Libertarian Marxism

[JazzRemington]

Every time I ask the question on what is "Libertarian Marxism," I get the same answer: that Marx had essencially libertarian ideas in his writtings. I'm wondering if Libertarian Marxism is just a way of interpreting Marx or what? Also, what are some good introductions to this theory and some links on the interpretation itself.

[The Feral Underclass]

Originally posted by [email protected] 15 2006, 02:48 PM
Every time I ask the question on what is "Libertarian Marxism," I get the same answer: that Marx had essencially libertarian ideas in his writtings. I'm wondering if Libertarian Marxism is just a way of interpreting Marx or what?
It is a way of understand Marxism, but the actually concept of libertarian Marxism, or the name at least, didn't actually come to be until after the evidence of Russia was understood.

I would say that implies that it was also a direct response to the failures of Leninism. Libertarian Marxism maintains classical Marxist, especially in terms of lanuguage, but would probably use the Paris Commune as an example.

It's similar, if not the same as Council Communism, in the sense that it accepts the State solely as one class organised above another, rather than the institutionalised political authority that Leninism was or which anarchism believes the state to always be.

Libertarian Marxism could also be described as class-struggle anarchism. Take MNarx's analysis of capitalism and history, but applying it using anarchist theory of practice. In that instane I would gladly call myself a Libertarian Marxist.


Also, what are some good introductions to this theory and some links on the interpretation itself.

There is a work by Daniel Guerin called 'Libertarian Marxism' but it's not on the net anymore unfortunately.

There is this from a NEFAC website:'Libertarian Marxism's relation to anarchism' (http://nefac.net/en/node/1156)

[barista.marxista]

Libertarian Marxism is basically defined as an objection to "authoritarian Marxism," or Marxism that is more controlling, centralised, and, basically, authoritarian. Leninism and all its offshoots (from Trotskyism to Maoism) are authoritarian schools of Marxism. Libertarian Marxism maintains Marxist views through less authoritarian measures. Many Libertarian Marxists share anarchist beliefs, such as the cooperative organization of economy through workers councils, as opposed to the Leninist idea of a centralized state economy controlled by high party members. An easier way for you to look at it may be with the term "grassroots." Leninism isn't grassroots, it's a tight party of trained "professional revolutionaries" who all adhere to centralised democracy and make the revolution for the masses. Libertarian Marxism espouses the workers themselves taking control of factories, and thus starving society from production, destroying the weak state, and then reorganising society around workers councils and direct democracy: basically a bottom-to-stop organization that doesn't require authoritarian actions over the masses, only the remaining bourgeoisie.

A free book I'd highly recommend about the councilist strand of Libertarian Marxism: Non-Leninist Marxism (http://web.archive.org/web/20010803232303/www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1587/nonlenin.htm), by Lenny Frank Jr. It's a relatively quick and easy read.

[Lamanov]

We could be free to say that "Libertarian Marxism" is a current which grew as a direct antithesis to Bolshevism-Leninism within the 3rd International.


Best way is to look at it like this: Marx used a term workers' state, in an attempt to give a predicting formula of what the revolutionary organization of proletariat might look like.

Of course, this term turned out to be an unintentional ambiguous oxymoron (or better yet - intentional and unambiguous, with an emphasis on the "workers'" part, as I interpret it ... but we will never know, since he was never 100% clear on the matter), in which the "workers'" confronted "state" when the first embryo of proletarian self-organization emerged in the form of councils (soviets) (1905, 1917).

The bolshevik current accepted the "workers' state" term in the form of separate power, while the left current emphasized the "workers'" term as an antithesis to any separate power which might grow out of it.

Thus, Marxism was "divided" into Leninism and Left Communism.


I have to be sober and say: it doesn't matter who is "closer to Marx" -- what matters is who is right.