What is Marxism?
¿Que es el Marxismo?
Что такое марксизм?
Before beginning the review of the principles of Marxism and the results, we consider it necessary to ask a question that apparently has character riddle, but justified widely if we consider that their defense of this doctrine claim that it alone provides the necessary homogeneity leading to a coherent activity in the struggle for human emancipation. The question is: What is Marxism?
We will see that, based on texts by the same Karl Marx, you can respond in waysvery different, even contradictory. For now, let's just certain immediate practical issues that really matter in history. In 1936. before the triumph of Franco, had, in Spain, three known currents: the social democratic Socialist Party, which was the most important, the official Communist Party and the Workers Party of Marxist Unification (POUM). Each of these streams was intended to be the only valid, the only authentic representative of Marx's thought. But the Communist Party called traitors to the Spanish Social Democratic Party members, and stated that it atentaba to the sacred principles enshrined in the Communist Manifesto and Capital. To which their leaders and followers teóriques socialism Pablo Iglesias, Jaime Vera and Pablo Lafargue replied by denouncing the deviation was trying to achieve socialism in a nation under-industrialized, and implement the "dictatorship of the proletariat" when there were no conditions socioeconomic status (concentration of capitalism, a major industry development and the industrial proletariat, technical progress in agriculture with the elimination of the archaic forms of land ownership), as indicated by Marxismsine qua non of socialization according to the supposed scientific concept of socialism.
These two schools answered the POUM, and with him were Trotskyites, half POUM, which violated the principles of Marxism on the one hand they did not want to do, as soon as possible, the social revolution, on the other they wanted to do it according to the rules applied by the official Communist Party, which, according to Stalin, violating the principles of Marxism-Leninism. Only the interpretation of Marxism Trotskyist POUM and was a good, authentic, indisputable.
Today, we have the Marxist Stalinist Communists, Marxists Communist Trotskyites, Marxists Communist POUM, the Marxist Communist supporters of Mao Tse-Tung, the Marxist Communist supporters of revisionism Italian Togliatti, the Communist Marxist supporters of the trend establishedby Khrushchev, and the various currents Trotskyites. We forgot the Titoist.
But historically and globally, were for many decades, multiple streams and substreams. schools, and divided and conflicting interpretations, each of which claimed to be, in its way, the only undisputed interpreter of Marxism. Until the Russian Revolution, Reform and semirreformistas Marxists, revolutionaries and semirevolutionary faced everywhere. In Russia itself, the Bolsheviks under Lenin, Stalin and Chicherin, the Mensheviks. with Plekhanov, the founder of Russian Social Democracy, and Martov, among whom was Trotsky who delivered blows right and left, fought viciously and accused of rightist and leftist deviations. In Germany, home of Marxism, the revolutionary tendency led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht fought valiantly against most social reformer whose main theoretician was Bernstein. Betweenof them was the tendency semirrevolucionaria
and semirreformista led by Karl Kautsky. the most notorious Marxist era, which Lenin had a great time beating up calling him "a traitor Kautsky" when he saw his German opponent refused to approve the seizure of power by Bolsheviks were ruses. As may be imagined, Kautsky showed, based on an unquestionable orthodoxy no less than that of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two other trends that betrayed the thought of Marx and Engels.
The discussions revolved not only around the tactical problems, as all true Marxistshould always give a handle 'scientific', philosophical and doctrinal least of his gestures are related to theoretical issues related to strategy ever "truly Marxist" derived from them,For example, what were due primarily, according to the scientific method and Marxist dialectic, the crisis of capitalism? Some argued that these crises began by excess raw materials: Hilferding, brilliant German theorist, says that this source should be sought on the issuesmonetary and financial, while Professor Tugan Baranovsky Russian Marxist discussed below, asserted that the most accurate was the market's inability to absorb the volume of industrial production, general thesis of economists, but Marxist spicy sauce .
In all European countries, France, Italy, Belgium. etc. (Except in England where socialismwas never a Marxist, although Marx has written his work in London and made the development ofBritish economy as the basic material of socialism) and struggled to remember the current disputes, and oppositions of the Christian churches (Catholic, Protestant, orthodox and heterodox) arguing about the divinity of Christ, the meaning
baptism, the value of confession, the sanctity of the pope or the virginity of Mary. And if we rememberthese disputes that led to wars of religion, the extermination of the "fake" Christians "true", we can consider them unimportant. In Bolshevik Russia have led to total destructionof all Leninist or Stalinist Marxists, and all non-Marxist revolutionaries.
These large currents must be added small. Were legion. Julian Gorkin, who in 1936 had left the Communist Party while still a Marxist, recently told us how he had been commissioned. on that date, to establish in Mexico a loop of contact between fifteen and minority Marxist opponents, all Europeans. Naturally, each also claimed to be the only accurate interpreter of Marxist thought and proved authentic, dating to the song. We mention, finally, certain core Marxist-syndicalists represented by Labriola and friends in Italy. by Sorel for certain times and his friends in France, Argentine trade union centers, the internal currents of Italian socialism. and those formed within the Russian Communist Party was installed in power, apart of filters and join opposing Lenin, Trotsky, Bukharin. Zinoviev, Alexandra Kollontai and Chlapnikof,'re two carriers últimestrend "workers' opposition" whose supporters were likened to Lenin "pequenes bourgeois and anarchist." It is known that the trend appeared after Marxist-Leninist. Marxist-Leninist-Stalinistthem worldwide communist officials said, for thirty years, the only just and true after having affirmed, with equal sincerity, that Lenin was also the only just and true ...We have seen the trend krutcheviana appear after no less just and true than the preceding. and now, post-krutcheviana trend is developing: Marxism is no less just and true, whatever the path taken. In short, China's current school for their partidaries Marxism is the only valid interpreter of Marx's thought, as is the current Italian school, revisionist what its members have claimed to be the only true Marxist from 1917 to 1961. But it stands against the trend not only Lenin, but bordighista created in 1939 by Bordigha. What is Marxism? Lucky you who think you can safely answer, yes todes were achieved will bring representatives of all schools, to bring them in line, there would be such a cacophony
the tower of Babel would be at his side, a model of unity and harmony. This does not prevent any partMarxist believes it has the only indisputable truth about the interpretation of historical materialism or dialectical evolution of society, present and future of humanity, political strategy and tactics appropriate revolutionary in every nation, the embodiment of socialism, the steps to be taken by taking, revolutionary or parliamentary power, alliances, good or bad, the degree of patriotism, militarism, nationalism or internationalism to be implemented, progress in one direction and the decreases in another, the use State ... And, wonderful thing, for each of these positions, however contradictory they may be, you can go to Marx. There are more interpretations of Marxism that hairs in the beard of the master. But undoubtedly, it forms a beard ... It may be objected that all schools have policies and social trends in different and even opposite. It's true. But liberalism, republicanism, socialism, not Marxism, anarchism, syndicalism, have been founded by a single thinker, creator of the doctrine which has given its name. The diversity of thinkers and teóriques them explains the diversity of trends, and above all each not intendedpossess the only truth, while on its origins and its scientific pretensions and dogmatic Marxism should present a unity of thought, theoretical and practical activity cohesion betweenteóriques and subteóriques, commentators, activists, performers and various parties. The multiplicity of bifurcations bankruptcy proof of its actual content. There is no "Marxism", but "Marxisms" pluralized in constant conflict. These contradictions should give pause to those who believe they have found in him the sole theme of the interpretation of history.
Gaston Leval. The Fallacy of Marxism, 1967
