A Red Flag Rises: Part II

In the last post we considered Hegelian Dialectic and its influence upon Feuerbach, who in turn influenced the philosophy of Marx. I listed there five elements of Hegelian Dialectic which we will see reappear in Communist thought. Before going further, I would like to pause and consider two more element which came from Feuerbach, not from Hegel, and which were, in fact, part of his criticisms of his famous teacher.

Feuerbach certainly accepted much that was central to Hegelian dialectic-- indeed Hegel was his inspiration, but he came to radically differ from him on several key points. Some say that he differed from him in his atheism, but this is a matter of appearance. Hegel strove throughout his life to remain employable, so he kept his atheism closely guarded, wording his books and papers in such a way that he could readily be imagined to believe in some form of god. Certainly Feuerbach, an outspoken atheist, was at odds with the seeming Deism of Hegel. All this was appearance, however, as most evidence indicates almost incontrovertibly that Hegel was a complete atheist. Nonetheless, Feuerbach did make clear that he considered the idea of god something which must be eradicated in order to free mankind from its slavery to a chimera, and this "evangelical atheism" was essential to his philosophy and worldview. In this he does seem to have differed with his master.

It should also be noted that Feuerbach, in critiquing Hegel's Idealism, agreed with Strauss that the "Idea" could not be confined to an individual, such as Christ, as Hegel had proposed in his thought that Christianity was the ultimate religion. Thus Feuerbach's break with Hegel sets the stage for a collectivist humanism, in which the idea of god/perfection is to be found in collective humanity, and turns away from the individualism inherent in Hegel's idealism.

A second aspect of Feuerbach's critique of Idealism is the fact that Feuerbach's philosophy is materialistic. He no longer viewed the universe as something involving spirit or idea, but rather as something purely material. Thus we are able to expand upon the five points listed in the first post, and list what I consider to be the seven seeds from which the evil of Marxist Socialism arose. They are:

1. Atheism
2. Relativism
3. Blind belief in social evolution
4. An intrinsic tendency towards revolution
5. Collectivism
6. Materialism
7. The justification of any means in light of the end.

Next we have to consider the effect these philosophies had on Karl Marx, and whether or not he espoused them. Then each of these seven points will be examined in future posts. Until then, it is enough to note that these ideas underlie all of Communism, and that Communism cannot be explained or understood as merely an economic theory or ideal. It is far more, far deeper, and far worse than that.

Until next time.