On the Possibility of Marxist Ethics

Abstract

Marx avoided elaborating an ethical theory and criticized utopian socialism. Although Marx's attitude towards these two issues is discussed separately in the literature, we will argue that they stem from the same ground in Marx. It is Marx's devotion to scientific socialism that grounds his criticisms. We will first discuss the opposition between utopian and scientific socialism as Marx understood it. After elaborating some Marxist approaches in this debate, we will argue that any attempt at reconciling Marxism with ethics must be utopian in nature. Finally, we will give some Nietzschean arguments for explaining why a conception of utopia is indispensable for developing a Marxist theory of ethics.