Marx and Engels

The rise of the Soviet Union, communist China, and over two dozen communist states over
the past 100 years have shown that the philosophy of Karl Marx can be put into practice. In 2014,
Only Laos, Cuba, China, and Vietnam practice communism. While Marx did not live to see the
revolutions which brought about communism on the globe, his writings, most notably Communist
Manifesto, allowed disillusioned workers to rise up against their oppressors. The influence of Karl
Marx in the Russia Revolution in 1917 is widely noted. Marx prescribed that a revolution was
needed to oust a capitalist government and install a communist system. Not only was a successful
revolution undertaken in Russia, but also in China and Cuba. Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Fidel Castro
were all followers of Marxist ideology and in each nation, a single-party was established which
oversaw the political system. The influence of Karl Marxs writings allowed the leaders of
communist revolutions to follow a set guideline which explained how to establish a communist
government and manage the system once enacted.
The historical examples of communist governments do not strictly follow Marxs desire for a
classless society nor do they follow Marxs ideals as laid out in his writings. Anatole Anton wrote
that the Russian and Chinese Revolutions, like the French Revolution, failed to replace the
authoritarianism and class-divisions in place prior to revolution (43). Marx argued that the state
would cease to exist under communism and be abolished following the transfer of power to the
people. Lenin instead saw the state as a means of controlling the people and administering the
communist system. Lenin and later Josef Stalin became dictators of the Soviet Union and routinely
used violence against their own people in order to eliminate opposition to their power. The Soviet
leadership denied its people the economic power which Marx championed. Instead, the people
suffered in poverty while Soviet elites lived in splendor. Marx and Frederick Engels never
envisioned this distortion of their ideals. The excesses, brutal regimes, and oppression do not
conform to their original ideals outlined in the Communist Manifesto.
To conclude, a number of communist governments emerged after the Russian Revolution,
each with its own interpretation of how communism should work within their respective borders.
Anton argues that socialism (and in turn communism) as practiced by nations such as the Soviet
Union and China distorted the value of the system by keeping authoritarian rule and suppression of
the proletariat much like the systems which Marx considered necessary to topple (44). He argues
that Marxs assertion that we must break from the past was wrong and that socialism going forward
must instead use the past as an example for the future. Rulers such as Fidel Castro who used force
and imprisonment to stamp out opposition are not indicative of the true Marxist ideals. Antons
argument that the deficiencies and distortions of socialism must be addressed demonstrates that
modern-day interpretations of Marx and Engels do not hold true to their original core message.
References
Anton, Anatole. 2009. Socialist Voices in Anton and Richard Schmitt (eds.) Toward a New
Socialism. New York: Lexington Books. Pp. 21-52.