| | The economist and sociologist [[Karl Marx]] said "[Religion] is the opium of the people". Marx also stated: "[[Communism]] begins from the outset (Owen) with atheism; but atheism is at first far from being communism; indeed, that atheism is still mostly an abstraction.<ref>Mulligan, Martin (1959). [http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1844/manuscripts/comm.htm "Private property and communism"] translation of Marx, Karl (1932), ''Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844'' (Moscow: Progress Publishers).</ref> | | The economist and sociologist [[Karl Marx]] said "[Religion] is the opium of the people". Marx also stated: "[[Communism]] begins from the outset (Owen) with atheism; but atheism is at first far from being communism; indeed, that atheism is still mostly an abstraction.<ref>Mulligan, Martin (1959). [http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1844/manuscripts/comm.htm "Private property and communism"] translation of Marx, Karl (1932), ''Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844'' (Moscow: Progress Publishers).</ref> |
| − | Political philosophy, or political theory is often considered a sub-discipline of political science. The political theorist [[Vladimir Lenin]] similarly wrote regarding atheism and communism: "A Marxist must be a [[materialism|materialist]], i.e., an enemy of religion, but a dialectical materialist, i.e., one who treats the struggle against religion not in an abstract way, not on the basis of remote, purely theoretical, never varying preaching, but in a concrete way, on the basis of the [[class struggle]] which is going on in practice and is educating the masses more and better than anything else could."<ref>Rothstein, Andrew and Issacs, Bernard (1973). [http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1909/may/13.htm "The attitude of the worker's party to religion"] translation of Lenin, Vladimir (1909), ''Proletary'', No. 45, May 13 (26), ''Collected Works'', (Moscow: Progress Publishers) vol. 15, pp. 402-13.</ref> | + | Political philosophy, or political theory is considered by some political scientists as a sub-discipline of political science. The political theorist [[Vladimir Lenin]] similarly wrote regarding atheism and communism: "A Marxist must be a [[materialism|materialist]], i.e., an enemy of religion, but a dialectical materialist, i.e., one who treats the struggle against religion not in an abstract way, not on the basis of remote, purely theoretical, never varying preaching, but in a concrete way, on the basis of the [[class struggle]] which is going on in practice and is educating the masses more and better than anything else could."<ref>Rothstein, Andrew and Issacs, Bernard (1973). [http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1909/may/13.htm "The attitude of the worker's party to religion"] translation of Lenin, Vladimir (1909), ''Proletary'', No. 45, May 13 (26), ''Collected Works'', (Moscow: Progress Publishers) vol. 15, pp. 402-13.</ref> |
| | [[Marxism]] is an revolutionary movement developed by the German scholar and activist Karl Marx and his collaborator [[Friedrich Engels]]. Marx's approach is indicated by the opening line of the Communist Manifesto (1848): “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles”. Marx believed that [[capitalism]], like previous socioeconomic systems, would produce internal tensions which would lead to its destruction. | | [[Marxism]] is an revolutionary movement developed by the German scholar and activist Karl Marx and his collaborator [[Friedrich Engels]]. Marx's approach is indicated by the opening line of the Communist Manifesto (1848): “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles”. Marx believed that [[capitalism]], like previous socioeconomic systems, would produce internal tensions which would lead to its destruction. |