Scientific Socialism is a doctrine which in the early 1840s began to emerge out of Utopian socialism, under the influence of Hegelian philosophy on the one hand and of classical political economy on the other. It is the doctrine which gave the adequate explanation of the whole course of civilization.
Thus destroying the fallacious arguments of the capitalist theoreticians, the doctrine was essential to the interests of the working class. Not only did this doctrine give a clear demonstration of the inconsistencies of the opponents of Socialism, but furthermore when showing their mistakes it supplied the historical explanation of these errors.
Just as Darwin enriched the natural sciences with his work on the origin of species, a theory simple and scientific, so the founders of Scientific Socialism showed that in the development of the forces of production, and in the struggle of these forces against the social condition of production, there was implicit the principle of the transformation of social species.
It must not be supposed that Scientific Socialism can be recommended as a rule of thumb method, or as an absolute truth. Obviously even today the development of Scientific Socialism is not finished. That development did not come to an end with the writings of Marx and Engels, any more than the theory of the origin of species was worked out once and out for all. The main principles of Scientific Socialism have been used for a study of subsidiary problems, a study that will complete the revolution in science brought about by Marx and Engels. The outlook of most branches of sociology have been enlarged by the adoption (usually without acknowledgement) of the philosophic standpoint of Marx and Engels. Though Scientific Socialism derives its philosophy from Kant and Hegel among others, it is opposed to idealism. This philosophy has to a large extent replaced idealism in the realm of philosophy. Scientific Socialism is based upon the materialist conception of history. This means that it explains ethical and moral history as the outcome of the development of the social relations, partly influenced by the natural environment.
To hold the viewpoint that man is a product of his environment, that he is moulded by his surroundings, is not enough to account for the social differences. Environment itself is a complex of contradictions. It is not the consciousness of men which determines their existence, but conversely their social existence which determines their consciousness; so that man by acting on natural forces outside himself and changing them at the same time, changes his own nature.
Engels in his 1888 preface to The Communist Manifesto said:
In every historical epoch, the prevailing mode of economic production and exchange, and the social organization necessarily following from it, form the basis upon which is built up, and from which alone can be explained, the political and intellectual history of that epoch.
Marx wrote: “The philosophers have hitherto sought to explain the world; we seek to change it.” But how can the world be changed?
Marx, who in the 1840s was steeped in the study of histories and prevailing conditions of France and England, came to the conclusion that the working class was the only class that could bring about the change. With the publication of Marx’s Capital and its detailed analysis of capitalism a clear demonstration became available, which shows that although there has been an enormous development in capitalism since its publication, the basis of society remains the same. The problem of a way to abolish poverty from the world has remained insoluble.
Modern capitalism with its tremendous potentiality has made it possible to provide all members of world society with their needs of life to transform this potentiality into an accomplished fact. This is the historic mission of the working class. To change the basis of society from its present capitalist form, to one of common ownership and democratic control, and so harmonize the present form of social production with one of social ownership in order that goods and services shall be freely available to all mankind.
To bring about this change in the basis of society it is imperative that the working class (that is those who are dependent on wages or salaries in order to live) shall take control of political power in order that this power, at present being used to maintain capitalism, shall be so shaped and altered to the needs of the new society.
Taking over political power under these circumstances will be a revolutionary act. Nevertheless it must be a democratic act, a deliberate act by class-conscious men and women, a class scorning the idea of leadership, a class which will instruct its delegates to work for the abolition of the working class, and thus abolish class society, and bring into being the new society.
Bob Ambridge
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