Marx and Mill

It has long been argued which social structure and government is right for a

society. The philosopher Karl Marx argues that Communism is the best choice for

government for a society while philosopher John Stuart Mill argues that the best choice

for government is democracy. They both make strong arguments for their choices of

government, but they both share a common theme and that is that their form of

government is designed to help the people of the society. Marx views Communism

as a form of equality for all the people of a society, everyone makes sacrifices in order to

achieve the greater good. Mill views Democracy as a form of government in which the

people run the society and their needs are met because they are the ones making the

decisions. The two philosophers differ on the issue of which government is better for a

society because they are at opposite ends of where the power lies in the government. In

Marx's Communism he shows that the decision making power lies with the government

not with the people, as is the case in Mill's democracy.

Communism as Marx describes it, is based on equality, that all people in a

society are equal in wealth, healthcare, education, etc. and most of all quality of life. That

everyone has the same living standard, there is no rich, there is no poor, and everyone is

simply equal. These are the basic principles that Communism is based on. In Marx's

dialogue about Communism he talks about social classes and how they ultimately will lead to social conflict. What he was saying was that if there is a rich and a poor the poor will ultimately be jealous of the rich, and lash out against them because of it. However if there were no classes as Marx suggests then there would never be a conflict because no one would have any reason to be jealous of anyone else. For this to succeed it would require that the government be fair to the people and make sure that everyone is equal in their quality of life. This would require the government to create programs to make sure that no one is taking advantage of the system and to make sure that people stay equal once equality is achieved. Marx laid out the plans of this system and said that if these plans were followed it would create a perfect almost utopian society in which there is no conflict and everyone in the society is happy. This is of course is easier said then done as some societies have attempted to use Communism but have not followed Marx's directions and have not succeeded in creating the perfect society (Example Russia and modern day China). On the issue of government and what would be best for a society, Marx believes Communism is the answer. This society would be one without social conflict and jealously between classes, because equality is the number one principle in Communism. The rich and poor would be put together in what some would like to call the middle class and would live in harmony, if it truly worked and it was done correctly.

Democracy as it is described by Mill, is that the power of the government lies

with the people. The people make the decisions in the society and thus through design the

people's needs should be meet. The basis of democracy is based on the individual, instead of the group. Mill says in his dialogue about Democracy that control and compulsion lies with the people and that the government is an instrument of the society, it does what the society wants and needs.(What the people want) In a democracy, individuality is placed on a very high pedestal, according to Mill, individuality is what matters most in a Democracy. An individual's opinions are what are important to the whole, so if an individual has a problem the government can take care of it. This form of a social structure usually promotes a capitalistic economy. In order for this government and economy to work there must be a rich and a poor. However there is no class conflict because many of the poor believe they can be rich someday so they are not jealous of what the rich individuals have. On issue of what government is best for a society, Mill believes that Democracy is the key to having an individualistic society that is productive and efficient. This would be a society in which the people do what they want and make the decisions, not the government, and the basis for this is that the society is full of people who are individualistic and have their own free thought.

Marx and Mill differ significantly of which form of government they feel is

best suited for running the government productively and efficiently. Marx feels

Communism is best suited for running the government with equality ,while Mill feels

Democracy is best suited to run the government with it's basis on individuality. However

they both put emphasis on what is best for the people as a whole. That is where the

similarities end between the two on the issue of government.

The differences between the two systems are very obvious and glaring.

Communism places the power with the leaders of the government, while Democracy

places the power with the people. Both systems claim to work efficiently when instituted

correctly, in the Communist system the government decides for the people what is best for the society. The needs of the society are put before the needs of the people. In a

democracy the needs of the individual are put before the needs of the society as a whole

and the people decide what to do through the government. In a communist system there is