Anarchism and Marxism: Encyclopedia II - Anarchism and Marxism - Arguments surrounding the issue of the state

Anarchism and Marxism - Arguments surrounding the issue of the state

Marxism has a very precise definition of the state: that the state is an organ of one class's repression of all other classes. To Marxists any state is intrinsically a dictatorship by one class over all others. Within this definition the idea of a "dictatorship of the proletariat" can mean anything from the monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force by armed working people's councils, to a monopoly of force by a party composed of intellectuals claiming to be the leadership of the working people. Within Marxist theory, should the differentiation between classes disappear, so too will the state disappear.

Anarchism has a broader series of definitions of the state, ranging from the bourgeois state formation of army, bureaucracy, and representative parliament, to an idea of the state as a monopoly of violence. Anarchists disagree amongst themselves if democratic workers councils with a monopoly of violence constitutes a state or not.

While communist anarchists and Marxists both agree on the desirability of a stateless Society (Communism), they have deep arguments about phases of a revolution between now and that ideal. Anarchists often wish to "smash" the state, replacing it with workers' councils, syndicates and other methods of organisation that are not a governmental body as such. Marxists often wish to "smash" the bourgeois state, but they wish to replace it with a new kind of state run by the workers. This Marxist desire is often referred to as "seizing state power." These arguments are often seen as critical, because they involved the autonomy of workers councils, the existence of secret police, and the transparency of justice. As the argument between these conceptions often hides an argument about whose ideas lead the revolution, Anarchists cite countless examples of Marxist groups killing Anarchists (for example, during the Spanish Civil War) as evidence of their claims. Marxists often cite the disorganized quality of most anarchist insurrections (for example, the Spanish Civil War) as evidence of their claims.

The issue of the state, and the idea of seizing the state for a party, brings up the issue of political parties, which also divides Anarchists and Marxists. In general, anarchists refuse to participate in governments, and so do not form political parties. Marxists, on the other hand, see political parties as tools for seizing power, which they believe is necessary to effect any meaningful political change.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Arguments surrounding the issue of the state", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki