Marx

What are some of the weaknesses of Marxist criticism?

I’m writing a paper for a theory class and would like to critique the marxist point of view.

Consider Isaiah Berlin’s criticisms. For Berlin, we must judge a theory, not by its writings, ambitions or writers, but by its fruits. Therefore Marxism has lead to the rise of brutal regimes (USSR, China, North Korea…) and in them it shows its true colours.

A deeper criticism can be made against the Enlightenment thinking that underpins Marxism (along with the Lockean/Rawlsian strand of liberalism). This is a view expressed by Michael Oakshott and elaborated by John Gray. The dangerous trend is rationalism, the view that utopia can be reached by pursuing a rational course of action, that a rational mind can solve virtually any human problem. Oakshott and Gray argue that this trend, of which Marxism is a part, is responsible for many of the West’s greatest flaws: the USSR and the US practice of torture feature amongst them.

One of the key reasons why Marxism did not work in practice in Russia is because Lenin made a key departure from Marx. Marx’s theory was more a grand and sweeping vision, a view of history and a prediction of inevitable, organic, evolutionary action. Lenin focused on the revolution, and developed the doctrine of the vanguard party which would lead the revolution. Essentially the Bolsheviks attempted to accelerate history, hence Trotsky’s statement that: war is the locomotive of history. History is a process which, for the Bolsheviks, could be accelerated by human action. I do not deny that there are revolutionary aspects to Marx’s thought, especially in the Communist Manifesto, but I’m not convinced that they sit well with the tenor of dialectical materialism.

If I am wrong – and Marxism is inherently, irreducibly revolutionary – then the criticisms of Berlin, Oakshott and Gray carry much force. If I am right on this point about Marx being more evolutionary than revolutionary, then the criticisms of Berlin, Oakshott and Gray are somewhat blunted, but not invalidated. However the cost of this, renders Marxism a sterile piece of outmoded historiography. I am not sure which the average Marxist would rather go for… neither is a pretty end.

If you’ve got some money, I would suggest buying Gray’s Anatomy by John Gray – there are some excellently written and very readable essays critiquing Marxism which he views as part of this rationalistic, post-Enlightenment trend.

Another approach might be to work from Kant’s categorical imperative: humans must always be seen as ends in themselves, never as means. Because Marxism places society before the individual, people easily slide towards becoming means for the service of the greater good and to the exclusion of their own. Therefore the deaths of millions are justifiable if it paves the way towards socialism.

Further, you might like to think about the pseudo-scientific approach taken by Marx. Marxists (including Lenin and Comrade Healthcliff in a former life) often claimed that their ideology was superior because it was uniquely scientific in its theoretical foundations and as a result, history is on our side. In reality, Marx was a sociologist/political economist who made some predictions and focused on labour relations. His work was good, but lacks the ‘scientific’ quality afforded to it by followers. There is nothing more empirical in Marxism than in any other political ideology.

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