The Role of the State in the Marxist Point of View - Term Paper Example

22 February 2007 The Role of the in the Marxist Point of View The creation and existence of the state is often justified by the role that it needs to carry out in the society. For example, economically speaking, the government should carry out certain major functions in order to maintain efficiency such as the creation of money and the creation of public goods. In contrast to this view that the government is an essential component of the society, social scientists reach no general consensus on the specific functions that the state should carry out. It is the aim of this paper to look at the role of the state in bringing about or preventing social equality as examined by Karl Marx in his infamous writing, The Communist Manifesto. For further clarification and exploration, it will also compare Marx's ideal government with that of the Luddites and utopian socialists. The paper will conclude with its findings. The Communist Manifesto which was published in 1848 documents the struggle of two major opposing social classes-the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. According to Marx (1), bourgeoisie refers to the "class of modern capitalists, owners of the means of social production and employers of wage-labour" while proletariat refers to the "class of modern wage-labourers who, having no means of production on their own, are reduced to selling their labor power in order to live." In order to fully understand the role of the government in the societal context of Marx, this paper will first look at the social structure and their implications in the society. The power struggle between these two social classes is justified by their opposing interests. The proletariat is portrayed as a utility maximizing entity because he seeks to maximize the value of his resource, his labor power, in return for higher wages. The bourgeoisie, on the other hand, is a profit maximizing entity because he seeks to minimize the cost of production by keeping wages for workers low (Marx 2). It should be noted that in Marx society, costs of production are allocated to fixed costs such as rent and interest. Wages, being the most variable and controllable, is kept at minimum. The bourgeoisie also aims to generate the most efficient productivity from the proletariat as this will also increase his profits. In this case, we see an antagonistic and contradictory relationship between the working class and the owners of capital. Therefore, in Marx's definition of proletariat, we see that the working class is portrayed as an exploited segment of the society. The relationship between the two major classes also documents that power is concentrated on the hands of those who own the means of production. The working class, as implied by the definition of Marx (7), is seen by the bourgeoisie as a factor of production together with land and capital: "He becomes an appendage of the machine, and it is only the most simple, the most monotonous, and most easily acquired knack, that is required of him." This view of the society emphasizes the presence of social equality. The bourgeoisie uses their access of capital in order to exploit the proletariat. In this context of Marxist capitalist society, the state appears to be instrumental in preventing the existence of social equality. Marx recognizes that the state is mainly "a product and a manifestation of the irreconcilability of class antagonisms" (Lenin 2). When the struggle between classes in the society cannot be objectively reconciled, the state is created. Conversely, the existence of the state is a manifestation that the class antagonisms in the society cannot be reconciled. Thus, the state only comes into existence when the society is divided on class lines. As the creation and existence of the state is due to the antagonism between two social classes, the state in the Marxist context is created for a certain function that is, the resolution of the class struggle. It is, then, the utmost goal of the government to serve the interest of both parties and promote social equality. However, in the capitalist society during the 19th century, this function of the government seems impossible to accomplish. In fact, it should be noted that in the mere creation of the state is a strong indication that the antagonism between the bourgeoisie and proletariat cannot be reconciled in any means. Marx emphasizes that the state can either be used by the capitalists or the workers: "Political power, properly so called, is merely the organized power of one class for oppressing the other" (Marx 8). Thus, being created by the more powerful segment of the society, the state leans toward the interest of the exploiter. It doesn't take into account the concerns of the proletariat but makes ways in order for the bourgeoisie to legalize its abuses. One example of this is the creation and establishment of laws which does not serve the interests of the public but only the welfare of the business sector. Instead of mediating and resolving class conflicts, the government becomes an important device which is manipulated by the bourgeoisie every time it needs to make its cruelty legally correct. In the end, it does not eliminate the conflict between classes but only moderates it by legalizing and perpetuating oppression. The Communist Manifesto stresses that "the executive of the modern state is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie" (Marx 8). In the above discussion, it becomes apparent that Marx sees the state as a malfunctioning organ in the society because it is not able to accomplish what it is created for, that is the promotion of social equality. However, it should be noted that Marx did not propose the abolition of the state from the society but that it undergoes a total reform where it will carry out its intended functions. It should be noted that Marx sees the current government system or the bourgeois state as unfit for the capitalist society and that it should "wither away" and be replaced by the proletariat state. This proletariat state will be organized by the proletariat as the ruling class and is designed to accomplish special functions for the promotion of social equality. These are listed in The Communist Manifesto as the following: "centralization of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly; centralization of means of communication and transport in the hands of the state; and extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state; bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan" (Marx 6). The aforementioned functions of the state are designed primarily to abolish the existence of private property. For example, Marx sees that the state has a function should provide public goods like transportation and communication to everyone in the society. This way, these goods become readily available not only for some privileged citizens but for everyone in the society. Having access to all these public goods promotes equality for everyone by establishing an equal playing field. The state's role then, according to Marx, is creation and cultivation of an environment for the promotion of social equality. Again, it should be stressed that Marx did not call for the abolition of the state but simply the withering away of the bourgeois state and the creation of the proletariat state which regulates the economy by establishing laws and structure which brings about social equality. This view of Marx regarding the role of the state in the economy is exemplified by the Luddities. The Luddites, famously known as the machine breakers, are originally led by Edward Ludd who broke the two stocking frames as opposition to the oppression of his employers (The Beggar's Complaint 99). The Luddites has been widely known because of their movements which originated in Nottingham where many wool and cotton mills were destroyed. These outbreaks are well-documented by E. P. Thompson in his book, The Making of the English Working Class. In this exposition, Thomson provides an alternative view of the Luddite's history claiming that they are not opposed to technological progress per se but rather in the abolition of set prices and the introduction of the free market. Thompson documents the machine and window breaking activities of the Luddites and sees this as "a movement of people's own" (Thompson 600). The portrayal of Marx on the uprising which will set the transition from a capitalist to a socialist economy is exemplified by these movements. At a time in England where technological advancement is warmly embraced by the business sector, conflict has arisen between the bourgeoisie or the owners of this capital and the proletariat or the Luddites. In line with Marx, the uprising of the proletariat goes through various stages of development. Thomson documents how "at first the contest is carried on by individual laborers, then by the work of people of a factory, then by the operatives of one trade, in one locality against individual bourgeoisie who exploits them" (Marx 5). This, in fact, happened with the Luddites. At first, it is a struggle of an individual worker as exemplified by Edwards Ludd. Consistent with Marx, the Luddites destroy the machines for production: "direct their attacks not against the bourgeoisie conditions of production, but against the instrument of productions themselves" (Marx 5). Then, workers consolidate forming the movements in Nottingham, West Riding of Yorkshire, and Lancashire. However, the movement has not reached the stage envisioned by Marx-one which encompasses the entire nation. Quoting Thomson, "it (the Luddites)is strongest in the local community and most coherent when engaged in limited industrial actions" (Thompson 600). Thus, the history of the Luddites directly coincides with the description of Marx. The state has not been effective in accomplishing its function of promoting social equality because it only pursues the interest of wool and cotton mills. In order to protect these businesses, the state legislates the setting of commodities' prices and free trade, allowing oppression of the working class. With the movement of the Luddites, the state also becomes an instrument of suppression. Members of the movements were harassed and executed in order to stop their activities. The Marxist view on how the state should rule the society is also mirrored in the philosophies of utopian socialists. In Thomas More's Utopia, he described an ideal society where people work together under one government to obtain perfect living conditions for everyone. In this ideal world, society is classless and everyone possessed the same amount of power under the government (More). This also prohibits the ownership of private property. Utopic socialism, as described above, is more or less a description of the ideal society envisioned by Marx where government pursues social equality. Currently, no distinct function is attributed to the state. In the Marxist ideology, the state should function to reconcile the opposing classes and promote social equality by the abolition of private property and the provision of public good. The struggle between the bourgeoisie and proletariat which will bring about the transition from a capitalistic to a socialist society is exemplified by the movements of Luddites. However, this group is unable to achieve the level that Marx envision, that which is put forward by the utopian socialists. Works Cited Marx, Karl and Frederic Engels, "The Communist Manifesto." 1948. 22 February 2007 More, Thomas. "Utopia." 2002. Raymond Geuss and Quentin Skinner (series eds.), Revised Edition, New York: Cambridge University Press Thompson, E.P. "The Making of the English Working Class." 1980. Harmondsworth: Penguin "The Beggar's Complaint." 1812. London: Arthur J. Crowe Read More