Why does Marxism Fail? A Postmortem of the Evil System

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Introduction

Why does Marxism Fail? It sucks because Karl Marx regards private property, state, and religion as the evil which disrupts society. Marx, born in Prussia in 1818, was one of the most influential philosophers of all time. He wrote The Communist Manifesto (1848) Das Kapital (1867) which laid the foundation of Marxism.

His writings have inspired millions and have ignited revolutions in many societies. Just a few decades back, it seemed to be the ever-evolving snowball that would change the world forever. There was a time when nearly 2 billion people were living in Communist countries. But the whole saga ended in a fiasco as it was doomed to failure.

Right Diagnosis; Bad Remedy

Most of the observations that Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels made were right (i.e. Exploitation of the working class, today known as sweatshops), but the remedy they presented was even worse than the disease. They endorsed the philosophy that would abolish all the structures of the society, ending private property or free trade based on profit. They also underrated the capacity of the free trade societies and capitalism to transform into a better place.

Furthermore, their pessimistic version of history and society was unfounded and imaginary. The countries established on this philosophy, like Russia, China, Vietnam, North Korea, and many others, ended up being a truculent force that engulfed the poor and none and then even went down into the nadir.

The state became ruthless and persecuted millions of people and thumped the people living in poverty further into the abyss of despair and dejections. 

Marxism: No Private Property, No State, and No Religion

First off, Karl Marx presents a bunch of theories under the title of Communism, which is colloquially termed Marxism. The first theory is the Theory of Class War or Class Struggle. Marx believed that human beings have evolved in a state marked by cutthroat competition and even exploitation. The rich try to become richer by looting and exploiting the poor.

While the poor always remain reeling under the abject poverty. The rich class always united for their vested interests and used religion, society, the state, and all other apparatuses against the people. He named these two strata in the society the Bourgeoisie class and proletariat class.

He believed it was only possible when capitalism would prevail. Marx lambasted capitalism as a cat’s paw of the bourgeoisie class. Why does Marxism fail? He calls for a revolution, which mainly gets bloody.

He further said that the bourgeoisie would try to get maximum input from the poor workers and at the same time will try to minimize their output to them(salary), only to maximize their hunger for more and more profit. So far so good but why does Marxism Fail? It fails because Karl Marx replaces a bad system with the worst one.

Karl Marx Underestimated the Power of Capitalism

Karl Marx may be right in pointing out the inherent flaws of capitalism, but he couldn’t do justice to it. He ignored its good side and presented it as a devilish system with hellish output. But, his solution to this class struggle was to abolish private property.

He wanted to end any private ownership, and at first, the state would come forward to implement it. Wealth will be distributed equally in all segments of society. All people will be equal hence peaceful and prosperous. 

Abolishing Private Property is a Flawed Ideology

  Why does Marxism Fail? This system sucks because it abolishes private property; a strong force is needed to make the plan practicable and functional. This force will be no other than the state, which the government would run. They will not be the elected officials because no one with a bit of sanity would want to abolish his private property on an unseen, insecure, obscure, and precarious promise.

Then, those unelected officials need to be authoritative and assertive because the nature of the task demands they not be meek and soft-natured. Then why does Marxism fail?

It fails because unelected officials sans state will also be expected to use force because not all humans will want to abolish private property as the world is not a monolithic block but plural and diverse. This force may also tip too far. These are not mere speculations but history.

Why does Marxism Fail? State Becomes Brutish

Implementing the Marxist system, the state becomes a brutish force coupled with toxic government officials. They are non-elected hence beyond the grip. For example, in Russia, the Bolshevik Revolution brought into power the Communist party led by Lenin. He was not a completely tyrant leader, but even during his times, there was an enormous bloodbath on the streets.

The socialist party workers hanged people upside down because of not believe in their philosophy. Much to his regret, Lenin could not do anything but let the difficult time pass. He then said that it was not the Communist society but an evolving one that needed sufficient time. This is one of the many precedences that explains why does Marxism Fail?

Joseph Stalin Implements Marxist Philosophy

After his demise came Joseph Stalin, maybe one of the cruelest political leaders to have ever walked on earth. He started the censorship process to choke the so-called evil voices and proliferated his agenda to bring an ideal utopian society. Then why does Marxism fail? It failed because Joseph Stalin persecuted thousands of journalists and other media persons for uncovering the harsh life and excruciating system of Communism. 

Apart from that, he would kill any person he did not like, and it would be any person who criticized or opposed him. Millions of people who stood in opposition were slain ruthlessly. He was not faulty altogether but Karl Marx too, who proposed such a horrible and dreadful social and economic system.

Why does Marxism Fail? Mere Anarchy after Revolution

It was since Marxism did not tell what to do when private property was abolished or who would do it, or in what manners and what would be the way out if any anarchy would emerge. These were the basic questions that Marx did not answer, and it had baleful ramifications on the nations that took it up.

Why does Marxism fail? It fails because of inherent flaws in the system. Karl Marx’s catastrophic philosophy unleashed a torrent of schism, division, and repression. According to David Satter, over 100 million folks were put to death globally, especially in Russia under Stalin, the fountainhead of Marxist Communism (Satter, 2017).

Red Terror lasted from 1918 to 1922; when the Bolshevik Revolution succeeded in ousting the status quo, more than two hundred thousand were killed.

Why does Marxism fail? It sucks because of bad governance. A famine during this time defeated nearly eleven million people. The Great Terror also slew over 2/3rd of a million, which lasted from 1937 to 1938. The venture of forced migration in communal farms and villages stampeded about 1.6 million lives in Russia, and more than double lost lives in Gulag, the so-called special settlements.

Why does Marxism Fail? Brute Atheism

Another equally dreadful reality of Marxism is brute atheism. It is not a debate whether to debate on the existence of God or not or does it matter in the daily doings. religion is a strong, cohesive force that keeps people not only united but also saves them from many social evils. A simple hand-to-mouth worker gets solace and strength by venting out his pains and agonies to his God, and then he feels relieved.

Friedrich Nietzsche, a famous philosopher, was known for his stringent and harsh treatment of God. His philosophy boasted that “God is dead and we have killed Him.” Despite this, he himself regarded religion as a force for good (Nietzsche, 1887). This means a religion-led society is more likely to sustain than one that is without it. 

Religion as a Bourgeoisie Apparatus

Marxism always slaps a severe diatribe against religion. This philosophy regards religion as a digging tool of the Bourgeoisie class only to repress and exploit the haves-not. It believes the rich class uses various apparatus to further their vested interests.

This includes both coercive institutions like the army, police, pressure group, or propaganda institutions like mosques, churches, synagogues, and temples, along with the family system (which is patriarchal as it supports the bourgeoisie class). It even includes educational institutions, which to him are a propaganda machine and nothing else.

Why does Marxism fail? This system sucks because Marx renounces religion altogether. It is an extremely negative and ugly attitude towards the institutions that have taken millennia to evolve and grow. As a famous scholar quotes his famous platitude,” religion is an opium for the poor.” This shows the discontent and dissent for the religion and the family system. 

Religion as a Cohesive Force

The greatest favor that religion provides is the spiritual cushion and emotional support in a crisis. The time may be tough, but the people will have serenity and peace of mind only because religion provides solace, hope, and a positive outlook on life and society. It encourages them to philanthropic efforts in an attempt to please their God.

A no less important thing is that almost all the mainstream religions show the sanctity of individual life. It means no religion allows anyone to kill any person, and mostly the punishment according to the religious injunction is eternal hell. This fear works strongly.

But the Communist society looks askance at it. For example, there is no precedent in known human history that so many people are killed during the propagation and implementation. The reason is that Marxists do not regard the rights of the individual. It is the society that matters and not a few individuals.

Stalin-led Russia under, Mao Zedong-led China under, and Kim-led North Korea

Why does Marxism Fail? It sucks because of almighty tyrant regimes. In past, it caused millions to perish in Russia under Stalin, China under Mao Zedong, and North Korea under the Kim family. They regarded societal patterns as important, ultimately undermining the individual’s right to life and speech.

A nonpartisan estimation will show that the deaths during the two bloody World Wars and the horrendous killings under Marxist regimes, numbers will not be any different. 

Confused and Flawed Marxist Economic System

Marxism has a confused and poor economic system. It does not promote cooperation in free trade regimes but is based on maximum personal gains at any cost. That, too, has become redundant in the globalized and modernized world after the infotech revolution.

There is no example in the history of the Marxist system making sustainable economic development and growth. The short and exploitative period of Stalin with some progress, mainly in agriculture, is insufficient to take this philosophy as a viable option.

Holodomor, One of the many Examples of Flawed Marxist Economic System

Holodomor was a plan to systematically kill millions of Ukrainians only to strengthen Moscow. The design was to industrialize Moscow and strengthen its agriculture by diverting all the agricultural products like wheat back to Ukraine.

It killed millions of people but no such news was on the media. It was since the media was totally under the radar and control of Stalin’s Moscow. The Stalin administration employed a fine-tuned spy system throughout the country.

Why does Marxism Fail? Unsustainable Economic Growth

Soon after that boom, where the Russian economy made some great headway, the economy of Russia has been retrograding consistently. The Chinese government under Mao Zedong had to pay through the nose for their economic experiments like the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, which wiped out millions.

They were the hotbed of abject poverty and economic inaction. Ding Xiaoping reversed that defective and unsound system and insinuated the Western system of free trade and private investment.

Propaganda as a Tool

Joseph Stalin had a flawed socio-economic policy in Russia. It was totally based on expiration and manipulation. His policies were supposed to bring a tremendous revolution that he was claiming. When it did not happen, he diverted the agricultural products of Ukraine to Moscow in order to keep up appearances and show a bright picture to the world.

Apart from the dilapidated economy of Russia and China under Marxism, the other Marxist economies have badly suffered too. China is likely to become the biggest economic power, not because of Mao’s Marxist-Leninist economic model but Xiaoping’s model of private investment and free trade.

For example, the economy of Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh, Fidel Castro led Cuba, Kim Jong Un drove North Korea (A stark contrast with liberal South Korea), and Nicolás Maduro led Venezuela. The cataclysms of a poor economic system are far-reaching and long-lasting. 

Conclusion

Why does Marxism Fail? It is a pernicious political system that is second to none in wreaking havoc on the common folks. This system pinpoints some flaws of capitalism in a hyperbolic manner and then brings forward a system of governance, which distributes wealth equally, and abolishes private property.

It unlocks a spree of failure, chaos, and incertitude. The power to abolish private property and distribute wealth equally becomes mighty strong and starts lynching any poor or the weak. That’s what has happened in all former and the current Marxist Communist countries like Russia, North Korea, Venezuela, and a few others.

The defective idea to abolish private property not only dismantles the basic structure of the society but also pushes it into a state of anarchy where no uniting or legitimate authority exists. It also abandons religion, an intrinsic value and a constitutive part of social life for ages.

This creates space for lawlessness and bloodbath. It also undermines individual rights and gives preponderance to society as a unit. This is why Marxism is tantamount to anarchism and misrule. 

References

Bildt, Carl (2018), ”Why Marx was wrong,” The Strategist

Louden, Trevor Why Is Communism Evil? The Epoch Times.

Nietzsche, Frederick (1887) On the Genealogy of Morality, The Macmillan Company

Rummel, R. J HOW MANY DID COMMUNIST REGIMES MURDER? Hawaii.edu.

Satter, David (2018), 100 Years of Communism—and 100 Million Dead, Wall Street Journal

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