Interrelation of Scientific and Utopian Elements in the Political Thinking of Karl Marx
https://doi.org/10.31249/poln/2023.03.10
Abstract
It is well known that Karl Marx distinguished his theory from both pure «science» and from the «utopianism» inherent in his predecessors. Paradoxically, these two elements constitute the thinking of Marx himself, being with each other in a complex interaction, the specifics of which this article is intended to reveal. To this end, the author distances himself from the classical political-philosophical debate about the relationship between Marx and the «utopian socialists» criticized by Marx. Instead, it is proposed to consider Marx's approach as a «research program» (Imre Lakatos), a «cognitive utopia» (Peter Lassman) and a «functional utopia» (Karl Mannheim). Basing on this analysis, features in the development of «Soviet» and «Western» Marxism are briefly traced. In conclusion, a further direction of Marx's analysis is proposed through the study of the third – theological – component of his thinking.
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