The Marxist worldview (and its current iterations Neo- or Cultural Marxism, Critical Theory, Critical Race Theory and the Social Justice Movement) have their foundation in the 19th Century writings of Karl Marx (1818-1883), including the popular The Communist Manifesto (1848). Common elements of Marxism include: deep hostility toward free market capitalism and existing social relationships; promotion of socialism and socialist or statist policies; prioritizing the outcome or equality over liberty; viewing people as members of a class, rather than as individuals; and antipathy toward traditional social institutions such as marriage, family, property, law, and religion. Marx viewed history as the struggle between classes, in his day the working class (proletariat) and capitalists (the bourgeoisie)–which will inevitably end in the realization of Marx’s utopian vision of a classless society.
Although Marxism originated more than 170 years ago as a radical political and social movement, its ideas remain incredibly influential in various forms in society and culture today. Marxism gave rise in the 1980s in higher education to a number of Critical Theory studies, focusing on the social influence of gender, race, and identity. Like Marxism, they pit existing minority groups or “tribes” (based on gender, race and identity) against perceived oppressive social groups (primarily men, whites, and heterosexuals) dedicated to maintaining status quo status of their social power. Today these once-radical academic theories have spilled beyond the University walls, permeating contemporary culture.
Its most recent offshoot, Critical Race Theory applies the fundamental ideas of Marxism within the context of race (rather than economics). This view is expressed in the Social Justice Movement, with its radical ideas animating the ideological leaders of Black Lives Matter, Antifa and other contemporary social protest movements.
Marxism and its contemporary forms, Neo-Marxism, Critical Theory and Critical Race Theory (CRT) differ from Biblical Theism in profound ways, here are some of the key elements of Marxist beliefs and practices:
GOD: Those with a Biblical Worldview believe in the personal, triune, sovereign God of the Bible who created the universe. By contrast, like Marx, Neo-Marxists or adherents of Critical Theory believe that only material things exist; there are no supernatural or spiritual things. According to Neo-Marxism, there is no god who created the universe. In fact, Marx refers to religion as “the opiate of the masses” and views religion as a source of oppression and false comfort that controls the working class. Contemporary adherents of this worldview are atheistic in their views of reality, seeking to remove the Christian faith from the public square.
HUMAN NATURE: Rather than believe that human beings are made by God in His image (imago Dei), Neo-Marxists and CRT adherents instead believe human beings are shaped by society by social constructions and power relationships. Like Marxism, they reject the fundamental doctrine of Biblical Theism of original sin, i.e. the idea that human beings are born with a sinful nature and a natural propensity to sin because of the Fall. Marxists believe that people are born morally good and cooperative by nature, but are corrupted by capitalism, especially its emphasis on competition over cooperation. Thus, Marxists believe that if you remove capitalism and its oppressive structures, humans will return to their naturally good, cooperative state. The main goals of Marxism are class equality (even at the expense of individual liberty) and moving beyond capitalism so that society can become Marx’s envisioned Workers’ Paradise, a classless society of full equality in which the state as we know it “withers away.” Similarly, with Critical Theory, social problems are a function of powerful social institutions that distort human nature on the basis of gender, race, or identity.
HISTORY: Neo-Marxism and Biblical Theism have diametrically different views of human history. In Biblical Theism, human history is a linear, meaningful sequence of events leading to the fulfillment of God’s purposes for humanity. By contrast, Marx views human history to be one of class struggles, inevitably moving toward its final stage of the utopian Workers’ Paradise. The struggle identified by Marx was between what he termed the bourgeoisie (capitalists) and the proletariat (workers), which would inevitably bring about the revolt of the workers and the destruction of capitalism. This view continues to animate Neo-Marxist worldviews today. Its contemporary versions are similarly utopian in their thinking, believing that law and social policy can eradicate all racial or economic inequality and all instances of injustice and oppression of identified minority groups.
ETHICS AND MORALITY: Unlike Biblical Theists, who base moral and ethical decisions on objective standards rooted in Scripture, Marxists and Neo-Marxists reject absolute rules. Instead, they adopt a pragmatic and even amoral rule, that whatever advances the interests of the oppressed against their “oppressors” (whether that be the working class, or members of identified oppressed groups) is justified (or morally good), and whatever hinders its advance is morally bad.
PRACTICES AND POLICIES: Marx argued that social institutions such as family, marriage, property, and religion (all of which are valued as part of God’s ordering of the world by those who are Biblical Theists) must be eradicated because they are used by the ruling class to oppress the working class. Similarly, Neo-Marxists and Critical Theorists advocate for the elimination or “deconstruction” of any social institution perceived to be “oppressive” to identified minorities. Sometimes these efforts are violent in nature, such as the Antifa-led riots protesting racial inequities in law enforcement in a number of major U.S. cities.
CRITICAL THEORY: Critical Theory arose out of Neo-Marxism and is the worldview that believes that ascribed status defines identity. Ascribed status reflects the characteristics that an individual is born with such as race, gender, and sexual orientation. These characteristics cannot be changed, and some of these characteristics lend themselves to natural privilege. For example, “white privilege” is the belief that being white affords benefits to whites over people of color. These beliefs often create division between different groups of people. Not only do they have an advantage in life, but they are also seen as the reason for oppression of other groups of people. If an individual is part of one of these privileged identities, then they have a duty to make reparations for the oppression that their group caused in the past, even if they themselves are not directly responsible. The ultimate goal for Neo-Marxists is equality of outcome in all ways. Those who are not privileged have achieved what they have despite the privileged holding them back. Animosity exists between those who are perceived as privileged and those who are perceived as not privileged.
CRITICAL RACE THEORY (CRT) has adapted Marx’s ideas to the context of racial inequality, substituting “people of color” for the working class and that those in the social group “White” are likened to Marx’s bourgeoisie or oppressor class. A number of new social terms have developed alongside the rise of Critical Race Theory, the most prevalent being that of “white privilege” or the idea that in some societies skin color benefits white people over non-white people. Such “white privilege” creates a social structure that provides “unjust enrichment” to those who are white and unjustly disadvantages people of color. Those suffering from “white privilege” are encouraged and often required to complete diversity and racial sensitivity training to recognize the privilege inherent in their skin color. Those who recognize this unjust racial system are often viewed to be “woke.”
TWO VIEWS OF JUSTICE: The Social Justice Movement is also an offshoot of early Marxism. It is motivated by what it sees as injustices associated with social conditions, such as poverty and racial inequalities. But Social Justice based on shifting contemporary standards differs significantly from biblical justice, rooted in unchanging, transcendent principles (acknowledgement of a transcendent lawgiver, respect for the rule of law, recognition of human dignity, and due process). Social Justice instead seeks to punish perceived “oppressors” for injustices that result in unequal economic, political, and social results among minority groups within society. Social Justice is a standard driven by the ideology of Neo-Marxism. “White privilege” is the “original sin” that must atoned for. This is not to say that everyone who advocates Social Justice knowingly harbors Neo-Marxist views, but the content of this worldview clearly parallels the thinking of Marx.