The role of the state

Randy Stone stonerandy at hotmail.com
Fri Oct 16 13:29:33 PDT 1998


Has anyone studied the conflict between Marx and Bakunin around the IWMA? I understand that Marx moved the headquarters to New York City to get around the anarchists in the IWMA. In other words, rather than let Bakuninists take over the IWMA, he shut down the show.

Also the Poverty of Philosophy is in part against the petty-bourgeois anarchism in Proudon's political philosophy (It also speaks to the recent "Hours" local money fantasies).

Large sections of the Holy Family and German Ideology are polemics against rising anarchist movements of that time, especially Max Stirner, who I believe is considered by some a founder of anarchism. The Feurbach sections of the German Ideology present Marx's early views of the state, later substantiated by Engel's Origin the of the Family, Private Property and the State.

Aren't anarchists just unwashed libertarians. That is, anarchists and libertarians have the same view of the state, they just wear different uniforms in other areas, like personal wealth accumulation.

Marx and Engels also wanted to get rid of the state but by other means than just "smashing" it. The economic foundations of the state would be removed by revolutionary action.

Randy Stone

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