Comparative Analysis of Burke, Marx, and Engels on Society, Religion, and History

What major ideological differences exist between Edmund Burke and Karl Marx?

Burke defended tradition and moral order, while Marx focused on material equality and class struggle.

What did Burke criticize about the French Revolution?

He opposed it for destroying tradition and moral order, replacing institutions with abstract 'rights of man.'

In which work did Burke express his views on the French Revolution?

Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790).

What does Burke believe liberty must be grounded in?

History, religion, and custom.

What does Burke warn about 'metaphysical abstractions' of freedom?

He feared they would lead to chaos, violence, and loss of community.

What is Burke's view on the consequences of the French Revolution?

He believed it tore down the organic social fabric and produced a soulless political experiment.

What was Marx and Engels' critique of the Revolutionary Order?

They believed it failed because it stopped at political freedom instead of achieving material equality.

What did Marx argue about the new 'freedom' established after the Revolution?

It was the freedom of property owners to exploit workers.

How did Marx describe modern society's class antagonisms?

He stated that it has not eliminated class antagonisms but established new ones.

What is Marx's view on the 'rights of man' following the Revolution?

He viewed them as hollow because they ignored economic inequality.

What is Burke's perspective on the role of religion in society?

He sees it as the moral cement of society, providing shared values and a sense of divine order.

How does Marx view religion?

He considers it the 'sigh of the oppressed creature' and a symptom of a distorted world.

What shared insight do Burke and Marx have regarding religion?

Both recognize that religion reflects society's condition, with Burke seeing it as a unifying force and Marx as an expression of alienation.

What do Burke and Marx reject regarding the foundation of a just order?

They reject the idea that reason or rights alone can sustain a just order.

What does Burke believe happens when liberty is detached from moral tradition?

It leads to chaos.

What does Marx argue happens when liberty is detached from material justice?

It results in hypocrisy.

What is Kant's political theory grounded in?

Reason, autonomy, and the moral equality of all persons.

How does Kant's political theory support the Declaration of the Rights of Man?

It emphasizes freedom and rational consent of individuals, aligning with core articles of the Declaration.

What concept from Rousseau influences Kant's political theory?

The idea of the general will, which asserts that legitimate political authority must rest on self-legislation.

What is the 'categorical imperative' in Kant's philosophy?

One must act only on maxims that can be willed as universal law.

What is the civil condition (Rechtsstaat) according to Kant?

It guarantees equal freedom through public law and a constitution grounded in reason.

What distinguishes private freedom from public freedom in Kant's theory?

Private freedom is individual choice under law, while public freedom is participation in legislation through reason.

When is coercion by the state considered legitimate in Kant's view?

When it enforces laws that preserve equal external freedom for all.

What does Article 1 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man state?

Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.

Which philosopher's principle supports the idea of innate freedom and equality?

Immanuel Kant

What is the aim of all political association according to Article 2?

The preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man—liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.

How does Kant view the purpose of the civil state?

To secure each person's external freedom under universal law.

What does Article 6 of the Declaration state about law?

Law is the expression of the general will, and all citizens have the right to participate personally or through their representatives.

What is Kant's concept of the 'omnilateral will'?

Just legislation must stem from the united, rational will of the people.

According to Article 7, when can a man be accused or detained?

Only in the cases determined by law.

What principle does Article 10 uphold?

No one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions, even religious ones.

What does Kant defend in relation to Article 10?

Freedom of conscience and reason's supremacy.

What is the core idea of Marx's materialist conception of history?

The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.

What does Marx argue is the foundation of all social, political, and intellectual life?

Economic production.

How does Marx's view contrast with earlier idealistic views?

He argues that material life determines consciousness, not the other way around.

What does Engels explain about the mode of production?

Each epoch's mode of production gives rise to a corresponding class structure.

What are the two main classes under capitalism according to Marx?

Bourgeoisie and proletariat.

What is the 'motor of history' according to Marx?

Class conflict.

What does Marx's theory of surplus value reveal?

How capitalism exploits labor through the extraction of surplus value.

What is the labor theory of value?

The value of any commodity depends on the socially necessary labor time required to produce it.

What is surplus value?

The extra or unpaid labor produced by workers that is appropriated by capitalists as profit.

How does exploitation occur in capitalism?

Capitalists pay workers wages equal to their subsistence but extract more value from their labor.

What is the relationship between the materialist conception of history and the theory of surplus value?

The former explains societal structure and development, while the latter explains the economic engine driving capitalism.

What do Marx and Engels argue about the nature of exploitation?

It is systemic and rooted in the structure of capitalism, not based on individual greed.

What is the ultimate outcome of capitalism according to Marx?

Its contradictions will lead to its collapse, with the proletariat becoming the 'gravedigger' of the bourgeoisie.

What does Marx envision as the purpose of socialism?

To organize production for human need, not profit.

What does Kant's political philosophy emphasize?

Autonomy, equality, and the universality of moral law.

How does Kant transform the political ideals of 1789?

Into a coherent moral philosophy of human dignity and lawful liberty.

What is the significance of public use of reason in Kant's philosophy?

It embodies the view that enlightenment and moral progress require public reasoning.

What does Engels credit Marx with discovering?

The materialistic conception of history and the theory of surplus value.