Why was Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Castro so wrong? Can anyone still treat them as serious philosophers?

Answer 1

Yes they all were serious philosophers by that time. Change is the nature, The times changes so the philosophies. Obviously, the old philosophies sometimes do not fit in the newer and changed situations.

Answer 2

Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Castro were not philosophers, though they liked to think of themselves as philosophers (Stalin even had himself given an honorary doctorate in philosophy, and Mao wrote books of 'philosophy' saying why the philosophers were all wrong.)

Marx on the other hand was a serious philosopher, and, together with Engels, did make a contribution to the philosophy of political economy. The part of me that is still sympathetic with them wants to say, "Did anyone ever really try to put their principles into practice? Or have only corrupt and power hungry despots taken advantage of Marxism?" But the truth is that Marx-Engels economic theory was very naive about a lot of things, and progress has been made since then. That still doesn't mean that Capitalism or Fascism are better. Political and Economic justice are hard targets to reach!

Answer 3

Merriam-Webster says that a philosopher is:
"1 a : a person who seeks wisdom or enlightenment : SCHOLAR, THINKER b : a student of philosophy
2 a : a person whose philosophical perspective makes meeting trouble with equanimity easier b : an expounder of a theory in a particular area of experience."
I wouldn't necessarily characterize Castro, Stalin or Lenin as "serious philosophers." They espoused particular philosophies (communism, socialism, etc.) that they twisted into their own "propaganda" but thinkers and/or scholars they weren't. And while Mao and could be seen as having been more "educational" in the way he disseminated his view, he too was a mere propagandists in the end.
Marx was the only one who I'd characterize as a philosopher. His views, such as they were, still have significant influence today. But alas, though once revolutionary for their time those ideas have had to change in order to keep up with the ever-changing societal landscape.

Answer 4

Marx and Castro do not belong in this group. Marx was a political philosopher who was basically right, and was certainly entitled to his opinion. He merely overestimated human nature. Castro was, in his day, an extremely brave man who did not wish for Cuba to be a mere economic satellite of the U.S. He did what he had to do, but was not even a Marxist, except by affiliations he did not freely choose.

You have lumped these two men in with three of the most oppressive and paranoid despots in human history. Think again.

Answer 5

The Philosophies were fine, it was the IMPLEMENTATION that sucked. They treated the workers as 2nd class citizens and not the Equals they were GOING to be. Marx wasn't in the same category as the others, as he only theorized Communism and never practised it. The others ran communist governments from THE TOP DOWN which isn't how communism is supposed to be ran. They got their leadership positions, their palaces and servants (um comrades, whatever) and didn't let anything progress for fear of being ousted. Stalin is reported to have been behind the deaths of almost 40,000,000 Russians. Unbelievable. Is that brotherhood? lol, I don't think so. True communism CAN NEVER EXIST with a single ruler, as the saying goes, "absolute power corrupts"

Answer 6

you're missing the whole point of Marx if you think he's doing philosophy. He's against the paradigm of philosophy. Theory without practice is totally empty. They employ structures based on class struggle and ideas about capital-- they understand history dialectically, but they all Differ on how to deal with the revolution After the revolution. Utopia isn't just established after the communists take power. And there are all sorts of historical exigencies and ideologies that need to be played out.

Answer 7

Marx Lenin Stalin Mao