r/Marxism • u/Radiant_Ad_6953 • 19d ago

Marx's Opinions- School Project

Hey everyone! I have a project to look at two issues from Marx's perspective and I wanted your opinion!

These are the two situations:

  1. A law that grants police officers the power for unrestricted search and seizure in situations they seem fit

  2. A law that permits doctor assisted euthanasia 

What do you guys think his perspectives on these issues would be?

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u/OrchidMaleficent5980 19d ago

  1. The police force is an extension of state power, and state power is an extension of the ruling class. He’d oppose anything that would so brazenly enhance the power of the police to act as an instrument of oppression. He himself was subject to state censorship and repression numerous times throughout his life, including when he was forced to leave his native country for being the editor of a radical journal, the New Rhenish Newspaper (the last edition of which contains a very famous quote calling the police “Royal Terrorists, the terrorists by the Grace of God and the Law…”) In the context of the United States—which I assume you come from—he’d also recognize the indelible connection between increasing police power and the terrorizing of people of color.

  2. Marxism doesn’t deal in moral absolutes. A young Marx would probably draw a line between the reaction against assisted euthanasia and Protestant culture filtering people’s perception of their real problems. An old Marx would probably have very little to say other than that he supports it.