Communism is for us not a state of affairs which is to be established, an ideal to which reality [will] have to adjust itself. We call communism the real movement which abolishes the present state of things. The conditions of this movement result from the premises now in existence.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Marx sees communism not as a future ideal but as an ongoing movement that abolishes current conditions, emerging from existing premises.
- In plain terms
- Communism is a real process that removes today’s conditions.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize communism as a current transformative movement.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What present conditions must be changed for communism?
- Is communism inevitable or contingent?
Another view
It downplays the role of conscious planning in shaping outcomes.
More from Karl Marx
Very well then! Emancipation from huckstering and money, consequently from practical, real Judaism, would be the self-emancipation of our time. An organization…
Permalink to quote #22 The first premise of all human history is, of course, the existence of living human individuals. Thus the first fact to be established is the physical organisa…
Permalink to quote #24 What is the secular basis of Judaism? Practical need, self-interest. What is the worldly religion of the Jew? Huckstering. What is his worldly God? Money.
Permalink to quote #21
Related quotes
At the bottom of at least popular Marxism there has always been a kind of disgust with humanity as it is and a perfect faith in humanity as it is to be.
Lionel TrillingLionel Trilling quote #1 Trotskyism is not a new movement, a new doctrine, but the restoration, the revival of genuine Marxism as it was expounded and practiced in the Russian revoluti…
James P. CannonJames P. Cannon quote #1 Mostel: If I appeared there, what if I did an imitation of a butterfly at rest? There is no crime in making anybody laugh. I don't care if you laugh at me. Con…
Zero MostelZero Mostel quote #2