Marxist philosophy

Marxist philosophy or Marxist theory comprises works in philosophy strongly influenced by Karl Marx's materialist approach to theory, or works written by Marxists. It may be broadly divided into Western Marxism, which drew from various sources, and the official philosophy in the Soviet Union, which enforced a rigid reading of dialectical materialism, particularly during the 1930s. Marxist philosophy is not a strictly defined sub-field of philosophy, because the diverse influence of Marxist theory has extended into fields as varied as aesthetics, ethics, ontology, epistemology, social philosophy, political philosophy, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of history. Key characteristics of Marxism in philosophy are its materialism and its commitment to political practice as the goal of all thought.

The theory is also concerned with the struggles of the proletariat and their critique of the bourgeoisie.

Marxist theorist Louis Althusser, for example, defined the philosophy as "class struggle in theory", thus radically separating himself from those who claimed philosophers could adopt a "God's eye view" as a purely neutral judge.

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