Research On Equality Concept In Marx’s Criticism Of Gotha Program

The idea of equality is an important content in Marxist political ethics.Criticism of Gotha Program is a classic work written by Marx in his later years to argue with Lassalism.The generation and development of equality thought in Criticism of Gotha Program was is tortuous.It took 15 years of silence before it was published.On the one hand,Marx profoundly criticized the unequal capitalist system.On the other hand,Marx expounded the ethical expectation of future social equality.In Criticism of Gotha Program,Marx profoundly criticized Lassalle’s concept of equality and discussed his equality thought in detail.The equality thought of Marx has deep roots and is the product of a specific historical period and a specific historical background.In particular,Rousseau and the three utopian socialists had an important influence on the formation of Marx’s equality thought.Marx criticized Lassalle’s "equal rights","equal national education" and "iron wage law".Marx believed that "distribution according to work" is not a complete equal right.Only "distribution according to need" is the real realization of equal rights.Marx advocated the combination of education and productive labor,which is a necessary condition for respecting the harmonious development of individuals.Marx believed that labor is the inherent demand of human beings,and people also show their sociality in labor.Only by eliminating alienated labor can we establish equal labor relations among people and realize the ideal state of people’s free and conscious activities.Furthermore,Marx explained the ethical appeal to the communist system,endowed the communist system with equal ethical principles,and realized everyone’s real equality,freedom and all-round development.Productivity and production relations are two aspects of the mode of production,which are mutually restricted and interacted,therefore,the level of productivity determines the degree of social equality,the nature of relations of production indicates the state of social equality.The development of an equal society has a transitional period,which is an inevitable pattern of social development.Marx put forward the two-stage theory of the future development of communism,namely,the socialist period and the communist period.The realization of an equal society is to eliminate private ownership and class,and establish a consortium of free people to realize the liberation of all mankind.The equality thought in Criticism of Gotha Program has important theoretical position and enlightenment.Criticism of Gotha Program marks the maturity of Marx’s equality thought and enriches the theoretical connotation of scientific socialism.Today,Marx’s concept of equality provides a strong ideological guarantee for building an equal society in Socialism with Chinese characteristics.It is conducive to establishing equal and mutually beneficial economic relations,establishing a fair and just education system and establishing mutually cooperative labor relations.