philosophers in the history of human existence
Karl Marx, one of the highly influential philosophers in the history of human existence, came up
with a philosophical system. His works stand out from the work of other philosophers who
contributed on the subject of human philosophy. The basic human history stuff according to Karl
Marx consisted of the principles of exploitation and class. In the context of modern capitalism,
there exists three classes in the sense of Marx’s world: those who employ labor; the employed
ones; and those in the third class of a single person business (Vigor 2004). These groupings
according to Marx were the most significant in the study of human existence, whereby the
classes are viewed as united within itself due to the common economic pitting sense. Marx went
on to breakdown his philosophic theory based on modern capitalism. Marxists theory can be
reconstructed upon the basis of some significant tenets of liberalism. In the discussion of how the
position of Marx relates liberalism, inherent tensions based on the premises of liberalism can be
differently interpreted. This paper summarizes Marx’s political philosophy and analyses how
Marx’s position relates to Liberalism.
Exploitation and inequality are mentioned to be the main tenets of Marx’s theory on
modern capitalism. In argument, the full corpus of the philosophical by Marx can be correlated
to three significant postulates according to Immanuel Kant, namely: freedom, equality and
rational autonomy. Rational autonomy of people is the state where individuals use reason in
making decisions regarding the way of life that a person deems fit, without reliance on cultural,
social, intellectual or religious tradition- whereby liberal individualism is one of the core tenets
of liberal individualism (Vigor 2004). The following is the discussion of both exploitation and
inequality as the core tenets of Marx’s theory.
SUMMARY OF MARX’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND HOW MARX’S POSITION IS
RELATED TO LIBERALISM 3
Inequality
The ideals of freedom, equality and rational autonomy standout as the core tenets of the
ideals of Marx regarding ethics and justice. It is in relation to such a vision that Marx conducts
evaluation of the human society. He discusses the empirical facts that constitute the human
society through an examination of contemporary and past social-political systems whereby he
discovered that the history of the society is a struggle between classes. The entire spectrum of the
human history has been characterized by oppression; the human existence facts and the
livelihood of most humans are not anything near the ideal. It is plagued by oppression, injustice,
inequality and lack of autonomy as the characteristics of the existence of humans (Vigor 2004).
In Marx’s view, regardless of the fact that the conditions of life for most humans had been
improved through the improvement of conditions of life for most humans, there was still a
ubiquitous existence of inequalities in the human life. In his analysis of the 19th-century
societies, he mentioned that there was a system of two classes that was developing in Europe.
One of them was Bourgeois, which was composed of a few people who owned the land and
controlled mines, trade, factories. The other class was Proletariat, which was an ever-rising
salary-earning working class who were under employment of the Bourgeois. A small number of
the people, Bourgeois, had attained a status of rational autonomy since they could pursue their
lives comfortably the way they deemed fit; but a large population, proletariat, did not enjoy
rational autonomy privileges (Vigor 2004).
The justification according to Marx for this huge disparity was unjustifiable. In other
words, the interests of the classes outlined according to Marx’s reasoning irreconcilable, and as
such that was the reason why they were inevitable for every human society, like in capitalism
SUMMARY OF MARX’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND HOW MARX’S POSITION IS
RELATED TO LIBERALISM 4
where it exists as a struggle between classes that takes the shape of a continuous civil war,
characterized by the misery, attendant waste, and frustration which the class struggle causes
(Karl & Friedrich, 2005). The frustration and misery of the conditions of class-struggle are
increased among the employees by the fact that they are subjected to inherent exploitation. There
was a revolt tendency in the lower class that was intensified by this fact, coupled with the boom-
slump cycle, as a sure characteristic of a capitalist society (Karl & Friedrich, 2005). Marx
reasoned that there was a defect in capitalist functioning, otherwise referred to as the ‘over-
population crises. Further, the struggle was intensified by the fact that the oppressed population
could not sufficiently purchase what was produced.
Exploitation
After an argument that there was no justification for the discrepancies between bourgeois
and proletariat led Marx to address the issue of whether such a discrepancy was evil or ethical.
He based his argument on the dynamic origin of the division between the two classes (Karl &
Friedrich, 2005).
Marx argued that the bourgeoisie and its exploitation of the world-market has resulted
into a cosmopolitan character in regard to consumption and production everywhere in the world.
Marx detailed how the bourgeoisie through the dramatic improvements of the various production
instruments had extended their exploitation to the lower class. They had subjected the economy
to the town ruling, creating bug cities resulting to increased population. He also mentioned that
the bourgeoisie find their way around crises that they have created through dominance and
insufficient purchase of what is produced through the conquest on fresh markets, and more
through the exploitation of the old markets that have been enforced by a mass destruction pf the
SUMMARY OF MARX’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND HOW MARX’S POSITION IS
RELATED TO LIBERALISM 5
production forces for high quantities. He notes that no sooner is the exploitation of the worker by
the manufacturer, so deep at an end, that the worker receives the cash salary, than he/she is beset
by the various bourgeoisie proportions like the shopkeeper, landlord, or the pawn broker, among
others (Karl & Friedrich, 2005). His philosophy was, therefore, centralized on this philosophy on
the basis of the exploitation of the many by the few. His initial argument is, therefore, that
capitalism is unfair because it is based on Marx’s observation that all the profit from the
capitalist is a product of worker exploitation. It an absurd secret devoid of harmony and mutual
benefit, but based in a system where the extraction of profit is systematically done unjustly.
However, at a certain point, the description of capitalism by Marx is not conclusive as he
incorporates such words as robbery, embezzlement and exploitation – he believes that capitalism
is unjust but he doesn’t belief that he believes it is unjust (Wolff, 2003).
Relation of Marx’s position to Liberalism
Karl Marx is still regarded to be the strongest of the critics of liberalism in the history of
western political thought. In his analysis, he argues that liberalism is made up of manifold
different political movements and outlooks, and goes on to argue that is underlined by the
principled commitment to equality and the freedom of individuals (Wolff, 2003). His critique of
Liberalism can be viewed through his dismissal of rights as illustrations of the egoistic and
estranged individual of the society ruled by bourgeois in his sentiments regarding “On the Jewish
Question”. In his arguments, it can be deciphered that he views human rights only as barriers
rather than bridges to the freedom of the human. In his ancient assessment of human rights which
is considered as the most mature assessment of rights, he is inherently negative (Robert, 2011).
SUMMARY OF MARX’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND HOW MARX’S POSITION IS
RELATED TO LIBERALISM 6
The consensus surrounding the negative depiction of rights and rights by Marx, as well as
their irrelevance historically in regard to communalism, are not confined to Marxists as it is
confined for the case of Pushakanis. He even mislead the numerous scholars who adopted his
arguments regarding rights and rights, whereby they echoed his arguments that the end of
domination by one-class will also imply the end the rights and rights concept. It is clear that
Marx had little patience for the considerations of bourgeois in the liberated society. There is
good reason to confirm that the approach Marx took regarding this issue criticized the
conventional liberal interpretation on the abolition of rights and rights in a community that is
based on communism (Wolff, 2003).
The earliest appraisal of “on the Jewish Question” in regard to Declaration of the Rights
of Man and of the Citizen is a starting point that appropriately points out the earliest proof that
Marx had a disdain for liberalism, and rights and rights. “On the Jewish Question” which was
written in 1843, it was a time when Marx wasn’t conversant with the decisive role that was
played by political economy historically (Ellen, 2011). In his recount, Marx mentions that when
he was requested by the Jews to support a parliamentary petition so as to grant equal political
and civil rights to the Jewish Community in Prussia, which is an initiative he endorsed
positively. “On the Jewish Question” Marx does not agree with Bruno Bauer, who was formerly
his mentor on the issue that Jews have to be granted political and civil rights until the
renunciation of religion for Judaism. In his revelation of flaws that Bauer commits, it is clear that
he is strangling liberalism. It is noteworthy here that political emancipation is a reference to the
liberal state of the constitution that is not bound to private or religion property at the political
SUMMARY OF MARX’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND HOW MARX’S POSITION IS
RELATED TO LIBERALISM 7
level. The fact that he refutes these claims proves that he does not support liberal state of the
constitution (Ellen, 2011).
In the outline of his theory, Marx proceeds to show that the unchallengeable rights of
security, property, liberty and equality cannot exceed the bourgeois civil society contradictions.
His arguments are that the right to liberty equals to not more than the protection of the
competitive and atomistic individual from the dangers of the individuals they are in competition
with. This is not to imply that Marx could not figure out any positive way to put rights into use.
Actually, he embraces political emancipation by mentioning that it was a step in the required
direction towards the human emancipation struggle, by stating that it is the last representation of
huge progress towards human emancipation – it is a final human emancipation form in the
framework of the social order that is prevailing (Ellen, 2011).
Fat forward, in Capital Marx manages to demonstrate that the equality and freedom of
individuals in the exchange arena in challenged by capitalist approach to production, whereby
capital domination over the level of labor triumphs under the realms of equality of rights. He
argues that equality of rights and freedoms results to freedom and inequality in the capitalistic
approach to the production sphere. Later on in Capital he argues that an equality of rights to all
persons is actually a mere ‘deceptive semblance’ in the context of capitalistic approach to
production (Robert, 2011). Therefore, in regard to liberalism, the assessment of rights by Marx
assume two different dimensions. The first one is whereby he outlines the right of individuals as
an advance historically, while on the other one he identifies that these individual rights also
portray exploitive production relations in a community that claims to operate in an equal and free
society. The point he eminently dwells on in Capital is that the abstract individual is viewed as a
SUMMARY OF MARX’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND HOW MARX’S POSITION IS
RELATED TO LIBERALISM 8
owner of commodities, whereby he proceeds to address independent producers of commodities,
who socially relate in an environment meditated by community exchange at the marketplace
(Robert, 2011).
In conclusion, exploitation and inequality are mentioned to be the main tenets of Marx’s
theory on modern capitalism. In argument, the full corpus of the philosophical by Marx can be
correlated to three significant postulates according to Immanuel Kant, namely: freedom, equality
and rational autonomy. The ideals of freedom, equality and rational autonomy standout as the
core tenets of the ideals of Marx regarding ethics and justice (Robert, 2011). It is in relation to
such a vision that Marx conducts evaluation of the human society. Marx argued that bourgeoisie
and its exploitation of the world-market has resulted into a cosmopolitan character in regard to
consumption and production everywhere in the world. Karl Marx is still regarded to be the
strongest of the critics of liberalism in the history of western political thought. In his ancient
assessment of human rights which is considered as the most mature assessment of rights, he is
evaluated to be inherently negative (Robert, 2011).
SUMMARY OF MARX’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND HOW MARX’S POSITION IS
RELATED TO LIBERALISM 9
References
Vigor P.H. (2004). MARX AND MODERN CAPITALISM.
