MARXIST & BOURGEOIS

CONCEPTS OF
FREEDOM

DR. PADAM NEPAL

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
ST JOSEPHS COLLEGE, NORTH POINT, DARJEELING

INTRODUCTION
1.

2.

3.

4.

Marxist concept of Freedom is a Radical

approach to freedom
Marxist Approach to freedom is
therefore different from the Bourgeois
Concept of Freedom
Marxist Concept of Freedom derives
from the Wrings of Karl Marx, and
developed by later Marxists
Apthekar has elaborated on the Marxist
concept of Freedom

MARXIST CONCEPT OF
FREEDOM
1.

2.

3.

4.

Marxs own writings on freedom :

On the Jewish Question

(1844)
Marxist concept of freedom is different
from the liberal-individualist concept of
freedom
It analyses freedom against the
background
of
socio-economic
conditions
Marxist view of freedom represents the
recognition of necessity; it is a leap
from necessity to freedom

MARXIST CONCEPT OF
FREEDOM
5.

6.
7.

8.

According to the Marxist view, capitalist system of

production is not at all conducive to the
conditions of human freedom.
It is characterized by constraint or necessity.
Necessity denotes the condition under which life
of a man is governed by laws of nature.
Engels in his Anti Duhring (1878) observes:

Necessity is blind only in so far as it is not

understood. Freedom does not consist in any

dream of independence from natural laws, but
in the knowledge of these laws, and in the
possibility this gives of systematically making
them work towards definite ends.

MARXIST CONCEPT OF
FREEDOM
9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

Marxist conception of freedom

Humanist basis of freedom.

bears

Marx, in his Economic and Philosophic

Manuscripts (1844) laid down the ethical
basis of socialism and human foundations of
freedom.
Marx severely criticized the capitalist system for
its dehumanizing effect, which negates
freedom.
Doing away with the causes of different forms
of alienation of man leads to the realization of
freedom.
Marxist theory postulates a transformation of
the capitalist system itself to secure the
conditions of freedom.

MARXIST CONCEPT OF FREEDOM:

MAIN POINTS
a.

b.

c.
d.

Freedom
is
a
comprehensive
concept; to be seen in terms of mans
essence, purpose and values.
Marxist freedom is Collective and
Economic in nature.
Freedom
means
all
round
development of human personality.
Freedom means the understanding of
objective laws of Nature and Society
and to see them for mans benefit.

MARXIST CONCEPT OF FREEDOM:

MAIN POINTS
e.
f.

g.

h.
i.

Freedom also means involving

oneself in a revolutionary activity.
In a class-divided society, freedom is
impossible. Freedom cannot exist
where
there
is
exploitation,
oppression and alienation.
Elimination of private property is
necessary for the achievement of
freedom.
Freedom doe not exist in a socialist
society.
Freedom can only exist in a
communist society.

BOURGEOIS CONCEPT OF
FREEDOM
1.

2.
3.

4.

The concept of freedom in the classical

bourgeois outlook is to see freedom as the
absence of restraint
Here, Freedom is viewed Negatively
Lord Morley, one of the keenest analyst of the
problem of freedom, in his On Compromise
(1933) emphasized that liberty is not a positive
force
It is the Relationship between

Individual
Constraining Agency
Action

X
A
B

BOURGEOIS CONCEPT OF
FREEDOM: THE BASICS
a.

b.
c.
d.

e.

f.

Capitalism as a natural system of political

economy
The absence of governmental restraint
The presence of restraint upon government
Power as essentially evil and requiring
control if freedom is to exist
Freedom has relevance only in the political
domain and not in the economic field
The existence of an economic inequality as
a
hallmark
of
and
a
necessary
consequence of freedom

FREEDOM
MARXIST VS. BOURGEOIS
CONCEPTS
1.

2.

3.

4.

Freedom is simply Absence of Restraint in the

Bourgeois understanding. But Freedom is seen
in terms of mans essence, purpose and values
in Marxist Perspective.
Freedom is essentially Negative in Bourgeois
concept. Freedom is Positive
in Marxist
Understanding
In Bourgeois understanding, Freedom is Civil
and Political. But in Marxist concept, Freedom
is Collective and Economic in Nature
In Bourgeois Concept, existence of an
economic inequality as a hallmark of and a
necessary consequence of freedom. But for
Marxists, elimination of Private Property and
Economic Inequality is necessary for realisation
of Freedom.

FREEDOM
MARXIST VS. BOURGEOIS
CONCEPTS
5.

6.

In the Bourgeois Concept, Capitalism is

a natural system of political economy
that promotes freedom. In the Marxist
Concept, Freedom can not exist in a
Class divided society. Freedom can
exist only in Communist Society.
In Bourgeois understanding, freedom is
a condition. For Marxists, it is both a
condition and a process: process of
involving in a revolutionary activity