Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy

Schumpeter talks about how leaders of the Soviet Union have distorted Marxist thought, while claiming they are implementing it. Along with the revival of interest in Marxism in the US, this is a reason to re-examine Marx’s teachings.

To understand Marx and assess his thought, Schumpeter argues, it is necessary to disentangle different aspects of what Marxism represents. The first of these strands is Marxism as a type of faith. For the believer it exists as an absolute standard of value and truth by which to understand the world. Like conventional religion, it offers the promise of salvation, a worldly one via a future socialist society. The genius of Marxism is to conceal its religious character. As Schumpeter says, “what conquered passionate allegiance” was “preaching in the garb of analysis and analyzing with a view to heartfelt needs” (6). Thus, the faithful can have the comfort of a religion, while believing they are endorsing science.

Schumpeter tries to distinguish another aspect of Marxist thought by dismissing the idea that he was a philosopher. Even though Marx started out as a philosopher, his later work bears no trace of Hegelian metaphysics. Instead, his thought is rooted in materialistic and empirical social science.