Criticism of Marxism
Criticism of Marxism (also known as Anti-Marxism) has come from various political ideologies, campaigns and academic disciplines. This includes general intellectual criticism about dogmatism, a lack of internal consistency, criticism related to materialism (both philosophical and historical), arguments that Marxism is a type of historical determinism or that it necessitates a suppression of individual rights, issues with the implementation of communism and economic issues such as the distortion or absence of price signals and reduced incentives. In addition, empirical and epistemological problems are frequently identified.[1][2][3][4]
This article is about criticism of Marxism, a branch of socialism. For criticism of socialism in general, see Criticism of socialism. For criticism of the actions of communist states, which are sovereign states governed by communist parties, usually Marxist–Leninist or some national variation thereof, see Criticism of communist party rule.Suppression of individual rights[edit]
Various thinkers have argued that a communist state would by its very nature erode the rights of its citizens due to the postulated violent revolution and dictatorship of proletariat, its collectivist nature, reliance on "the masses" rather than individuals, historical materialism and centrally planned economy. These points have also been debated by various thinkers, who argue that we currently exist in a Dictatorship of the Bourgeoisie[25] and that Marxism is not deterministic.[26]
The American neoclassical economist Milton Friedman argued that the absence of a free market economy under socialism would inevitably lead to an authoritarian political regime. Friedman's view was shared by Friedrich Hayek, who also believed that capitalism is a precondition for freedom to flourish in a nation state.[27][28] David Harvey has responded to such claims by suggesting that socialism enables individual freedom, stating that "the achievement of individual liberties and freedoms is, I argued, a central aim of such emancipatory projects. But that achievement requires collectively building a society where each one of us has adequate life chances and life possibilities to realize each one of our own potentialities."[29] In contrast, Jonathan Chait writes that "Marxist governments trample on individual rights because Marxist theory does not care about individual rights. Marxism is a theory of class justice... Unlike liberalism, which sees rights as a positive-sum good that can expand or contract for society as a whole, Marxists (and other left-wing critics of liberalism) think of political rights as a zero-sum conflict. Either they are exercised on behalf of oppression or against it."[30]
Anarchists have also argued that centralized communism would inevitably create coercion and state domination. Mikhail Bakunin believed Marxist regimes would lead to the "despotic control of the populace by a new and not at all numerous aristocracy".[31] Even if this new aristocracy were to have originated from among the ranks of the proletariat, Bakunin argued that their new-found power would fundamentally change their view of society and thus lead them to "look down at the plain working masses".[31]
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Social criticism is based on the assertion that the Marxian conception of society is fundamentally flawed.[76][77] The Marxist stages of history, class analysis and theory of social evolution have been criticised. Jean-Paul Sartre concluded that "class" was not a homogeneous entity and could never mount a revolution, but continued to advocate Marxist beliefs.[78] According to the book Reflections on a Ravaged Century by the British historian Robert Conquest, Marx was unable to put the Asian society in the development stages of slave, feudal, capitalist, socialist, and as a result, Asian society where much of the world's population lived for thousand of years was "out of the balance".[79]
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Democracy[edit]
While Karl Marx advocated for an increased democratic agency of citizens,[80] some Marxist branches have been criticized for limiting democracy.[81][82][83][84] Democratic centralism as internal organization structure of some Marxist parties has been criticized for prioritizing centralization over democracy.[85]
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