Critique of the Gotha Programme

Main Ideas

• «Critique of the Gotha Programme» is an analysis and critique of the draft programme of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Germany, adopted at the Gotha Congress in 1875.
• Marx criticizes the blending of bourgeois and socialist elements in the programme, emphasizing the need for a clear distinction between them.
• He highlights the importance of the dictatorship of the proletariat as a transitional phase towards communism.
• Marx rejects the slogan of «fair distribution», asserting that true justice can only be achieved with the complete abolition of class distinctions.
• He underscores the necessity of public ownership of the means of production as the foundation of a socialist society.
• Marx critiques the idea of «labor income», arguing that in a socialist society, distribution should be based on needs rather than labor.
• He also addresses issues of international solidarity of the working class and the need to combat nationalism and chauvinism.