One, this work was written from the end of 1843 to January 1844 and published in the “Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher” in February 1844. This marks the turning point where Marx’s thought shifted from Hegel’s idealist philosophy to communism. He criticized previous ideas, drew nourishment from them, and proposed correct revolutionary ideas. “In the articles Marx published in this magazine, he appeared as a revolutionary advocating ‘ruthless criticism of everything existing,’ especially ‘the critique of weapons’; he appealed to the masses, to the proletariat.”
Two, “The critique of religion is the prerequisite for all other critiques.” Marx first critiqued religion. Since philosophy is the science of understanding the whole world, the critique of the idealist philosophy reflected in religion is also the foundation of all critique. “The basis of the anti-religious critique: man created religion, and not religion created man.” This powerfully reveals the materiality of the entire world and destroys the dwelling place of gods. Religion, as an superstructure, is created by humans and develops with human society. For example, in primitive society with backward productive forces, there was a religion of natural worship. When entering capitalist society, this religion disappeared, replaced by religions that promise divine aid and comfort, supported by the bourgeoisie. Today, Confucianism is a more covert and reactionary religion because it does not appear in traditional religious forms but has already occupied a dominant ideological position. For example, “filial piety is the foremost of all virtues,” meaning children should respect their parents first, which is already a common norm in modern “feudal families.”
“In reality, there are no fantasies or supermen, only reflections of oneself” “Turning human essence into a fantastical reality because human essence has no real reality” (I didn’t quite understand this part. I personally interpret it as understanding reality reflected in the human brain, and that things outside the laws of reality cannot be found). Marx, through criticizing religion, eliminated the last refuge of idealism and metaphysics, and proposed the foundation of Marxism: dialectical materialist philosophy.
“The struggle against religion is also indirectly a struggle against the world that offers spiritual comfort through religion,” which is a critique of the entire worldview of religion. “Religion is the opium of the people… demanding the abandonment of illusions about their own situation, that is, abandoning the situation that requires illusions.” Marx not only recognized the need to critique the idealist worldview of religion but also saw the social and economic basis of religion. The critique of religion is also a critique of suffering; religion conforms to people’s need for spiritual comfort amid oppression in this world. Therefore, a thorough opposition to religion must also oppose its basis, even if people are oppressed and enslaved. He strips away the illusory flowers decorating chains, making people aware of the chains’ existence. Then, people can abandon the illusions detached from reality and truly fight for themselves. This also reflects the material-to-spirit and spirit-to-material transformation. Certain social ideas reflect certain social bases, and as part of the worldview, these ideas influence people’s actions to transform the world. Just as today, the characteristic use of Confucianism to numb the people, claiming that Confucius’s defense of slave-owning aristocrats is part of China’s excellent traditional culture, rationalizes their reactionary oppression, and claims it has “been around since ancient times,” attempting to suppress people’s resistance spiritually. Only by exposing the essence of Confucianism and eliminating the social imperialist basis that allows religion to exist can these religions be truly eradicated.
Three, Marx broke the idealist worldview of religion, established materialism, and proposed the need for struggle, then critiqued law and politics.
He first explored specific phenomena in Germany, opening fire on German institutions. He pointed out that his critique is a weapon aimed at destroying the existing system, the enemy. He also directly exposed the moral corruption of German society. The vulgar, crude, narrow, and selfish overall social situation, and explained that the modern German system is useless and hypocritical. Based on this, he further developed his understanding of social institutions. He also critiqued the “History of Law School,” the reactionary faction of German bourgeois democratic thought, giving proper historical status to the French bourgeois revolution.
“German philosophy of law and state philosophy are the only ones at the orthodox contemporary level of German history.” This affirms German classical philosophy (such as Hegel), which was indeed the most advanced thought at the time. Critically inheriting from it could gain many useful nutrients. Marx not only critiqued the modern state and related facts but also completely negated previous ideologies, critiqued speculative idealism and metaphysics, freeing people from illusions and confusion. “To elevate Germany to the current level of modern countries and to the height of humanity that these countries are about to reach”—Marx then pointed out the demands of revolution.
At the same time, he clarified the errors of both the practical and theoretical camps. The practical camp only proposed negation of philosophy, while the theoretical camp made the opposite mistake, believing that struggle was merely a critique of philosophy and the entire German world.
Four, the true revolutionary task.
“The critique weapon cannot replace weapons; material forces can only be destroyed by material forces; but once theory is mastered by the masses, it can also become a material force. As long as theory persuades people, it can control the masses; and as long as theory is thorough, it can persuade people. The thoroughness means grasping the root of things, but the root of man is man himself.” Marx further emphasized the need to struggle on the material level. To master correct theory, that is, objective correctness, thoroughly critique all old philosophies, and conform to reality—Marxism.
He also contrasted Germany’s past revolution—the theoretical religious reform. Luther defeated the servitude of believing in God because he replaced it with faith-based servitude. Religion is no longer openly religious but becomes an authority of faith. Just like today’s characteristic Confucianism, which is not openly called religion but still plays a role in internal moral education.
“In other words, revolution requires passive factors and a material foundation. The degree of realization of theory in a country determines how well the theory meets the country’s needs.” Revolution cannot be accomplished merely through ideas; it is not the dreams of those idle talkers but concrete action. We must overthrow all relations that make people insulted, enslaved, abandoned, and despised—that is the task and necessity of our communist revolution. Marx also explained that only the proletariat has the revolutionary spirit of fearlessness, daring to challenge the enemy boldly.
“In Germany, universal liberation is a necessary condition for any partial liberation.” Marx finally explained the practical possibility of German liberation, which still depends on the class that is thoroughly chained. “Its suffering is not a particular powerlessness but a general powerlessness.” The German proletariat is a mass artificially created. This force is continuously growing. It also proclaims the disintegration of the existing capitalist system. Revealing its own historical mission. Grasping the essence of things thoroughly. Because of the proletariat’s powerless status in Germany, they possess the most thorough revolutionary nature. They no longer indulge in illusions but realistically demand to restore their rightful status. “Philosophy treats the proletariat as its material weapon, and similarly, the proletariat also treats philosophy as its spiritual weapon. Once the lightning of thought truly strikes this untouched land of the people, the Germans will be liberated as humans.”