Freedom and Society in the Thought of Karl Marx

The aim of this research is complete a book on the foundations of the ethical dimension of Karl Marx's thought.

Some commentators have claimed that Marx's account of capitalism and its prospective replacement by communism, at least in his later writings, does not involve any systematic criticism of the former or advocacy of the latter, but is purely 'scientific'. Others have argued that his account does involve criticism and advocacy, but they differ in their view of the basic ethical ideals on which Marx relies. For example, it has variously been said that his ideals are justice, equality, freedom, community, or human self-realisation. In this research I plan to argue that Marx's theory of capitalism and communism does systematically involve criticism and advocacy, but that the central ideal on which he relies is one of 'social freedom', that is, a freedom that individuals can only achieve through participating in a certain kind of social interaction, specifically one in which they recognise and treat each other 'as individuals' rather than as owners of property or occupants of a social role. This is the ideal epitomised in Marx's assertion that 'In a real community individuals obtain their freedom in and through their association'. It is this ideal, I shall argue, which underlies his rejection of capitalism and advocacy of communism.

I aim to show how this ideal develops in the works of J.G. Fichte and G.W.F. Hegel, and how Marx produces his own distinctive version of it. I then plan to ask how Marx connects it with his idea that humans are essentially labouring beings. Here I will argue that for Marx producing for each others' needs is the most fundamental form of human social interaction because it is the most necessary one, and that accordingly the ideal of social freedom must be achieved at this fundamental level.

I plan to go on to show that Marx attempts to derive the ideal of social freedom from his analysis of capitalism itself. He does so by displaying this ideal as 'immanent' within capitalism itself, in that capitalism represents an attempt on the part of human beings to reconcile individual freedom with social interaction. For Marx, the failure of this attempt points to necessity of replacing capitalism with a system of production explicitly based on the idea of 'social freedom'.

Finally, I plan to go on to investigate the viability of 'social freedom' as an ideal for political philosophy today, regardless of how Marx derived it and of the political conclusions he drew from it. Most political philosophy today is based on the liberal ideals of individual freedom and autonomy. However, it has been argued that these ideals are tacitly based on an unrealistic picture of humans as isolated and unrelated individuals. I plan to ask whether the ideal of social freedom could provide a basis for political philosophy that would better acknowledge the social character of human life while capturing the moral intuitions expressed in liberal ideals.

I will undertake the research by myself in Britain, using texts by Fichte, Hegel and Marx in the original German and in translation, and works in contemporary political philosophy. However I am in regular interaction with a network of researchers on Hegel and Marx in several countries and the research will be a product of my ongoing dialogue with these colleagues

Transnational and international policy-makers dealing with countries led by governments that are nominally communist, such as China, will benefit from this research in that it will enable them to gain a better understanding of the intellectual roots of the official ideologies of these countries. Seeing the way in which Marx, as a forbear of these ideologies, relied on an ideal of social freedom that can be made quite familiar to us may enable policy makers to gain a greater understanding of the adherents of these ideologies and so facilitate a more productive engagement with them.

Policy-makers at national and sub-national levels, journalists, broadcasters and the wider public will also benefit, in two ways.

First, for some time now a private and public debate has been developing about the decline of social connectedness and cohesion in modern Western societies. This debate has been given urgency by the economic crisis of the last two years, and the prospect that an era of stable and rising living standards, which had made these concerns about social cohesion seem less pressing, may be over. In this context there is a real need for the development by political philosophy of normative ideals that combine the idea of individual freedom with that of social cohesion in a coherent way, so as to be able to inform this debate. Through its reconstruction of Marx's concept of social freedom the present study will contribute to the development of such ideals.

Second, the global economic crisis of the last two years has renewed a broader debate about the various structures of capitalism, their social and psychological consequences, and ways in which they might be reformed. Marx is one of the few historical figures, alongside for example Max Weber, Joseph Schumpeter and Karl Polanyi, to have thought critically and extensively about the relations between capitalism and what might be called 'fundamental human values'. A new study of the way which Marx engaged philosophically with the capitalism of his day is therefore timely and can inform the contemporary debate on capitalist structures.

In order to facilitate these impacts, I aim to publish, once the book has appeared, several articles in general-readership periodicals outlining the idea of 'social freedom' and arguing for its relevance to contemporary political debates. I also plan to give a number of talks and lectures on the subject. Details are given in the Impact Plan.