MARXISM and ANARCHISM: differences and similarities

Throughout the 19th century a series of currents to fight against capitalism, being created to offer alternatives to the main economic system of the planet at that time. Among all these currents, the most important were the marxism and anarchism, being the ones with the largest number of followers. To delve into them in this lesson from a Teacher we must talk about the differences and similarities between marxism and anarchism.

He Marxism It is a set of ideas and political, social and economic concepts taken from the texts of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, two important thinkers who were looking for a new system that could replace capitalism.

Marxism considers capitalism the great economic system today, similar to what slavery or feudalism was centuries ago. But, like these two, Marxism considers that capitalism is outdated and at some point it will end and stop working, so they propose a new system.

The ideas of Marxism are the search for a new system in which everyone be equal in which there are no social classes and where the means of production are in the hands of the working class. The idea is

end inequality caused by capitalism and bring a new, more egalitarian system.

Over the years, Marxism has created numerous currents of thinkers that are based on its ideas but adapting it to the particularities of each situation. Some examples of this are the Leninism, he stalinism or the chinese communism.

He anarchism It is a philosophical and political system characterized by defending a state in which there is no government. Anarchism was born in the 19th century, its first thinker being the philosopher William Godwin, being created as an attempt to replace capitalism.

anarchism trust in the nature of man, saying that we are all good by nature and that we have been made evil by the existence of government and control, so in a situation of total freedom we would all be good. Anarchism seeks a complete freedom, without norms or laws, in which the human being can do what he wants.

Characteristics of anarchism

To understand anarchism we must talk about some of its characteristics, being key to understanding this movement. For this reason the main characteristics of anarchism are the following:

• He believes that the human being must have total freedom and autonomy, which is why he does not believe in any kind of control.
• He wants to eliminate political parties, governments and any kind of control.
• Private property should not exist, since it only causes problems and inequalities.
• Education must have a key role in society, because it is the way for everyone to understand the relevance of anarchism.
• Social classes must disappear, because they only create inequalities.

To continue this lesson we must talk about the enormous differences between both currents, being important to understand why both currents are not the same.

The main differences between anarchism and marxism are the following:

• Marxism believes in the existence of a single party that controls everything, while anarchism rejects the existence of any political party.
• Marxism believes that to end capitalism the state must be controlled, but anarchism believes in the disappearance of the state.
• After the fall of capitalism, Marxism believes in the dictatorship of the workers, while anarchism wants a free society after capitalism.
• Marxism defends industry as the engine of the economy, while anarchism considers that the key is agriculture, in order to be self-sufficient.
• Marxism considers that the property should belong to the state, while anarchism considers that there should be no property of any kind.
• Anarchism defends individual rights above all, while Marxism defends collective rights over the rest.

Once the differences have been discussed, we must comment on the similarities between both schools of thought, being key to understanding where both groups can agree.

The similarities between anarchism and marxism are the following:

• Liberation of the working class, both consider that they should control the world and not the employers.
• Search for a society of free men, in which we can all make our decisions without being controlled by a large entity.
• Using the revolution to end capitalism and bring in a new system.
• The non-existence of social classes, since they only bring inequalities, and we must all be equal.
• Importance of education, as a motor for society to agree with the model.
• The non-belief in private property, since it also creates huge inequalities.