Karl Marx's Materialistic Interpretation of Ethics A Critical Analytical Study

Abstract

In Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, there was an intellectual renaissance, led by a group of philosophers, scientists, and literary figures. Its influence continued into the nineteenth century, and Marxism emerged as a prominent modern materialistic ideology. Marx's views on ethics, both in general and as its leader, require examination, particularly his materialistic, dialectical, and historical interpretation. He subjected ethics to the economic materialist factor, which he considered the basis of all existence. The research adopted an integrated methodological approach, incorporating historical, analytical, critical, and comparative analysis, by studying the founder of the ideology, Karl Marx, his partner, and the time period in which they lived, as well as their influences on its events. The study also analyzed the ideology's foundations, namely dialectical materialism and historical materialism, including their concepts, laws, and principles. These concepts and principles form the basis of Marx's general ideology, particularly in the field of ethics, where he interpreted them materialistically, concluding that values are relative and there are no absolute values. The comparative and critical aspect was through comparing the Marxist interpretation of ethics with the Islamic interpretation. The research concluded several results, including that Marx's interpretation of ethics was purely materialistic, ending with the absence of absolute moral values; due to their formation based on the development and change of the economic factor with its productive means and relations. On the other hand, the critical position was presented from an Islamic perspective of ethics, which rejected the relativity of ethics and their constant change without a regulator for their movement, and the necessity of having a constant standard for ethics that unites all concepts, values, and ethics. Islamic ethics have their source in Allah, while desire and moral control have their source elsewhere. The research recommends the necessity of adhering to ethics from an Islamic perspective and not being deceived by Marxist ideas related to ethics, given their explicit contradiction with Islam.