"the Relevance Of Marxism Died With The Cold War." Do You Agree?

Marxism, since its inception, has been a significant political force as well as a great school of thought in academia; one of the major debates within the field of International Relations (IR) in the 20th century was one between Realism, Liberalism and Marxism as schools of IR thought. However, with the end of the Cold War and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union and the international socialist states system, the relevance of Marxism has been put under question. Some have argued that Marxism, supposedly advocated and practiced by the vanquished regimes, has lost relevance because of these regimes' abject failures and the crimes they committed. From a Marxist perspective, this article refutes the argument by showing that "state Marxism" - or Marxist-Leninist ideology - which was advocated and put into practice by the former Soviet Union and former socialist regimes cannot be seen, to a significant extent, as a representative of the teachings of Karl Marx. Furthermore, more importantly, this article shows that in academia, and especially IR theory in this article, Marxism retains its importance as a comprehensive analysis and critique of the current capitalist system, of which many points remain relevant today.

It is not difficult to point out several differences between Marx's thoughts and the "state Marxism" that was characteristic of the former Eastern bloc. Firstly, contrary to Marx's view on his own thoughts as changeable through time, and while Marx himself did not give clear predictions of the eventual triumph of communism, or instructions to bring about such an outcome, "state Marxism" in the 20th century effectively transformed Marxist thought "into rigid doctrine of economic determinism sanctified as objective 'science'" and became increasingly dogmatic. Secondly, contrary to Marx's prediction of a gradual dissolution of the state , in former socialist regimes the state became all-encompassing, increasingly centralised and assumed an authoritarian character. Thirdly, Karl Marx expressed opposition to state control and censorship of information: "A censored press only serves to demoralise. The greatest of vices, hypocrisy, is inseparable from it." ; however, the Eastern bloc regimes were characterised by the reverse. There are several other differences, such as the conditions of which those regimes emerged (not in developed, industrialised countries as Marx envisaged) and the prevalence of cults of personality (which both Marx and Engels were personally against ). Such examples show that the failure of "state Marxism" in the 20th century, and as such the end of the Cold War, could affect little the relevance of Marxism as a school of thought.

To examine the relevance of Marxism as an IR theory, it is crucial to understand the concept of class struggle, itself one of the most important concepts of Marxist thought. Under Marx's analysis, "the history of all hitherto society is the history of class struggles." . In this statement, "class struggle" should not be interpreted as overt political action, which makes nonsense not merely of the Communist Manifesto but of the greater part of Marx's work . "Class struggle" here refers to the social relations between the two classes of bourgeoisie (owners of capital and property) and proletariat (providers of labour), as follows:

".the specific economic form in which unpaid surplus labour is pumped out of the direct producers determines the relationship of domination and servitude . it is in each case the direct relationship of the owners of the conditions of production to the immediate producers in which we find. the hidden basis of the entire social edifice and hence also the political form of the relationship of sovereignty and dependence, in short, the specific form of state in each case."

Class relations, therefore, are not merely economic, but are also political in nature. The bourgeoisie seek profit by using the labour of the proletariat, who has nothing else to offer to get by daily; because the only source of profit for the owners is surplus labour, which means the labour of the proletariat is deliberately under-valued, a conflict between the two classes is inevitable. This conflict is reflected politically, with the bourgeoisie, being the owners of the means of production, resort to the powers of the state to maintain their private property, their control over the means of production and maintain the expropriation of surplus labour from the proletariat . Thus, class relations define the nature of the capitalist system. Coupled with this is the Marxist observation that the bourgeoisie, due to their pursuit of profit, expand trade and markets, which leads to ".universal commerce, a universal dependence of nations on one another" , and the adoption of class relations as the trait of the dominant capitalist system by nations . Hence, following from the arguments, class relations can be argued as the underlying basis of the international system, itself capitalistic in character.

This analysis of the international system inevitably receives opposition from the two dominant schools of IR theory. Neorealists emphasised the role of the state as stand-alone entities and refuse the notion that the state is merely a political manifestation of socio-economic relations. Neoliberalists, on the other hand, dismiss the existence of class conflicts and point to the "universal ideals" of liberal democracy and market economies, which are continually spreading over the world, as evidence of consensus between self-interested individuals. To prove the relevance of Marxism in IR theory today, an analysis of contemporary IR phenomena using class relations is needed.

Firstly, Marxist analysis can explain the competition, as well as co-operation, between states. Realist theory argues that states are self-serving entities embroiled in conflict with other states in order to survive, uphold and expand power. Marxists, however, would see the state as the rule of the bourgeoisie, whose interests are coincident with those of their class. As the main interest of a nation's bourgeoisie is the maximisation of profits, it explains the trade-expanding, prosperity-seeking attitude of most states and their acquisitive behaviour regarding natural resources. Historically, nations and empires have fought each other to acquire resources and expand their markets. Almost all current hot-spots in the world, like the South China Sea area, the North Pole and the Dokdo/Takeshima islands are areas of rich important natural resources such as oil, gas and precious metals; and trade wars between China and America or between Japan and the EU are also examples of economic competition.

Secondly, Marxist analysis can be used to explain the current uneven development state between the developed "North" and the developing "South", and the dependence of many developing countries on developed ones. Marxist theory indicates that the relations between states involve exploitation, as developing countries with immature markets and relatively poorer production forces cannot outdo developed ones, and gradually will be exploited off their raw materials or cheap manpower sources. Marx also suggested that developed, industrialised countries will attempt to perpetuate this dependency situation to their advantages . This is evident in today's world, with the economies of Western Europe and North America combined consist of nearly 60% of the world's GDP , and rounds of negotiations intended to benefit the economies of developing countries, like the Doha round, continue to be delayed, partly by the reluctance of developed countries.

Thirdly, Marxist analysis provides an explanation of the sources of economic crises, particularly the most recent one that broke out in 2007. Marx argued that, whilst the bourgeoisie unceasingly tried to make profit from surplus labour (and the proletariat constantly resisting the exploitation of labour), it is moreover engaged in competition with other bourgeoisie and ultimately bound by the law of value. The private property system, where the class conflict rests, periodically produces economic crises that are termed "epidemics of overproduction" , of which too much good is produced in a society where "bourgeois social relations have become too narrow to encompass the wealth they produce" . The reaction to such crisis, Marx argued, will pave way for more extensive and destructive ones: though in one hand destruction of a mass of productive forces is enforced, on the other hand the bourgeoisie will continue the conquest of new markets and exploit more thoroughly the old ones .

In conclusion, firstly, it can be seen as the relevance of Marxism as an IR theory has a limited relation to the end of the Cold War and the subsequent discredit of "state Marxism". The relevance of Marxism as an IR theory rests on that of Marx's analysis of class relations. Other schools of thought in IR theory argue that class conflict is no longer relevant to the modern world; yet it can still be used to provide explanation for important IR phenomena./.