Why Marx needs the Buddha
De Omnibus Dubitandum
Happy birthday to Karl Marx! Well, no, I am not a Marxist, and I find myself saying I don’t want to get attached to any labels - whether it is politics, spirituality, or religion. But can we not appreciate great thinkers?
Looking around, one might say that Marx and his philosophy failed. But I would caution against such opinions. Why should we all run after the herd? Why can’t we have our own opinion? It is sad how people demonize certain people, cultures, and countries - if they are not aligned with their own ideas or interests.
Marx was way ahead of his time when he said:
“From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”
However, this has not worked out so well so far. Most implementations have failed.
The reason, I feel, is that human nature has not evolved to that level. Man’s tendency is to take as much as possible from common resources, and to contribute as little as possible to the common pool. That is how human beings are coded. We read a thousand books and agree with the wisdom of the great masters, but where does all the wisdom go when an opportunity to self-benefit arises?
Greed corrupts the mind. Corruption is everywhere - in different scales and forms. The inflated “ego” or the “I” is always looking for ways to protect itself. Protect itself how? If only man can accumulate enough, it will feel safe. This is what drives greed, and this is what the basic human nature is. And man, no matter how lofty his thoughts and goals are, gets corrupt at the very first opportunity. Just look around. We see this everywhere.
And often, and most importantly, my observation is: especially those who like to carry the Red flag and talk about Marxism with such beautiful words, they are the ones who are the most corrupt. Marxism is their business, their shop, and has nothing to do with people.
That is why, I think, Marx needs the Buddha.
Only people whose minds are free from greed, anger, and delusions can do what Marx has said. That human being is yet to come. It’s going to take time. But it will certainly come when people see the futility of this rampant consumerism and fake development.
Today, in the name of development, Earth’s resources and nature are being exploited to extremes. Every time I go to the mountains of Nepal and look at the pristine rivers, my mind is full of awe. Wow, there is no other beauty other than the beauty of raw nature! But at the back of my mind, there is a worry that in my next trip, this place might look different and this beauty will be gone forever. It is painful to think about concrete structures and polluted rivers. Marx was against such exploitation of nature. He talked about nature and man being one:
“Nature is man’s inorganic body – nature, that is, insofar as it is not itself human body. Man lives on nature – means that nature is his body, with which he must remain in continuous interchange if he is not to die. That man’s physical and spiritual life is linked to nature means simply that nature is linked to itself, for man is a part of nature.”
— The Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844
Yes, these rivers, these mountains, the nature and Earth’s resources cannot belong to a few, and cannot be exploited by a few!
When asked, “your favorite maxim?”, Marx replied:
“De Omnibus Dubitandum”.
That is: “Doubt everything.”
The 17th-century philosopher Descartes first came up with this phrase as a method to seek Truth. In order to find Truth, first you need to discard all the beliefs and opinions you have formed about something or someone. Then you can see that thing or idea as it is.
I think that makes sense. Doubt all dogmas, doubt all “ism”, doubt all the propaganda being fed to you!
And once again: “De Omnibus Dubitandum!” and Happy Birthday to this great thinker, who, perhaps, changed this world forever!
Marx birthday: May 5, 1818