Marxism and Morality

Abstract

This paper examines a range of Marxist approaches to morality. It finds that: 1 Some do not accord with the Marxist world view, materialism. 2 Only two approaches are suitable for use by Marxists – Marxist anti-humanism and a proletarian morality. 3 Marxist anti-humanism is a suitable Marxist framework for adjudicating on morality. 4 The proletariat need no moral justification for trying to eradicate capitalism. 5 A proletarian morality is explainable, useful and consistent with this aim. 6 The puzzle of the discrepancy between Marx’s alleged scientific approach and his use of value-laden language is explained. 7 In his writings, Marx chose to use both anti-humanist Marxism and proletarian morality.

Keywords: Marxism, morality, ethics, moral philosophy