At first glance and upon suspicion,
Marx’s “On the Jewish Question” seems like a typical 19th century
science-justified Darwinistic racism, codified, justified, and celebrated. But it isn’t that! On closer observation, we can see that Marx
isn’t just criticizing “the Jew,” but is also highlighting the fundamental
problems of a Christian-based society.
And he is somewhat criticizing Christians, as well. If my history serves, I believe that Marx was
not particularly fond of either.
Both
Christianity and Judaism stand in the way of the Universal truth, and the
universal happiness. This because they
are something other than the full state and society, both are something other. As he says, “It is the question of the
relation of religion to the state, of the contradiction between religious
constraint and political emancipation.”[1] All religion contradicts itself. “How is religious opposition made impossible?
By abolishing religion.”[2] All religion stands in the way of political
emancipation – only by abolishing religion in total can anyone be truly
emancipated. Otherwise, they can only be
emancipated in their own spheres, the otherness of Judaism or Christianity. [3]
To
what extent was Marx able to conceive of a world free from religion? Here it seems like he had strong beliefs, but
reality and history certainly points to it being a dream. At every point in history, there is a certain
mythology or religion that follows every state, especially the great ones. Perhaps he should have considered the
relationship of the religious mind to the state, and the possible symbiosis, as
did Plato with his Philosopher Kings. I
am not well read in Marx, but I do not recall a proof where the he showed how
religion detracts from humanity’s well being.
[1]
Marx, Karl. On the Jewish Question. From the 1844 version, edited 2009. http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1844/jewish-question/
(accessed on October 9, 2014).
[2]
Ibid
[3]
Ibid
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