State and Revolution, Part
8a
Critique of the Gotha Programme
The main text download,
linked below, which is Marx’s Critique
of the Gotha Programme, is given here as a supplementary to the fifth
chapter of “The State and Revolution”. This is the second last; there is one
more chapter of Lenin’s book to be sent out in this series.
In this case, our
introduction can largely come from Great Lenin himself. Writing of the
“withering away of the state”, Lenin begins by making a distinction between the
“polemical” and the “positive” parts of Marx’s text:
“Marx
explains this question most thoroughly in his Critique of the Gotha Programme.
The polemical part of this remarkable work, which contains a criticism of
Lassalleanism, has, so to speak, overshadowed its positive part, namely, the
analysis of the connection between the development of communism and the
withering away of the state.”
Lenin takes the “theory of
development” as a given, fixed and firm. We as CU may question this finality,
using Ron Press’s essay, “New Tools for Marxists”.
But Lenin writes:
“The whole
theory of Marx is the application of the theory of development - in its most
consistent, complete, considered and pithy form - to modern capitalism.
Naturally, Marx was faced with the problem of applying this theory both to the
forthcoming collapse of capitalism and to the future development of future
communism.”
Lenin quotes the following from
Marx:
"Between
capitalist and communist society lies the period of the revolutionary
transformation of the one into the other. Corresponding to this is also a
political transition period in which the state can be nothing but the
revolutionary dictatorship of the
proletariat."
Referring to the late-19th
to early 20th century period of legal, constitutional democracy in
Germany, Lenin says:
“during this
period the Social-Democrats were able to achieve far more than in other
countries in the way of "utilizing legality", and organized a larger
proportion of the workers into a political party than anywhere else in the
world.”
But then asks:
“What is this
largest proportion of politically conscious and active wage slaves that has so
far been recorded in capitalist society? One million members of the
Social-Democratic Party - out of 15,000,000 wage-workers! Three million
organized in trade unions - out of 15,000,000!”
For Lenin at this
revolutionary moment the numbers are crucial. The proportion of workers
organised, compared to the whole, is crucial. So it is with us in South Africa
today. Democratisation means organising. The National Democratic Revolution is
a practical job of organising people into democratic structures.
A further practical job is
the management of society, where, as Lenin says:
“In the
Critique of the Gotha Programme, Marx goes into detail to disprove Lassalle's
idea that under socialism the worker will receive the "undiminished"
or "full product of his labor". Marx shows that from the whole of the
social labor of society there must be deducted a reserve fund, a fund for the
expansion of production, a fund for the replacement of the "wear and
tear" of machinery, and so on. Then, from the means of consumption must be
deducted a fund for administrative expenses, for schools, hospitals, old
people's homes, and so on. Instead of Lassalle's hazy, obscure, general phrase
("the full product of his labor to the worker"), Marx makes a sober
estimate of exactly how socialist society will have to manage its affairs.”
This is a point for the advocates of nationalisation to ponder.
·
The above is to
introduce the original reading-text: Critique of the Gotha Programme, Karl
Marx, 1875, Part 1 and Part 2.
