Marx Essay

Karl Marx argues throughout his writings that a state will never be democratic when a capitalist economic system is in place. For a number of reasons ranging from the lack of human emancipation to inequality in capitalist states, Marx is a strong believer that real democracy is not possible and will never be possible in a capitalist society. But first, it is necessary to ask, what actually is democracy? According to David Held, ‘democracy means a form of government in which, in contradistinction to monarchies and aristocracies, the people rule...which there is some form of political equality among the people’ (Held, 2006:1). So, was Marx simply saying that with capitalism in place, the people don’t rule? Not exactly, it is must more complicated then that. Through studying Marx’s writings, it is clear that he saw capitalism as an obstacle to achieving real democracy in a society. To explore why Marx believed that democracy is never possible in a capitalist democracy, it is necessary to examine firstly, the bourgeoisie state, secondly, the exploitation of workers in a capitalist state, thirdly, the difference between human and political emancipation and finally a democracy in a society today.

      Firstly, it is necessary to examine in detail what Marx viewed as a typical capitalist state, or what was known at the time as the bourgeoisie state. In the 19th century capitalism began to emerge as the favoured economic system in newly established democratic states. Marx recognised the positives of capitalism, unifying nations while strengthening the bureaucratic state which in turn, sped up the democratic movement. He noted that the ‘gigantic boom of the French Revolution…swept away all the relics of bygone times thus clearing…the last hindrances to the modern state edifice’ (Carver, 1996:181). He also recognised that at first, capitalism’s main aim was ‘emancipation from feudalism,’ which he would have favoured (Carver, 1996: 183). However, Marx was a huge critic of... [continues]

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