It is a century and a quarter since Marx and Engels, with their Communist Manifesto, challenged the capitalist premises of a Europe then in the midst of revolution. Their ideas and the movements they inspired have occupied a prominent place in world history ever since.
Marxism has been a potent force in the areas of the social sciences and the humanities as well as in politics and international affairs. Acknowledged or unacknowledged, it has made its impact of practically every seminal thinker in the fields of sociology, history, anthropology, political theory and economics. James Shotwell, one of our country's most eminent historians, expressed the view that " the whole science of dynamic sociology rests upon the postulate of Marx."(1) Joseph Schumpeter, distinguished economist of the past generation, while disagreeing sharply with Marx's economics, called his theory of history "one of the greatest individual achievements of sociology to this day."(2) Irving M. Zeitlin, in his Ideology and the Development of Social Theory (Englewood Cliffs, 1968), sees the history of sociology for the past hundred years as "the debate with Marx's ghost."
The background against which we read Marx and Engels in this last third of the 20th century must of necessity have two aspects. First, we must see the ideas of these two great 19th century philosophers and revolutionaries as a fundamental challenge to the old world. If they did nothing else, Marx and Engels threw down the gauntlet to the world of private ownership, free enterprise, rugged individualism and corporate wealth, along with the social, political and cultural institutions which sustained that world. For over a hundred years capitalism has had to justify itself against the Marxist contention that it is outdated, moribund, ready for replacement by a new social order.
The second aspect of the background against which we must view Marxism is its contemporary significance. Marxist ideas are the dominant ideas in a whole number of states - from the Soviet Union to China, to eastern Europe, to North Vietnam, to North Korea, to Cuba,. One looks quite naturally to see how the ideas of Marx "work" when they are applied. In doing so one must avoid the tendency to single out any particular application of Marxist ideas as the only correct one theoretically, irrespective of time, place and circumstances.
Marx did not provide a series of detailed answers to future problems, nor did he present a blueprint for socialism. Such an attempt would have been contrary to his entire method. The variations of development in socialist countries and the differing views among Marxists of these countries on problems of socialist development are clear evidence that there is no such blueprint. Further, it can readily be seen that the socialist states are not Utopias. Weaknesses and shortcomings of various kinds have been pointed out by opponents of Marxism (although at times in distorted or exaggerated terms), and they are discussed by Marxists themselves, often with considerable sharpness.
The point, however, is that socialism is a functioning, viable system in a large part of the globe, and whatever its deficiencies in one country or another, it has to its credit some of the most spectacular achievements of modern times. It enjoys the enthusiastic allegiance of millions who live under its system, and its appeal - both in the countries of the underdeveloped world and in advanced capitalist countries like Italy and France - remains one of the most obvious facts of contemporary politics. This, if nothing else, would be sufficient reason for everyone to know something of what Marxism actually teaches.
Marxism is a challenge. But at the same time it has another side which is of enormous importance. Marxism is a continuation of all that is forward-looking in the human tradition. It did not come into being simply out of the head of Marx. As a reading of this volume will show, it had its chief origins in the German philosophical school culminating in Hegel, in the democratic ideas of the Enlightenment culminating in the French Revolution, and in the English political economy of Smith and Ricardo. It came into being as capitalism was reaching a high level of maturity in Great Britain, and it rooted itself in the new and rising modern class - the industrial proletariat.
This element of continuity is of special significance for students of the social sciences. Without it we neither can understand Marx, nor can we see the direction of development of contemporary social science. Just as Zeitlin saw sociological history as a debate with the ideas of Marx, so the history of almost every aspect of modern society can be understood only when put in terms of a confrontation with Marxism. C. Wright Mills pointed out: " Many of those who reject (or more accurately ignore) Marxist ways of thinking about human affairs are actually rejecting the classic traditions of their own disciplines." One of the reason why they do so, he indicated, is that "in the United States, the intellectual influences of Marxism are often hidden; many of those who's very categories of thought are influenced by Marx are often unaware of the source of their own methods and conceptions."(3) At this juncture of history failure to take Marx into account is a myopia of bigotry.
Just as students of society need to know Marxism, so do political activists, trade unionists, black militants, and campus radicals. History demonstrates that for more than a century Marxism has been a powerful instrument in the hands of fighters for freedom and justice. Wherever meaningful change has been achieved in the modern world, the leaders of the struggle have drawn at least part of their ideology from Marx. Contrariwise, where political movements have floundered and have gotten lost in ineffectual byways, the reason has often been lack of sound theory. As Socrates became famous for his "Know Thyself," Marx and Engels should be credited with teaching us to "Know Thy Society." For the large numbers who are today seeking to transform the growing political confrontations in our country into a genuine left movement, the need for sound revolutionary theory is indispensable.
The title of this work, The Dynamics of Social Change, suggests the pivotal ideas of Marxism. All the writings of Marx, Engels and Lenin are directed, in one way or another, to the question: how and why do societies change? They demonstrate that societies can be relatively stable for long periods of time, but change they must. The stability is relative, the change is absolute. And this change takes place on every level of man's social existence. Beginning with the productive processes whereby man lives, it involves the economic structure he erects, his ideas about himself and the world, his customs, institutions, culture and psychological make-up.
But Marxism is not only a theory of how societies have changed in the past or how they are changing under our eyes. Its analyses are aimed at making it possible to control change, to direct it rationally. Its purpose is to guide change in accordance with human needs and ideals on the basis of a genuine understanding of what the actual possibilities are. Thus Marxist theory and practices are everywhere intertwined. This union of thought and action makes Marxism unique among all the world outlooks ans social theories in human history.
To understand Marxism there is no better way than to go to the original sources - to read what Marx, Engels and Lenin actually wrote. Lenin, along with Marx and Engels, is included as an "original source" because Lenin, preeminent among the followers of Marx in the 20th century, mad important and original contributions to socialist theory and practice. He thoroughly mastered the principles and methods of Marx and Engels, and applied them to a later stage of capitalism. Among the developments associated with Lenin are his theory of imperialism, his elaboration of the two phases of the revolution (now of great importance to the anti-imperialist national revolutionary movements everywhere), his teachings on the role of the peasantry, and his contribution to the theory and practice of socialist revolution and construction. Significantly, every outstanding revolutionary leader after him has drawn their basic premises from Lenin, only indirectly from Marx and Engels.
Marx, Engels and Lenin wrote voluminously, and it is not always easy to know where to begin. Moreover, many of their writings consist of detailed economic and political analyses, often in the context of now unfamiliar events. Nevertheless, a knowledge of the principles of Marxism as formulated by its founders is essential for an understanding of its subsequent development and its impact on the present-day world. Without such knowledge one cannot intelligently follow events in the socialist countries (some of them presenting new and complex features, not easily understood even by those who do know Marxism). Without it one cannot take meaningful part in the discussions and controversies so numerous in the American left today.
Because they were so intimately involved in the political events of their day, Marx, Engels and Lenin often wrote in a highly polemical style. Only occasionally did they employ expository forms that lend themselves to textbook presentation. In spite of these difficulties the editors have sought to place the most significant ideas of Marxism in a framework that is clear, logical and faithful to the totality of Marxist social thought.
We have begun with the most general notions of history and socialist revolution. In between are examples of Marxist writings on contemporary history that show the historical-materialist method employed in the analysis of day-to-day events. There is a section on the societies that preceded capitalism, with indications of their fundamental contradictions and explanations of their rise and fall. Part Four, consisting largely of non-technical selections from Capital, presents the heart of Marx's monumental study of the driving forces and contradictions of capitalism.
This volume makes clear that Marxism never was nor can be a dogmatic "system," although many have tried to make it such. There is nothing in it to be learned by heart, and it will never be finished. Everywhere in the world, in socialist, capitalist and neo-colonial countries, the process of elaborating and bringing up to date, indeed of qualifying the basic method and enriching the content of Marxism is going on at an ever increasing rate. Marxism, like its subject matter, the world of nature and man, is in constant flux. Neither in theory nor in practice can anyone claim to have the last word, for there is no last word. No innovators in history were more firmly convinced than Marx and Engels that they were pioneers charting a new course. At the same time both were quite modest concerning the historical limitations of their accomplishments. Engels expressed this most strikingly when he wrote:
"But how young the whole of human history still is, and how ridiculous it would be to attempt to ascribe any absolute validity to our present views, is evident from the simple fact that all past history can be characterized as the history of the epoch from the practical discovery of the transformation of mechanical motion into heat up to that of the transformation of heat into mechanical motion."(4)
Before a judgement can be made on the meaning of Marxism, one must know precisely what the founders of Marxism thought and said. The editors believe that the selections in this volume will provide a clear statement of the central ideas of Marx, Engels and Lenin. We hope that a reading of the book will be a stimulus to turn to the full texts of the materials here excerpted. Full mastery of Marxism is a lifelong task. We trust the reader will find a good beginning here.
- THE EDITORS, May 1970
(1) Encyclopedia Brittanica, 13th ed., XIII, 532.
(2) Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (New York, 1962), p. 10.
(3) The Marxists (New York, 1962), p. 10, 11.
(4) Anti-Dühring, p. 131.