Critique of the Gotha Programme

Interesting Facts

• «Critique of the Gotha Programme» was written in response to the draft programme proposed for the unification of two German workers' parties — the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Germany and the General German Workers' Association.
• In his work, Marx criticizes the concept of «fair distribution», arguing that it does not account for differences in people's needs and abilities.
• In the text, Marx formulates for the first time the principle «from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs», which became fundamental to communist ideology.
• Marx critiques the use of the term «labor» in the programme, pointing out the necessity to distinguish between labor as a process and labor as a commodity.
• The work was published only after Marx's death, in 1891, thanks to the efforts of Friedrich Engels, who considered it important for understanding Marxist theory.