5. Freedom: In asserting the social nature of human beings, Marx does not want to do away with human freedom. True human freedom however cannot be associated with egoistic individuals because, in practice, such egoistic freedom only exists for the few, not the man. The freedom to acquire, enjoy, and disposes of private property means nothing to the worker who is struggling barely to survive. The freedom to get an education or to travel means nothing to persons with little or no money. Egoistic freedom is based on “separation of man from man” rather than on “the union of man with man.” Consequently, human begins see others as a limitation on, not a realization of, their own freedom; (See “On the Jewish Question”) and they struggle with one another.
For Marx, true human freedom must be based on the social cooperation that the social nature of human beings makes possible. For example, the freedom to work in a society must be a cooperative enterprise where everyone can work, and not just as freedom to compete with other workers for scarce jobs. The rallying cry, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs!” (Critique of Gotha Programme) becomes an instrument of human freedom, not a denial of it.
Marx says very little about freedom of thought and conscience – partly no doubt because they tend to be associated with egoistic freedom. More importantly however, he does not regard thought and conscience to function independently. Remember that social being (existence), determined ultimately by the modes of production determines consciousness. Thus, if true human freedom is established with respect to the modes of production and social organization, no special attention to freedom of thought and conscience is necessary.
6. Ethics: In a similar way, for Marx, no special attention to ethics is necessary. Ethic is just the ideological form in which persons become conscious of the conflict between the modes of production and a particular set of social relationships. The modes of production, not morality, constitute the fundamental instrument of social change. Accordingly, Marx regards a scientific description of transformations in the material modes of production as a much more valuable guide to the directing of human life than any set of moral exhortations.
