I.

Marxism

Marxism is the powerful instrument and armed against oppression and exploitation of
the ruling class to the lower class. Marxism can be view as philosophy using the notions
of Dialectical and Historical Materialism; its political economy as a criticism on
capitalist economy and; the classless society as they propose the vision of just and
humane society.

Marxism viewed history as a societal development. It argued that world is

bounded with development and change. The mode of production is the basic
foundation of the society. So, the human historical development is base upon the
economic progress. It is also argued that the consciousness of man is determined by his
possession or his social existence. There are different stages that the society undergone.
It is the primitive communalism, slave holding society, feudal society, capitalist society
and the socialist society. It envisions the equality of man through removing private
property which caused exploitation and repression in the society. They are proposing to
achieve the highest level of society wherein man is already above the nature using
science and technology.

Moreover, they argued that the arising of private property will cause two classes
in the society which are those who do not have and those who have. Commonly, those
who have are the owner of the means of production, so that those who do not have are
being exploited and oppressed by the former. They propose to abolish private property
using revolution by the proletariat.

The political economy of Marxism is the reaction to the capitalist system wherein
the greatest number of proletariat are oppressed and exploited. As basing the
Philosophy of Marxism, the political economy is the economy that produces for the
needs of the people and not for the profit of the owner of the means of production. The
means of production must own by the society and the product of the forces of
production and the means of production must be equally distributed.

Classless society is a society wherein no more private property existing. The

owner of all the means of production is the society. Everyone is given base upon their
needs and in establishing a classless society, it must have revolution so that the ruling
class which is the owner of the means of production, that give them power will be
controlled and owned by the society.

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II. Metaphysics of Marxism

Marxist metaphysics basically criticizes the pre-Marxist Materialism for they considered
them to be mechanistic and metaphysical. Marxism is a materialist philosophy which its
subject is the matter that exists in the outside world. Matters, in Marxist point of view
posses the capability and the ability for movement. Clearly, since it is moving, it is
capable for changes and development. These matters are capable for movement and
motion even if there are no other agents that will cause them to move. Thus, these
matters are not drive by any supernatural forces; it is the motion that is innate to them.
So, let us discuss how Marxism criticizes the pre-Marxist materialism.

Pre-Marxist Materialism is said to be mechanistic. This particular view pointed

out that matter’s motion is caused by mechanistic forces. Indeed, the rise of scientific
discoveries affects this particular area. Yes, it eliminates the idea of supernatural forces
as the cause of changes yet, it is inadequate to sustain and prove that society and
psychological aspects are as well develops and explain changes. Mechanistic motion is
very limited to the scientific findings and cannot be applied to the natural development.

Pre-Marxist Materialism is said to be metaphysical in a sense that it holds the

stand that society is immutable, unchanging and inevitable. Forces are due to natural
phenomena, thou at some point it removes the idea of motion coming form the
inevitable being. This is an obvious contradiction to Marxist Materialism of change.

The proposition on change is highly proven in his societal stages. The history of
human society possesses different characters that were influenced by different factors. It
is not the natural reason alone but as well as with the action within the society, the
respond of the people and the ideological structure that exists in a specific period of
time.

III. Marxist Theory of Knowledge

The Marxist Theory of Knowledge is very different form any other notions of the study
of knowledge. It is only the Marxist notion that cuts the gap between the theory of
knowledge and the objective world. The Marxist argued that in acquiring new
knowledge is through man’s cognition of objective reality. Man have primary qualities
that the natural being posses however, because of his survival he created his second
qualities which is his social being in nature. Man enters into the society because of his

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struggle for survival. He interacts to another so that he can acquire the instruments and
means of production accessible to them at a given level of level of social organization.
Hence, through his interaction, he became subject of cognition and in cognition, it is not
only the subject is needed but also the object which it interact. The process of cognition
is historically conditioned by man’s cognitive abilities and the latter determined the
existing social conditions. So, whatever the social conditions that exist in a given
historical context was affecting man’s cognition abilities. Or specifically, an abject can be
an object of man’s cognition it becomes part of human activities. So it may assume that
our experiences can be a sources of cognitions and whatever the result of the process of
cognition becomes knowledge.

On the other hand, if cognition is the process of man’s activity in achieving new
knowledge, then man needs various activities which became practice. Practice is the
objective material activity of man. It is practice which is responsible in all man’s
activity, culture, social interactions and even development of knowledge. Knowledge
depends upon the objective activity of man. Remember that knowledge arise when man
enters the society to interact with other individual and whatever the existing practices
in the society will cause new knowledge. Remember also, that we are bounded with
changes and development, so, if there are changes in man’s objective activity, then, it
will cause development of knowledge. Moreover, knowledge is the objective reality and
if this is the case, then knowledge is true. Using practice, the knowledge can be
validated if it is true or not. Some practice is an objective activity of man. However,
knowledge can be say true if it will contribute for the development and change in the
society and truth is validated by deducting it to the objective reality.

IV. Mode of Production

Man had basic needs to be attained for his physical survival. In order to attain its basic
needs, man enters in the society to interact with others. And because of his societal
intercourse, man gets multiplied. In the long run, the needs of man became unlimited
while the resources are limited only and it is accompanied by his artificial needs. It
follows that man becomes greedy which resulted to the breakdown the society into
those who have and those who do not have – the ruling and the ruled classes.

The ruled class is those who do not have or own the means of production but
they are the forces of production. However the ruling class is those who have or own
the means of production. Forces of production are the labor force which is needed to
produce the needs of the society while the means of the production are the things or

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raw materials, technology, capital land and so on which also needed to produce the
needs of the society.

Moreover, this world is bounded with constant change and development,

because of this, the society evolves from the lower level up to the higher level of
perfection and production will cause the changes of structure of the society. It evolves
due to changes of man’s needs. There are five stages of society that had different
relations of production. Relations of production, is the relation between forces of
production and means of production in order to produce and sustain the needs of the
people. In Primitive Communalism have man and nature, in slave holding society have
slave and masters, in feudal society have landlords and peasants, in the capitalist
society have bourgeois and the proletariat and in the socialist society have a classless
society which is the forces of production and the means of production are own by the
public or society itself.

Furthermore, the forces of production have a continuous development because of

science and technology. And the relation of production must be corresponding in the
development of the forces of production. However the conflict will arise between the
means of production and relation of production because the means of production are
owned by the ruling class which is the ideology is to preserve the status quo. So, in
order to correspond to the means of production to the development and changes, we
must have a revolution and get the ownership of the latter by the society. This conflict
between the means of production and relation of production are seen in the capitalist
society that the means of production are own by the ruling class.

This is the composition of the mode of production which the foundation of

society. It follows that the changes in mode of production implies the changes in
society.

V. Relation between Economic Base and Ideological Superstructure

Since there is a conflict between the productive forces and the relations of production,
this ideology arises. In every economic based structure have ideologies like in the
primitive communalism that their material condition all came from nature. So, they
created God of Rain, God of Wind, God of Fire, God of Earth and so on. The
transformation in the economic change will also change the ideological superstructure.
As quoted from the book of the Fundamentals of Marxist-Leninist Philosophy, “The
social existence determine social consciousness” means that whatever the material

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condition that are present in a given historical context determines the consciousness of
man. For example is in religion, as what stated above that during the primitive
communalism their Gods are those from nature since the material condition came form
nature while in the present time, wherein there is only one God which is powerful in all
was from the ideology of the hierarchy powers who is the powerful are those who
owned the means of production. Nevertheless, this ideological superstructure can also
influence the economic base of society. So, the ideological superstructure and the
economic base are also dialectical. In a direct way that even man is a product of this
ideological superstructure, he has the will or power to direct or manipulate the existing
economic conditions. Like what happened in the capitalist society wherein the ruling
class who own the means of production manipulate the ideological superstructure in
preserving the status quo.

VI. Origin and Function of State

In arise of the private property, there must be an institution that would protect those
who have against those who do not have and that are the state. The state is an organ for
political power who governs by the ruling class. It is also a name covered the entire
instrumentalities of the government such as law, judiciary, politics, army, and many
more. It is a mechanism of the ruling class to preserve their status quo. State may sound
the masses, but it is only created for the sake of the ruling class. The perfect example of
it is in during the rallies and mobilization in our country wherein these polices who are
paid by the taxes came from the working animals are those who are repressing their
freedom of expression especially during strikes. The perfect example of it is the
Hacienda Luisita Massacre, it is not true that the state is for masses but rather it only
covered true preservation of those greedy capitalist in all the word.

VII. Religious Ideologies as Opium of the People

Religion is also an ideological superstructure. It is religion who teaches heavenly things

t o the people. Also, they argued that all the actions by the people here on earth must be
for the eternal life. Moreover, it is true that religion teaches the people to follow the
authority without hesitation since the latter have divine intervention. It is also religion
who negates the change and development for them. It is enough to praise God and do
good deeds for salvation and eternal life. However due to these notions, man became
more ignorant about his nature and forgot his existing world. Religion made man as an
irrational animal. It result of man’s mechanically actions wherein he praises God, go to

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church, follow and surrender to the authority and work as what dictated by the
religion. Remember that religion is also a ideological superstructure that controlled by
the ruling class to preserve the status quo. It is also the mechanism of the ruling class so
that man will forgot his social existence and all the exploitations of the ruling class.

VIII. Achievement of the Classless Society

The root cause of all this exploitation of man against man is his private property. So, I
argued that to achieve the classless society, then, the private property must be
abolished. It is only the abolition of private property that man cannot be exploited by
the other man. All of the means of production must be own by the society itself. And all
of the product of mode of production must be equally enjoy and distributed to the
society. Without the lifting private property, it will continue the exploitation of man
against man.

In remembering the historical development of society, the starting point of

exploitation of man against man is the arising of private property. It breaks down the
equality to the society. So we must bring back the equality in the society by establishing
the new structure of the society using revolution. It is only through revolution that will
surrender the ruling class their ownership to the means of production. Do not forget
that in establishing new structure of society, we should destroy the existing one.

IX. Personal Comment on Marxism

I have no doubt that Marxism Philosophy is the best existing Philosophy in this world.
It explains development of man using the economic structure of society by their notions
of dialectical and historical materialism. I also argue that Marxism is merely on skeleton
for the development of society as well as man. It may assume that in the continuation of
historical development, the flesh and blood little by little will arise. Nevertheless, there
are some notions of Marxism which I doubt or may I disagree which will be discussed
in the coming paragraph.

The first thing that I may not agree is using the bloody revolution in order to
alter the private property. Bloody revolution must be the last option for removing the
private property. It must be noted that one of the main failure of establishing socialism
in China and countries as the people did not follow in changes in society. The people
remain in the status quo because of ideological superstructure which is corrupted by

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the ruling class. So, we must think more option that will contribute for the societal
change and development. It state and the ideological superstructure are use by the
ruling class to preserve their status quo, then, why don’t we use also those former in
fighting the latter?

Then another point may I doubt is the achievement of historical materialism.

Since this world is dialectical, then, I doubt if the communism will be the final end of
historical development. If the world achieves the final end of society, then what must be
the next? The historical materialism sounds like proposing that final end of societal
development in communism which contradicts the nation of dialectical materialism.
Remember that dialectical materialism is the development and changes in the world. So
it assumes me that even the society had achieved the final end, the development and
changes in the world will not end. I also argue that my last point cannot be answered at
this moment since our world still does not achieve the highest level of societal
development.

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