Marxism is a political theory developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the mid to late 1800s. The theory emerged out of the philosophical tendency of Hegel which was based on dialectics. From his study within the Young Hegelians, Marx went on to develop dialectical materialism.
Dialectical Materialism, in short, is the idea that the world can be understood through the actions of opposing forces. These forces are material in nature.
The materialism is well described as follows: “the Marxist philosophical materialism holds that matter, nature, being, is an objective reality existing outside and independent of our consciousness; that matter is primary, since it is the source of sensations, ideas, consciousness, and that consciousness is secondary, derivative, since it is a reflection of matter, a reflection of being; that thought is a product of matter which in its development has reached a high degree of perfection, namely, of the brain, and the brain is the organ of thought; and that therefore one cannot separate thought from matter without committing a grave error.”
Materialism is best understood against its opposing force, idealism. Idealism believes that the external world is subjective and based on the force/spirit that makes up consciousness. Unlike materialism, idealism believes that the matter of the world depends on consciousness to exist.
Viewing idealism and materialism in context with one another is a good example of dialectics. They are two opposing forces which exist within the philosophical question of "what is reality". These two tendencies are mutually exclusive and opposite. The differences between them are known as contradictions.
Marx understood that because the material creates consciousness, so too does the material create human society. The main material component of human society that must be grasped to understand human sociology is the creation and allocation of resources. The overall system of creating and allocating resources is known as the mode of production and makes up the base/infrastructure of society. Built upon this base, the superstructure of society is formed: religion, culture, law etc. In such, the economic system of society not only infiltrates but in itself creates the society.
In order to change society (its cultures, its laws, its religion) to a significant degree, the mode of production must change.
The mode of production that we have now is known as capitalism. This was the case at the time of Marx, and has been the case in the "west" since the feudal period ended (there is a lot more to say on this but this is where it'll be left for now). In capitalism, the powerful are those who make up the class of the bourgeoise. The bourgeoise are those that own the means of production (the factories, tools; all the non-human items needed for production). Their ability to own the means of production make them the only place the proletariat (those that sell their labor as a commodity for, usually, a wage) can go to in order to gain the resources needed for survival. Not only is there an inherent power imbalance, but the bourgeoise class gets access to vaster wealth through the exploitation of the class of the proletariat.
The proletariat, which create the value the bourgeoise sells, are exploited through the imbalance between their wage and the profit the bourgeoise earns. In essence, if the owner of the company you work for is making a profit you are not being payed the value of your work. All the profit earned comes from the worker's added value to the raw resources. The owner (bourgeoise) must make more than you in order to expand their ability to exploit more workers (grow their business).
This greater wealth comes in the form of capital. Whereas the proletariat spend their money to buy commodities, the bourgeoise are able to take the value they extract from the workers and use it to make more money. Money that is used to create more money is known as capital.
Your boss is entitled to this extracted value due to the fact that he has made a contract with you to buy your labor power. Your boss now "owns" your work. Your boss also owns the means of production. A change in this system of exploitation will require a change in the idea of private property, which is the ideological framework that gives the bourgeoise the right to own these things.
This is why Engels described communism as: "the doctrine of the conditions of the liberation of the proletariat." (Engels, Principles of Communism).
This is also why Marx explained that "the theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property." (Marx, The Communist Manifesto).
The role of private property has moved beyond the ownership of things and onto the ownership of abstract money. It is possible to own debt, to own parts of a company one does not manage, etc.
"The capitalist right to property reaches its most complete development in capital held in the shape of shares and industrial credit" (Luxemburg, Reform or Revolution).
This type of private property has become a critical feature of modern capitalism. Capitalism has moved beyond an economy based on the exchange of things and into the realm of finance. Credit, stocks, bonds, and other forms of monetary abstraction have become a key aspect of the economy. This is known as finance capital.
"...the development of capitalism has arrived at a stage when, although commodity production still ‘reigns’ and continues to be regarded as the basis of economic life, it has in reality been undermined and the bulk of the profits go to the ‘geniuses’ of financial manipulation." (Lenin, Imperialism the Highest Stage of Capitalism).
This stage of financial manipulation, the division of the world, and monopolies is known as imperialism.
Under imperialism, there are countries which reap the rewards. These countries are known as the imperial core. The imperial core extracts resources from less developed nations and keeps them in a state of dependence through colonialism, unjust loans, and a reliance on the imperial states to have a global market. These exploited nations are known as the imperial periphery or periphery countries.
This unjust system is a feature of capitalism that will not end until the base of society changes.
Communism is the next stage in development of the mode of production. Communism, once achieved, will be a classless, stateless, moneyless society. This society will be made possible through increased automation, an abundance of the necessities of life and a focus on producing them, and the removal of the profit incentive. This future will reduce working hours to the minimum required for the production of what is needed in society which will allow for creativity and intellectual pursuits to blossom.
This is a beautiful and possible future, but it will not be the immediate future after capitalism has ended. First, socialism must be introduced.
Socialism is the intermediary step between communism and capitalism which will eradicate the bourgeoise and their ideological impacts and lay the groundwork for the future communist society. Although Marx wrote often about Communism, he spent less time on developing the ideas of how to get there (with the notable exception of Critique of the Gotha Programme). Lenin, a later theorist who would become the leader of the Soviet Union, spent more time developing these ideas.
A note on the term socialism: Socialism is both a broad umbrella term for an ideology that favors socially owned means of production, and the name of the intermediary step between communism and capitalism in Lenin's theoretical writings. Many communists use the term socialism exclusively for that intermediary step. Many non-communists do not even know this difference. In this writing, socialism means the intermediary step.
Unlike communism, socialism will not be stateless. Socialism will require a strong state to ensure the bourgeoise and their interests do not rise again, to defend itself against external capitalist states, and to manage an economy.
This state is often described as the dictatorship of the proletariat. The dictatorship of the proletariat is best understood through the difference between it and the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie. The dictatorship of the bourgeoise is what we have now - a state which exists to enforce the class interests of the bourgeoise. The dictatorship of the proletariat will be a state which exists to enforce the class interests of the proletariat.
Lenin defined the dictatorship of the proletariat as follows: "the organization of the vanguard of the oppressed as the ruling class for the purpose of suppressing the oppressors".
In order to ensure the dictatorship of the proletariat accurately reflects the interests of the proletariat, democracy will be needed. This type of democracy is known as a workers democracy and contrasts with the current democratic system, a bourgeois democracy.
In order to reach the stage of socialism, a revolution will be necessary. Those who understand the necessity of revolution are revolutionary socialists/communists. Those who do not believe a revolution is necessary for the achievement of socialism are known as reformists. Many reformists are in favor of reaching socialism through elections, a strategy known as electoralism. Reformism and electoralism are flawed as they do not understand that we exist under the dictatorship of the bourgeoise and the state will not allow socialism to be achieved as it goes against the interests of the class it was designed to protect.
Revolution will require the proletariat to achieve class consciousness, which is an understanding of their interests as a class and how to achieve them. It is the goal of revolutionaries to raise class consciousness so that the people will make revolution happen. The revolutionaries who study and work to raise class consciousness and the party they belong to are known as the vanguard party. The vanguard party is a group of dedicated organizers who devote much of their time to bringing about revolution. They must be highly organized and knowledgable in order to lead the people to revolution because the vanguard party is not large enough on its own to make the revolution happen.
A note on the vanguard party: There is a common misunderstanding that the vanguard party believes itself to be better than the people and exists as a group separate from them. This is not the case. The vanguard party is simply made up of those who have devoted their time to revolution and are the most knowledgeable. Any person may join the vanguard party so long as they are willing to put in the time and effort. Once revolution happens, the vanguard party will be in the position (due to their knowledge and study) to lead the people in achieving their own interests. The vanguard, however, must understand the critical role the people will play in their own liberation.
The vanguard party must be highly organized in order to achieve its goals. This is achieved through democratic centralism. With democratic centralism, the party votes on the positions it will take and strategies it will use. Once the vote has happened, those in the party must act in support of these positions and strategies regardless of what their original stance was. Votes can be redone after a certain amount of time if the organization determines that there is enough of a need for it. Democratic centralism does not exist to quash dissent, but to organize dissent allowing for a unified party and the raising of key issues.
The vanguard party must also be highly knowledgeable in order to raise class consciousness. This knowledge comes through reading, or in some other way learning, theory. Theory is the intellectual tradition of marxism and it is how ideas from expert thinkers are communicated and right ideas are conveyed. It is mostly made up of books and pamphlets written in the past. It is not possible to be a member of the vanguard party without reading (or listening to) theory. Any communist must read theory.
It is important for the reading of theory to not become "book worship". Ideas must be understood, but flexibility and critical analysis is required.
"When we say Marxism is correct, it is certainly not because Marx was a "prophet" but because his theory has been proved correct in our practice and in our struggle. We need Marxism in our struggle. In our acceptance of his theory no such formalisation of mystical notion as that of "prophecy" ever enters our minds...We need books, but we must overcome book worship, which is divorced from the actual situation." (Mao, Oppose Book Worship).
Theory is essential but it is not enough, praxis is also needed. Praxis is action. Theory gives the tools to act correctly, but action is needed as well. The overall goal should always be to raise class consciousness through praxis, but the question of the effectiveness of different types of praxis is a divisive one. Part of the reason for the divisiveness is that the particularities of time and place will change what type of action is the most effective.
