Marxism
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
was introduced by
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
. Most Marxist critics who were writing in what could chronologically be specified as the early period of Marxist literary criticism, subscribed to what has come to be called "
vulgar Marxism
Orthodox Marxism is the body of Marxist thought that emerged after the death of Karl Marx (1818–1883) and which became the official philosophy of the majority of the socialist movement as represented in the Second International until the Fir ...
." In this thinking of the structure of societies, literary texts are one register of the ''
superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships.
Aboard ships and large boats
On water craft, the superstruct ...
'', which is determined by the economic ''base'' of any given society. Therefore, literary texts are a reflection of the economic base rather than "the social institutions from which they originate" for all social institutions, or more precisely human–social relationships, are in the final analysis determined by the economic base.
According to Marxists, even literature itself is a social institution and has a specific ideological function, based on the background and ideology of the author. The English literary critic and cultural theorist
Terry Eagleton
Terence Francis Eagleton (born 22 February 1943) is an English literary theorist, critic, and public intellectual. He is currently Distinguished Professor of English Literature at Lancaster University.
Eagleton has published over forty books, ...
defines Marxist criticism this way: "Marxist criticism is not merely a 'sociology of literature', concerned with how novels get published and whether they mention the working class. Its aim is to explain the literary work more fully; and this means a sensitive attention to its forms, styles and, meanings. But it also means grasping those forms styles and meanings as the product of a particular history."
In Marxist criticism, class struggle and relations of production are the central instruments in analysis.
History
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
's studies have provided a basis for much in socialist theory and research. Marxism aims to revolutionize the concept of work through creating a
classless society
The term classless society refers to a society in which no one is born into a social class. Distinctions of wealth, income, education, culture, or social network might arise and would only be determined by individual experience and achievement ...
built on control and ownership of the
means of production
The means of production is a term which describes land, labor and capital that can be used to produce products (such as goods or services); however, the term can also refer to anything that is used to produce products. It can also be used as an ...
. In such a society, the means of production (the base in the architectural metaphor Marx uses to analyze and describe the structure of any given society in written human history) are possessed in common by all people rather than being owned by an elite ruling class. Marx believed that
economic determinism
Economic determinism is a socioeconomic theory that economic relationships (such as being an owner or capitalist, or being a worker or proletarian) are the foundation upon which all other societal and political arrangements in society are based. ...
,
dialectical materialism
Dialectical materialism is a philosophy of science, history, and nature developed in Europe and based on the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxist dialectics, as a materialist philosophy, emphasizes the importance of real-world con ...
and class struggle were the three principles that explained his theories. (Though Marx does attribute a teleological function to the economic, he is no determinist. As he and
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels ( ,["Engels"](_blank)
'' The Communist Manifesto
''The Communist Manifesto'', originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (german: Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei), is a political pamphlet written by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Commissioned by the Comm ...
'', the class struggle in its capitalist phase could well end "in the common ruin of the contending classes," and as Terry Eagleton argues in ''
Why Marx Was Right
''Why Marx Was Right'' is a 2011 non-fiction book by the British academic Terry Eagleton about the 19th-century philosopher Karl Marx and the schools of thought, collectively known as Marxism, that arose from his work. Written for laypeople, '' ...
'', "Capitalism can be used to build socialism, but there is no sense in which the whole historical process is secretly laboring towards this goal.") The
bourgeoisie
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
(dominant class who control and own the means of production) and
proletariat
The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philo ...
(subordinate class: the ones who do not own and control the means of production) were the only two classes who engaged in hostile interaction to achieve
class consciousness
In Marxism, class consciousness is the set of beliefs that a person holds regarding their social class or economic rank in society, the structure of their class, and their class interests. According to Karl Marx, it is an awareness that is key to ...
. (In Marx's thought, it is only the proletariat, the working class, that must achieve class consciousness. The bourgeoisie is already quite well aware of its position and power in the capitalist paradigm. As individuals, workers know that they are being exploited in order to produce
surplus value
In Marxian economics, surplus value is the difference between the amount raised through a sale of a product and the amount it cost to the owner of that product to manufacture it: i.e. the amount raised through sale of the product minus the cost ...
, the value produced by the worker that is appropriated by the capitalists; however, the working class must realize that they are being exploited not only as individuals but as a class. It is upon this realization that the working class reaches class consciousness). Marx believed that all past history is a struggle between hostile and competing economic classes in the state of change. Marx and Engels collaborated to produce a range of publications based on capitalism, class struggles, and socialist movements.
These theories and ideologies can be found within three published works:
* ''
The Communist Manifesto
''The Communist Manifesto'', originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (german: Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei), is a political pamphlet written by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Commissioned by the Comm ...
''
*
'' Preface to the Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy'' (1859)
* ''
Das Kapital
''Das Kapital'', also known as ''Capital: A Critique of Political Economy'' or sometimes simply ''Capital'' (german: Das Kapital. Kritik der politischen Ökonomie, link=no, ; 1867–1883), is a foundational theoretical text in Historical mater ...
'' or ''Capital'' (1867)
The first publication ''Communist Manifesto'' (1848) argues that 'the history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggle'. As class struggle is the engine room of history, to understand the course of history, one must analyse the class relations that typify different historical epochs, the antagonisms, and forms of class struggle embodied in such class relations. This involves the development of class consciousness and follows the revolutionary movements that challenge the dominant classes. It extends to rating the success of these revolutions in developing new
modes of production
In the Marxist theory of historical materialism, a mode of production (German: ''Produktionsweise'', "the way of producing") is a specific combination of the:
* Productive forces: these include human labour power and means of production (tools, ...
and forms of social organization.
In contrast to the ''Manifesto'', ''Preface to the Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy'' (1859) and ''Capital'' (1867) focus on the unfolding logic of a system, rather than class struggle. These provide an alternative account of historical development and emphasize the self-destructive contradictions and law of motion of specific modes of production. ''Preface'' argues that society's economic organization consists of a distinctive pattern of forces and relations of productions. From this foundation arises a complex political and ideological superstructure, where economic development impacts societal progress.
''Capital'' was more concerned with the genesis and dynamic of capitalism. As Mclellan (1971) states, "it refers to class struggle mainly in the context of the struggle between capital and labor, within capitalism, rather than over its suppression." ''Capital'' was less concerned with forecasting how capitalism would be overthrown, than considering how it had developed and how it functioned. The key to understanding this logic was the 'commodity form of social relations – a form that was most fully developed only in capitalism.
Ideologies
It is through the theories of class struggle, politics, and economics that Marxist literary criticism emerged. The thought behind Marxist criticism is that works of literature are mere products of history that can be analyzed by looking at the social and material conditions in which they were constructed. Marx's ''
Capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
'' states that "the mode of production of material life determines altogether the social, political, and intellectual life process. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but on the contrary their social being, that determines their consciousness." Put simply, the social situation of the author determines the types of characters that will develop, the political ideas displayed and the economical statements developed in the text.
The development of Marxist criticism
Although Marx and Engels detailed theories of
socialism
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
in the mid-nineteenth century, it was not until the 1920s that Marxist literary theory was systematized. The greatest impetus for this standardization came after the
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
of 1917 in Russia. The event instigated a change in belief around socialist ideals in government and society. While these ideals developed,
socialist realism
Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...
was accepted as the highest form of literature – a theory based on an art movement that depicted and glorified the proletariat's struggle towards societal progress. These ideas guided both literary creation and official literary criticism in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, where works focused on the lives of the different classes. In the years since then, the beliefs of some Marxist schools regarding literary theory have been modified to acknowledge that literary creation is a result of both subjective inspiration and the objective influence of the writer's surroundings. This system of belief relies on the social classes as well as the economic and political development of society. Thus, Marx's theories intertwined with the emerging ideologies of the new Russian movement and spread throughout the world.
Critiquing literary works through Marxist lens
Criteria
The viewpoint of Marxists toward literary works is that they are not "works created according to a perpetual artistic standard, but as "consequences" of economic and ideological factors that are specific to that time period". Critiquing literary work in the perspective of a Marxist involves asking these questions:
* What is the role of class in the said literary work?
* How do the protagonists/characters fight against oppression?
* Does the work advocate for Marxist values (whether implicitly or explicitly) or does the work oppose them?
* How is oppression discussed by the work; are impeding issues in society brushed aside or are they condemned elsewhere?
* Are there any proposed idealistic answers to the issues faced in the literary work?
Ultimately, the core foundation of Marxist critique is established on these questions since Marx once said that "the writer may very well serve a movement of history as its mouthpiece, but he cannot of course create it".
Application of criteria
"Karl Marx's sociological explanation of social conflict is one of the most powerful explanations, he has put forward that the notion of a class struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, is inevitable within a capitalist system. The brewing social conflict amongst classes is well represented within Lu Xun's
An Incident where Xun describes his
''ill tempered
'' experience within the capital
''Peking
'' (modern day Beijing) during the winter of 1917; he begins by talking about how an old woman who is dressed in
''ragged clothing
'' got caught in the shaft due to the strong winds
''fluttering
'' her
''unbuttoned and tattered jacket
''. Xun describes how he felt
''disgusted
'' and in disbelief that the old woman who was laying on the ground was helped by the rickshaw man; he believed that the old woman was
''acting injured
'' to gain sympathy and help from the rickshaw man. Towards the end of the incident, in an attempt to quench his feelings of shame and guilt, he gives the policeman a
''handful of coppers
'' to be given to the rickshaw man as a form of
''reward
'' for his Samaritan behavior.
Xun's attitude towards the old woman and the rickshaw man is representative of the classist bourgeois view towards the proletariat who are the
''old woman and the rickshaw man
'' in this case; an apathetic and selfish attitude towards people in distress.
See also
*
Literary criticism
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...
*
Marxist aesthetics
Marxist aesthetics is a theory of aesthetics based on, or derived from, the theories of Karl Marx. It involves a dialectical and materialist, or dialectical materialist, approach to the application of Marxism to the cultural sphere, specifically a ...
*''
Literature and Revolution
''Literature and Revolution'' (russian: Литература и революция) is a classic work of literary criticism from the Marxist standpoint written by Leon Trotsky in 1924. By discussing the various literary trends that were around in ...
''
Notes
References
*Austen, Jane. ''Pride and Prejudice.'' Oxford UP, 1990.
*Duiker, W & Spielvogel, J, The Essential World History, vol, II: since 1500, 3rd ed, Thomson Higher Education, Belmont, 2008.
*Eagleton, Terry. ''Marxism and Literary Criticism'', Berkeley, U of California P, 1976.
*---. ''
Why Marx Was Right
''Why Marx Was Right'' is a 2011 non-fiction book by the British academic Terry Eagleton about the 19th-century philosopher Karl Marx and the schools of thought, collectively known as Marxism, that arose from his work. Written for laypeople, '' ...
''. Yale UP, 2011.
*
Hobsbawm, EJ, ''The Age of Capital'', Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1975.
*Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. ''The Communist Manifesto.'' Norton, 2013.
*McIntosh, I, ''Classical Sociological Theory: A Reader'', Edinburgh University Press, Great Britain, 1997.
*Mclellan, D, ''The Thought of Karl Marx'', Macmillan Press, London, 1971.
*Siegal, K,
Introduction to Modern Literary Theory, viewed 15 March 2011,
*Stones, R, ''Key Sociological Thinkers'', Macmillan Press, London, 1998.
Further reading
* Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels (2004)
848
__NOTOC__
Year 848 (Roman numerals, DCCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Europe
* Summer – Bordeaux, capital of Aquitaine, falls into the hand ...
br>
''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' Marxists Internet Archive
Marxists Internet Archive (also known as MIA or Marxists.org) is a non-profit online encyclopedia that hosts a multilingual library (created in 1990) of the works of communist, anarchist, and socialist writers, such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels ...
. Retrieved on 14 March 2015.
* Capital (Volumes I–III) (Marx, Engels).
* ''
The German Ideology
''The German Ideology'' (German: ''Die deutsche Ideologie'', sometimes written as ''A Critique of the German Ideology'') is a set of manuscripts originally written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels around April or early May 1846. Marx and Engels ...
'' (Marx).
* ''
Theses on Feuerbach
The "Theses on Feuerbach" are eleven short philosophical notes written by Karl Marx as a basic outline for the first chapter of the book ''The German Ideology'' in 1845. Like the book for which they were written, the theses were never published i ...
'' (Marx).
* Alex Callinicos (2012). ''The Revolutionary Ideas of Karl Marx''. Haymarket Books. .
External links
''Marx and Engels on Literature and Art''marxists.org
marxists.org
''Marxist Approach to Literature: An Introduction''Journal of Teaching and Research in English Literature
{{Litcrit
Literary criticism
Marxism