Marxist Ethics

Marx’s critique of the capitalist economy is essentially an explanation of how existing forms of production, distribution, exchange, and consumption arose, and how they are dependent on one another and on the character of human activity and achievement in areas far removed from the economy proper. Immanuel Kant, wrote, “that moral behaviour involves the suppression of natural desires that are seen as selfish and individualistic.” The starting point for Marx’s alternative ethics is the collective struggles of workers against their exploitation. Marx’s ethical judgments relate to real historical struggles for freedom. The ends of production are alienated from workers and capitalists alike, and the act of producing becomes for both groups a mere means to maintain their existence. Thus, the division between means and ends proves to have social roots. Marx’s main concern, however, is not simply to explain what morality is but to explain how it can be realized in the world. This chapter analyzes various aspects of Marxism and its ethical dimensions, relating it to Aristotle and Kant. It also analyzed the causes of the Abolition of the Soviet Union.