Assignment for Sociology
Muhammad Shehryar Najmi
21U00174
Karl Marx’s critique of capitalism centered around ideas of class, conflict,
alienation, and inevitable revolution. In light of Marxian thought, how
successful were the Communist regimes in implementing Marxian ideology...
a ‘classless society’?
Karl Marx cited class exploitation as being the fuel for the industrial revolution.
Any and all progress made by society was based on the oppression of the working
class by the ruling elite. He believed that individuals had been alienated from the
work they were doing, which would cause discontent and a feeling of not
belonging, in the working class. Marx talked about four main types of alienation.
Alienation from the process, the product, the people, and from oneself. This
alienation, he argued would only end when the workers of the world revolted
against the capitalistic system and seized the means and mode of production,
effectively taking control of the products of their labor. Marx however talked about
the concept of a false reality, which referred to how the ruling class used various
cultural institutions to stop the proletariats from realizing their oppression and
forming a collective consciousness. Once a collective consciousness was formed, a
revolution would occur, leading to the eventual formation of a classless,
communistic society. This society would provide “to each according to his needs”,
The communist regimes of Russia, China, Cuba, and North Korea claimed to be
operating under Marxist ideology. They did abolish private ownership of land, and
the government owned all the resources of the country. The industries were
nationalized, and all citizens were equally provided for by the government. The
ideas seemed good on paper but they had several issues.
The communist regimes often had dictator tendencies, with power being
consolidated in the hands of a few political party leaders, rather than in the hands
of the people. They had centralized control over the economy as well as curbed
political expression. Often times they made decisions that were not in the best
interest of the working class and rather benefitted the political elite. Marx’s views
on democracy were that it should extend beyond just political institutions and
should also encompass economic decision-making. He argued that in a truly
democratic society, workers would have a say in economic decisions and any such
decisions would be made collectively rather than by a small group of individuals.
The fact that dictator leaders like Lenin, Stalin, and Castro made decisions for the
majority of the people, ran in opposite to Marx’s views.
As for a classless society, the communist states gave power to a small number of
political figures, while the general population suffered because of the economic
and foreign relations decisions taken by them. There is evidence to suggest also
that those with contacts in the government enjoyed better privileges and had access
to more resources than those who did not. This meant that the states were not truly
classless and did have a sort of hierarchical element to them.
The communist states were marked with human rights issues, political
discontentment, economic recession, and even widespread famine as was the case
for Mao Zedong in China. They did not prosper and were ultimately overthrown
and reverted back to capitalistic economies.
To conclude, while the Communist states of the 20th century claimed to be
working towards a classless society based on Marxist ideology, in practice they
were, however, characterized by a ruling class that held significant power and
influence over the economy and society. They were not capitalistic in nature but
were not completely in line with Marxist ideology either.