Marxist Group (Germany)
Encyclopedia
The Marxist
Group (German: Marxistische Gruppe/MG) was the largest communist
organization of the "New Left
" in West Germany
. The program of the MG focused on the abolition of private property and of the state altogether. The group aspired to have the free-market economy replaced by social planning according to the specific needs that were present.
The MG emerged from the so-called "Red Cells" (Ger.: Roten Zellen), which arose in the German student movement
in 1968. The MG was properly formed in the early 1970s. The MG published among other things the magazine MSZ — Gegen die Kosten der Freiheit (Opposing the Costs of Liberty), the Marxistische Arbeiterzeitung (Marxist Workers’ Newspaper), various university newspapers, as well as the book series Resultate (Results), Abweichende Meinungen (Dissenting Views) and Kritik der bürgerlichen Wissenschaft (Critique of Bourgeois Science). It is thought to have had up to 10,000 members. Local associations of the MG also existed in Austria
.
The organization was monitored by the intelligence office (Ger.: Verfassungsschutz; Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution) and was rated "left-wing
extremist". According to data collected by the office, numerous members of the MG — particularly in Bavaria
— were dismissed from civil service
, and some private employers were informed about MG members and asked to dismiss them.
In May 1991, the MG announced its dissolution. The reason it stated was that it was expecting intensified reprisals against its members following the appearance of an intelligence office brochure about the group. The party's newspapers were discontinued, but corresponding journalistic work was continued by the publishing house GegenStandpunkt-Verlag and the journal GegenStandpunkt (Opposing Viewpoint).
," and sharply criticized the interpretation of Karl Marx
’ theory that was forged by Lenin and handed down by communist parties. It started out from the new discussion about Marx' Capital
that arose in the 60's.
On this basis, the MG did not regard the phenomena of bourgeois society as the result of the doings of individual capitalists or factions of capital, but saw capitalists and wageworkers only as "character masks" (Marx) of a relationship of exploitation between capital and wage labor that is inherent in bourgeois society, i.e., based on general commodity production and the commodity character of labor power. While, for example, the German Communist Party
with its theory of "state monopoly capitalism
" criticized the bourgeois state in Germany primarily for letting "monopoly capital" directly influence politics in all kinds of ways and thereby thwart and corrode the at least partly "progressive-democratic" character of the political order formulated in the constitution, the MG rejected such criticisms as "idealistic", because according to its analysis, a bourgeois state is fundamentally nothing other than an "ideal collective capitalist" (Friedrich Engels
), quite independent of the actions of individual capitals, and exists for no other purpose than to safeguard the private ownership of the means of production and to guarantee the basic conditions for capital accumulation with the aid of the state monopoly on the use of force. When the DKP and similar groups appealed to "democratic forces" to form alliances against right-wing and fascist tendencies, the MG accordingly rejected this as assuming democracy has nothing but humane purposes that miss the point of its supposed reason for being. After all, it claimed, it was completely normal democratic business both to "sort human material into useful and useless" and to wage war to assert the demand that all resources be transformed into objects of capital accumulation, while fascism was especially consistent in realizing the democratic ideal of a national community willing to make sacrifices for the success of the state purpose. Further, democratic pluralism institutionalized the citizens’ abstracting from their needs and interests; instead of disputing their antagonistic interests, citizens acknowledged their legitimacy and argued about alternative state policy as reflected in the various political parties. The MG was also sharply polemical about the trade unions, since by fighting for higher wages, they expressed nothing other than the workers’ fundamental agreement with the capitalistic use of their labor power.
The MG denied the Leninist theory of imperialism
as "the highest stage of capitalism," in which capitalism
had passed into a state of "rot" and decline — since capitalism was not to be criticized for working badly, but for working far too well. The MG's understanding of Marx focusing on "Capital," the Critique of Political Economy, disregarded the elements in the thinking of Marx and Engels involving the philosophy of history, which "Marxism-Leninism" developed into a "world view" ("dialectical
and historical materialism
").
." The MG accused these states of not having consistently overcome commodity production and money in favor of a planned production of use-values, but instead invented the nonsense of planning with the help of commodity-money "levers" (a term popular in Soviet economics textbooks); the contradiction between planning and the acceptance of commodity-money relations was the cause of the inconsistencies and malfunctions in the economies of state socialism
. It can be concluded that the MG assumed that after a revolution based on a correct understanding of Marxist theory and the abolishment of money, supplying the population with use-values could be managed simply through a division of labor.
s and meetings of sympathizers.
With its positions, the MG fundamentally dissociated itself from all efforts to improve living conditions "within the system": it rejected the view that "fighting for concrete interests of the working population" would give rise to a consciousness of the necessity for overcoming capitalism. Rather, the MG criticized in its publications the false consciousness of the workers regarding state and wage labor, since only on the basis of this consciousness was a sustained participation of the exploited to be had.
Unlike other communist groups, it did not call for more discussions on workers’ issues, etc. — it did not demand that science be "applied" to "proletarian" issues, and it was not interested in propagating an alternative "Marxist world view" based on a "class standpoint."
The critique of bourgeois science was of central significance for the MG. In written and oral contributions it set out to demonstrate that bourgeois science — from moral philosophy through interpretation of literature to sociological methodologies — did not develop a scientific concept of reality, but served to legitimate bourgeois society and participation therein.
Sympathizers completed extensive training courses centered around the examination of Marx’ Capital. This was intended to lead new adherents to understand the bourgeois world, and thus to develop a scientifically founded position toward it. Sympathizers eventually acquired the status of "candidate," becoming full members after a few more years of training. The MG thereby adopted the leninist concept of the cadre organization made up of trained career revolutionaries.
Since the dissolution, the Marxist theory of the MG is being published in the journal GegenStandpunkt, which appeared for the first time in 1992. Notes are often attached to the issues indicating dates of public discussion meetings.
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
Group (German: Marxistische Gruppe/MG) was the largest communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
organization of the "New Left
New Left
The New Left was a term used mainly in the United Kingdom and United States in reference to activists, educators, agitators and others in the 1960s and 1970s who sought to implement a broad range of reforms, in contrast to earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had taken a more vanguardist...
" in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. The program of the MG focused on the abolition of private property and of the state altogether. The group aspired to have the free-market economy replaced by social planning according to the specific needs that were present.
The MG emerged from the so-called "Red Cells" (Ger.: Roten Zellen), which arose in the German student movement
German student movement
The German student movement was a protest movement that took place during the late 1960s in West Germany. It was largely a reaction against the perceived authoritarianism and hypocrisy of the German government and other Western governments, and the poor living conditions of students...
in 1968. The MG was properly formed in the early 1970s. The MG published among other things the magazine MSZ — Gegen die Kosten der Freiheit (Opposing the Costs of Liberty), the Marxistische Arbeiterzeitung (Marxist Workers’ Newspaper), various university newspapers, as well as the book series Resultate (Results), Abweichende Meinungen (Dissenting Views) and Kritik der bürgerlichen Wissenschaft (Critique of Bourgeois Science). It is thought to have had up to 10,000 members. Local associations of the MG also existed in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
The organization was monitored by the intelligence office (Ger.: Verfassungsschutz; Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution) and was rated "left-wing
Far left
Far left, also known as the revolutionary left, radical left and extreme left are terms which refer to the highest degree of leftist positions among left-wing politics...
extremist". According to data collected by the office, numerous members of the MG — particularly in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
— were dismissed from civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
, and some private employers were informed about MG members and asked to dismiss them.
In May 1991, the MG announced its dissolution. The reason it stated was that it was expecting intensified reprisals against its members following the appearance of an intelligence office brochure about the group. The party's newspapers were discontinued, but corresponding journalistic work was continued by the publishing house GegenStandpunkt-Verlag and the journal GegenStandpunkt (Opposing Viewpoint).
Critique of Leninism and State Socialism
The MG never based itself on "Marxism-LeninismMarxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
," and sharply criticized the interpretation of Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
’ theory that was forged by Lenin and handed down by communist parties. It started out from the new discussion about Marx' Capital
Das Kapital
Das Kapital, Kritik der politischen Ökonomie , by Karl Marx, is a critical analysis of capitalism as political economy, meant to reveal the economic laws of the capitalist mode of production, and how it was the precursor of the socialist mode of production.- Themes :In Capital: Critique of...
that arose in the 60's.
On this basis, the MG did not regard the phenomena of bourgeois society as the result of the doings of individual capitalists or factions of capital, but saw capitalists and wageworkers only as "character masks" (Marx) of a relationship of exploitation between capital and wage labor that is inherent in bourgeois society, i.e., based on general commodity production and the commodity character of labor power. While, for example, the German Communist Party
German Communist Party
The German Communist Party is a Marxist-Leninist party in Germany.-History:The DKP was formed in West Germany in 1968, in order to fill the place of the Communist Party of Germany , which had been banned by the Federal Constitutional Court in 1956...
with its theory of "state monopoly capitalism
State monopoly capitalism
The theory of state monopoly capitalism was initially a Marxist doctrine popularised after World War II. Lenin had claimed in 1916 that World War I had transformed laissez-faire capitalism into monopoly capitalism, but he did not publish any extensive theory about the topic...
" criticized the bourgeois state in Germany primarily for letting "monopoly capital" directly influence politics in all kinds of ways and thereby thwart and corrode the at least partly "progressive-democratic" character of the political order formulated in the constitution, the MG rejected such criticisms as "idealistic", because according to its analysis, a bourgeois state is fundamentally nothing other than an "ideal collective capitalist" (Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
), quite independent of the actions of individual capitals, and exists for no other purpose than to safeguard the private ownership of the means of production and to guarantee the basic conditions for capital accumulation with the aid of the state monopoly on the use of force. When the DKP and similar groups appealed to "democratic forces" to form alliances against right-wing and fascist tendencies, the MG accordingly rejected this as assuming democracy has nothing but humane purposes that miss the point of its supposed reason for being. After all, it claimed, it was completely normal democratic business both to "sort human material into useful and useless" and to wage war to assert the demand that all resources be transformed into objects of capital accumulation, while fascism was especially consistent in realizing the democratic ideal of a national community willing to make sacrifices for the success of the state purpose. Further, democratic pluralism institutionalized the citizens’ abstracting from their needs and interests; instead of disputing their antagonistic interests, citizens acknowledged their legitimacy and argued about alternative state policy as reflected in the various political parties. The MG was also sharply polemical about the trade unions, since by fighting for higher wages, they expressed nothing other than the workers’ fundamental agreement with the capitalistic use of their labor power.
The MG denied the Leninist theory of imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
as "the highest stage of capitalism," in which capitalism
Capitalist mode of production
In Marx's critique of political economy, the capitalist mode of production is the production system of capitalist societies, which began in Europe in the 16th century, grew rapidly in Western Europe from the end of the 18th century, and later extended to most of the world...
had passed into a state of "rot" and decline — since capitalism was not to be criticized for working badly, but for working far too well. The MG's understanding of Marx focusing on "Capital," the Critique of Political Economy, disregarded the elements in the thinking of Marx and Engels involving the philosophy of history, which "Marxism-Leninism" developed into a "world view" ("dialectical
Dialectical materialism
Dialectical materialism is a strand of Marxism synthesizing Hegel's dialectics. The idea was originally invented by Moses Hess and it was later developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels...
and historical materialism
Historical materialism
Historical materialism is a methodological approach to the study of society, economics, and history, first articulated by Karl Marx as "the materialist conception of history". Historical materialism looks for the causes of developments and changes in human society in the means by which humans...
").
Communism
The aims of the MG could be inferred indirectly from its critique of the states promoting "real socialismReal socialism
The Real socialism is a political term, popularized during the Brezhnev era in the Soviet Union, in relation to the rapidly changing socioeconomic reality of the Eastern Bloc countries, faced with the sharply declining increments of growth and the need for economic reform...
." The MG accused these states of not having consistently overcome commodity production and money in favor of a planned production of use-values, but instead invented the nonsense of planning with the help of commodity-money "levers" (a term popular in Soviet economics textbooks); the contradiction between planning and the acceptance of commodity-money relations was the cause of the inconsistencies and malfunctions in the economies of state socialism
State socialism
State socialism is an economic system with limited socialist characteristics, such as public ownership of major industries, remedial measures to benefit the working class, and a gradual process of developing socialism through government policy...
. It can be concluded that the MG assumed that after a revolution based on a correct understanding of Marxist theory and the abolishment of money, supplying the population with use-values could be managed simply through a division of labor.
Agitational practice
Although the MG distributed newspapers and pamphlets at factory gates on a large scale, out of tactical considerations their emphasis was first of all on the universities. New members were recruited through teach-inTeach-in
A teach-in is similar to a general educational forum on any complicated issue, usually an issue involving current political affairs. The main difference between a teach-in and a seminar is the refusal to limit the discussion to a specific frame of time or an academic scope of the topic. Teach-ins...
s and meetings of sympathizers.
With its positions, the MG fundamentally dissociated itself from all efforts to improve living conditions "within the system": it rejected the view that "fighting for concrete interests of the working population" would give rise to a consciousness of the necessity for overcoming capitalism. Rather, the MG criticized in its publications the false consciousness of the workers regarding state and wage labor, since only on the basis of this consciousness was a sustained participation of the exploited to be had.
Unlike other communist groups, it did not call for more discussions on workers’ issues, etc. — it did not demand that science be "applied" to "proletarian" issues, and it was not interested in propagating an alternative "Marxist world view" based on a "class standpoint."
The critique of bourgeois science was of central significance for the MG. In written and oral contributions it set out to demonstrate that bourgeois science — from moral philosophy through interpretation of literature to sociological methodologies — did not develop a scientific concept of reality, but served to legitimate bourgeois society and participation therein.
Sympathizers completed extensive training courses centered around the examination of Marx’ Capital. This was intended to lead new adherents to understand the bourgeois world, and thus to develop a scientifically founded position toward it. Sympathizers eventually acquired the status of "candidate," becoming full members after a few more years of training. The MG thereby adopted the leninist concept of the cadre organization made up of trained career revolutionaries.
Since the dissolution, the Marxist theory of the MG is being published in the journal GegenStandpunkt, which appeared for the first time in 1992. Notes are often attached to the issues indicating dates of public discussion meetings.
External links
- GegenStandpunkt: quarterly journal of Marxist political economy.
- Ruthless Criticism: Marxist critique of political economy and bourgeois rule (mainly consists of translations from GegenStandpunkt and MSZ)