What is Marxism? Part 3: A political movement

Marxism is not only a body of theory but, more importantly, a political project concerned with the transformation of society. It seeks to connect analysis with action by identifying both the forces that shape the present and the possibilities for creating a different future.

At the centre of this is the idea that the working class will play the central role in social transformation. In capitalist societies, the working class consists of those who do not own or control the means of production and must therefore rely on wages in order to live.

Because the working class is directly involved in producing the wealth of society, and because it is separated from what is required to produce the things needed to live (the means of production), dependent instead on a wage to secure a living -- this means that the working class occupies a position which gives them both a material interest in collectively changing the ownership relations in society and a potential capacity to bring this about. The working class is understood therefore as the only social force which can drive the transformation of the system.

From a Marxist perspective, changing society requires more than reforming existing institutions; it involves a fundamental shift in power. This includes the question of the state, which is itself shaped by the underlying class relationships in society. Under capitalism, the state plays a role in maintaining the conditions needed for the system to function, including the protection of the private property set up and the management of social order. As a result, meaningful transformation cannot be reduced to policy changes alone but involves a fundamental reorganisation of political and economic power. The means, at its root, revolution.

At the heart of this is the idea of the working class taking power, overturning the existing dynamics of control and decision making in society by a wealthy minority. This is not a single moment or event, but a process in which existing social relations are fundamentally restructured. Given the existing form of the state under capitalism is determined by the needs of the system itself, any meaningful reordering of relationships of power will therefore involve the creation of new forms of democratic control and participation that will extend beyond the limits of our existing political systems.

As covered in part 2 Marxism understands the economic organisation of life as being at the root of the form our society takes, so following from this the core of any social transformation is the reorganisation of the economy itself. Marxism argues for a shift away from production driven by private profit and toward forms of collective control over the means of production. Fundamentally this means changing who makes decisions and how, about: what we produce; where we allocate our resources; who we distribute goods to and on what basis; and how we organise our collective labour. While different approaches to these questions have been proposed within the Marxist tradition, they share a commitment to moving beyond private ownership and decision making, and moving towards collective ownership and decision making, as the dominant organising principle in the economy.

Linked to this is the idea of overcoming wage labour as the main way through which most people access the means to live. Under capitalism, most people must sell their labour power (their ability to work: including their skills, knowledge, energy) in order to survive. This shapes both the economic relations in society as a whole, and the everyday experience of individuals. Wage labour forms a compulsion for most people in society, although we are formally free, we have no other way to survive except to work for a wage: this means we have to sell off the best bits of our day, the best bits of our lives, to another person, that we must accept their conditions, their decisions, their control. As individuals this gives us little control over our own day to lives. A transformed society would reduce and eventually eliminate this relationship in society, expanding forms of collective provision and enabling greater control over our own work and time.

This transformed society is what we would call communism, understood as a form of society in which class divisions no longer exist and production is organised collectively. In such a society, resources would be distributed according to need rather than profit, everybody in society would be involved in decision making, and social life would be oriented towards human development rather than the hoarding of wealth. This is not presented as a detailed blueprint, but as a direction of movement grounded in the analysis of existing conditions.

Such a transformation, though, requires organisation. Social change does not occur automatically as a result of economic processes; it depends on collective action, political strategy, and the ability of the working class to act together. Throughout its history, different Marxist movements have developed varying forms of organisation, but all have recognised its necessity.

As a political movement, Marxism therefore brings together analysis and practice. It seeks not only to understand the structures and dynamics of society, but to identify the forces capable of changing them. In doing so, it frames the question of social transformation not as an abstract ideal, but as a practical and historical possibility.