Why I Am A Marxist

Published by Stephen Milward in Politics · Sunday 14 Dec 2025 · 3 minutes
Tags: Marxism, class, society, dialetics

Take a look around you - what do you see?

The extreme wealth and power held in the hands of so few, the extreme poverty of millions without a say in society... why is this and how do we make society more stable, happy and democratic?

Very briefly, Marxism provides an analysis of capitalist societal structures based on the class struggle between the exploiters (the owners of capital, land etc) and the exploited (workers, renters etc). The exploitation is based around the concept of value. Marxist 'Historical Materialism' describes how economic systems mould and shape societies, through ideas and politics.

So if capitalism is inherently unfair to the mass of people, why and how does it continue? Bourgeois state power (police, education, media etc) has developed such sophisticated methodology (including intelligence gathering, spying, repression, limiting protests and strikes, cultural monopoly) that capitalism is seen and perceived to be the natural, unchallenged socio-political system. The instability of capitalism is blamed on the workers, the vilification of trade unions and other easily identified groups.

But I ask again, look around you and what do you see? Rich exploiters getting richer, so rich they can now run their own space programmes while poor people starve. I could give so many examples of exploitation, but I just ask you to open your eyes, they are easily seen.

What is clear to me is that the reformist tendency, seen in the British Labour Party, is a failure. They have accepted capitalism and have moved so far to the right as to make me wonder if there is a socialist thought left in them. They are not the vehicle for radical economic and political change that would address capitalism's inequalities, rather they tinker at the margins, pretending that they are 'reforming' aspects of society. Actually they achieve little except pleasing their paymasters for not upsetting the applecart too much.

Marxism offers a way forward from capitalism. Just be aware that should you want to find out more about Marxism, history is often written by bourgeois historians who are biased against Marxism. Be wary of such histories. Read about Marxism by Marxist authors (Alan Woods is an excellent starting point). Visit websites like In Defence Of Marxism and the Marxists Internet Archive.

Above all, keep looking around, asking questions and then make up your own mind.

Marxist philosophy: dialectical materialism