Are you a Marxist? You should be!

Hegel has borne witness to one of Marx’s core criticisms, which has dominated much of his work. Marx introduces us early on in his Economic & Philosophical Manuscripts to his dislike of ‘fortuitous circumstances’ a pet-hate he was to elucidate on later in the text; ‘The whole movement of history, therefore, both as regards the real engendering of this communism, the birth of its empirical existence, and also as regards its consciousness and thought, is the consciously comprehended process of its becoming.’ (McLellan, D. Karl Marx: Selected Writings, Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts, Oxford 2000, p.99) Marx argues that there is no such thing as an ‘invisible hand’ (Smith, A. The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Cambridge 2002, p.215) dominating man’s relationship to man and his relationship to his production. According to Marx ‘A being only counts itself as independent when it stands on its own feet and it stands on its own feet as long as it owes its existence to itself.’ (McLellan, Karl Marx: Selected Writings, Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts, p.103) Marx has continually sought to ground his empirical exercise within the reality of man, not some ‘fixed abstraction’. Marx continues, that ‘if you wish to stick to you abstraction then be consistent, and if you think of man and the world as non-existent then think of yourself as non-existent’ (Ibid.) A fact of society is that it is ‘consciously comprehended process of its becoming’. Smith’s attempt to suggest otherwise is not only unempirical but also extremely dangerous. Indeed Marx and Smith may both agree that the passivity of man is undesirable, as opposed to the active principles in man which are according to Smith ‘often so generous and so noble’ (Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, p.129) but fundamental to Marx.

If, like Marx, you have distaste for fortuitous circumstances and you are far more interested in running your business with your own skilled hand, you may want to consider our Strategic Business Planning Services and Financial Management Services. Of course we could leave it to an invisible hand, but if successful, who will take the credit?