Liberal Political Thought - Essay Example

The works of Karl Marx, Immanuel Kant, and John Locke say a great deal about liberal political thought. Marx is very critical of these types of ideologies, as they tend to give the citizens the power to think and act for themselves. Marx believed that the citizens needed to follow a leader and that liberal governance would lead to certain individuals exploiting others for their own personal financial gain. Marx’s ideologies are not persuasive because they take away from the individual rights and freedoms that Kant, Locke, and the majority of society believe is essential to a just society. The Communist Manifesto, by Karl Marx, is one of the single most famous works in the history of literature. It opens with the famous lines: “The history of all hitherto societies has been the history of class struggles” (Marx 1) and continues on to prove this thesis for the rest of the document and also discusses how this trend may be reversed. As this text continues, Marx argues that he only wishes to make the proletariat aware of the situation that is ongoing around them, so that they can eventually be freed from this oppression and can live in a fair and just society. He also argues for the abolishment of private property, as that is one of the main reasons why people become enslaved to corporate interests. The land, or business, owners have all of the power thus, Marx believed that private property ownership should be eliminated, because it relies on inequality. He also stated that eliminating the bourgeois, and therefore eliminating Capitalism, would create a fair and just society where the proletariat would not just be working to provide sustenance, but would be working towards creating a society where everything from goods to services to culture was equal. Therefore, one group of people would not have control over another group of people and every person could be completely free from the influence of others’ interests. In the finals section of this book, Marx writes that he wishes for every person who is a proletariat citizen to rise up against the bourgeois, all across the world. This is the only way to organize a significant social change in the world and, therefore, create a fair and just society for all. He also, once again, argues that the abolishment of property ownership is the only way by which this revolution can be successful. Marx finishes off by writing, “Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. WORKING MEN OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!” (Marx 42). This means that Marx wished for all of the working class to follow his lead, without using their own intellect, in order to create a better society in the future. Marx also argues that religion is a direct result of the socioeconomic forces that are present in society, as it takes away from peoples’ concepts of reality and blinds them as to what is actually occurring in society. Ideologies that were laid forth by Immanuel Kant are very different from those of Marx, as they state why democratic states are the best way for governments to rule. The first thing that is needed is worldwide democracy because a pair of democracies will be less prone to conflict than a democracy in its relations with an autocracy or than a pair of autocracies. This is because those in power will feel pressure from the public to maintain proper international relations or risk losing their power. The second thing that is needed is economic interdependence, as interdependence both raises the economic interest countries have in continuing peaceful exchange and provides a medium of communication that can be useful in preventing or resolving conflicts short of violence. This means that if there is money on the line, countries will be more inclined to interrelate with each other on a positive basis, since starting hostilities would be counterproductive economically. The third thing that is needed is the establishment of international laws and organizations that the international community respects and abides by because intergovernmental organizations can be expected to promote peace and reduce the likelihood of violent conflict. This will be effective as long as member nations respect the authority of the organization and help out the other members in times of conflict. Kant also believes that the neither state nor the Church can influence a person’s beliefs because it is essential for individuals to enlighten themselves. He argues that Church and state paternalism should be abolished, in order to give individuals the ability to use their own intellect in a free manner. Kant believed that the ruling class should give the population the freedom to think for themselves and the power to have input into government decisions. Marx would disagree with this scenario that is put forward by Kant because it can lead to certain people in society becoming lesser than others. This is because certain religions and ideas will become more prominent that others and, therefore, those who do not hold those beliefs would be oppressed. Marx would prefer to see religion obliterated because it can be used to uphold inequality in society. In his essay “A Letter Concerning Toleration”, John Locke makes the argument that citizens should have the freedom to believe whatever the wish, regardless of what the government wishes. He argues that governments should tolerate these beliefs because the public cannot be forced into believing something. If the government attempts to force people into believing in something, they do not truly believe what they are being forced to believe. He believes that he truth is present in the minds of all men and trying to force this truth upon people will not do any good. This is because each human being has his or her own judgment and it is not up to the state to control someone’s inner thoughts. It is impossible to make someone believe something that the person does not internally believe and, therefore, any faith that a person has cannot come from internal sources. Faith can only come from within, so the state should not attempt to make people believe something that they do not wish to believe. People such as Marx would argue that while people cannot be coerced into believing something, they can be forced into participating in a false belief for the sake of uniformity. This, according to Locke, would not work because people it will eventually lead to a revolution and, therefore, toleration is necessary to rule effectively. Karl Marx’s ideologies led to a revolution is Russia, as they rallied the working class in the country together, but history has shown that the lack of freedom that came from certain interpretations these ideologies create some major problems. The works of Immanuel Kant and John Locke claim that people will not truly conform to ideologies that they do not believe in and, therefore, people should be permitted to use their own intellect in every situation. Since Marx’s ideologies took away fro, individual freedoms and attempted to force people into behaving in a certain manner, they are not as persuasive as Kant and Locke’s. References Marx, Karl. The Communist Manifesto. New York: Signet Classics. 1998. Read More