Srila Siddhaswarupananda on Karl Marx

[Gauracandra]

This week’s episode by Srila Siddhaswarupananda deals with the philosophy of Karl Marx.

 

“From each according to his ability to each according to his needs.” The meaning of this was that Karl Marx wanted a society where one would work as hard as he could, and his return would not be based on the work he did but rather the needs he had.

 

This is a wonderful ideal. It sounds great. A world where nobody is selfish. But there is a fundamental flaw in this thinking when a person identifies himself as the body and denies the existence of God. The problem is a materialist can never be satisfied and thus their needs will never be satisfied. This is important to understand.

 

Karl Marx defines the person as material. When a person identifies with the body they will try to satisfy the body’s sense desires. If I am the body and I feel want then it is only natural to consider that I will find satisfaction by supplying the body with things.

 

If a person is identifying the body as the self and then trying to satisfy their desire by material life they will never be satisfied. Thus there is no ability for a Marxist society.

 

“How much work can you do?”

 

“I can work 6 hours.”

 

“Now what are your needs?”

 

“Ahem… I need 6 houses, 4 pools, servants…”

 

After they get this do they then go back to the government and say “My needs are satisfied.”

 

You have billionaires. What do they do? They continue to try to make more money. A billion is a thousand millions. And they are spending their time making more money. When he had $1000 he ate 3 meals a day and slept in 1 bed. Now when he became a billionaire he still eats 3 meals a day and can only sleep in 1 bed. And yet he is still trying to get more money.

 

Today in American Samoa not only do they want Coca-Cola, now they need it. Before they didn’t know it existed. Want is neutral. But when someone sticks something in front of you then the want becomes a need. Material consumption cannot satisfy spiritual needs.

 

In the Western world they have clothes, food, shelter, medical care, recreation. Marxists say this is all you need to be happy. Well we’ve had this for a long time. Even in the Soviet Union they have had this. The Russians aren’t starving to death. In fact, if you bring a pair of Levis to Moscow they’ll happily pay you $100 a pair on the black market. There is a huge black market.

 

When will they say they have had enough? You will never find it. They always want more. There are so many countries that truly do not have enough but you will never find that country that says “We’ve had enough.” The United States, the Soviet Union, the Scandinavian countries, no one has had enough. Still they are gnawing away at the planet trying to get more. If America does not have enough then no one will ever have enough.

 

So we must question Marx’s philosophy. Supposedly everyone collectively works hard and then the state supplies their needs. The first flaw is that he did not know that the person is not a material body. We are the spirit soul within the body. Just like I have a shirt on, I have a body on.

 

The second flaw is that he denies the existence of the Supreme Person. This thereby makes it impossible to come to the platform where one has actual inner happiness. The Supreme Lord is the source of all happiness. Unless I am situated with Him I will never be happy and my wants will always be increasing. No matter how much gasoline you pour on the fire you only make it burn brighter and hotter.

 

God is the only solution. This is the only way to prevent expanding exploitation and greed. Marx speaks vaguely of this perfect society but his foolish idea is based on ignorance of the soul and the Supreme Soul. He is in a dream state, an hallucinatory state when he speaks of a person who is selfless. Such a person is not a fruitive worker. How will he get to that point? Marx has no solution. It is just a foolish economic idea. You end up with chaotic dictatorial societies where people are miserable both materially and spiritually.