Northeastern Political Science Association
The Jewish Question about Marx
Author(s): Dennis Fischman
Source: Polity, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Summer, 1989), pp. 755-775
Published by: Palgrave Macmillan Journals
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The JewishQuestion
AboutMarx
DennisFischman
BostonUniversity
" is commonly
readas a
KarlMarx'sessay,"On theJewishQuestion,
what
Marx
has
to
about
Jews
and
not
liberalism
for
say
critiqueof
and Judaism.Theauthorof thisarticlearguesthatso narrowa
slursneed
inpartbecauseMarx'santi-semitic
readingis unfortunate,
to be challenged
butalso becauseMarx'sanalysisof theJewish
questionitselfadds to an understanding
of hisnotionoffreedom.
DennisFischmanis Assistant
Professor
of SocialScienceat theColHe haspublished
previously
legeofBasic Studies,BostonUniversity.
in PoliticalTheory.
has read theessay,"On the
Anyonewho has studiedMarxseriously
JewishQuestion":perhapsonlyonce,or perhapstoo often.Whether
onetimeormany,wehavebeentaughtto readitina specialwaythatan
innocentreadermightneverthinkof alone. We learn fromDavid
McLellanthatthe"centralproblem"of "On theJewishQuestion"is
ofthestatefromcivilsociety
andthecon"thecontemporary
separation
to
Louis
of
liberal
solve
failure
social
Dupre
politics
sequent
questions."'
definestheessay'sthemethisway:
as thesolution
Bauer'sproposalof totalsecularization
Attacking
in Germany,
Marxclaimedthatthesecular,
of theJewish
problem
democratic
stateis themodernversionof thereligious
illusion.It
maintainsthe same relationof apparentdominanceand real
1. DavidMcLellan,KarlMarx:HisLifeandThought
(NewYork:Harper& Row,1973),
of course,is a particularly
and to speakof "liberal
p. 80. Liberalism,
poroustradition,
is to employa kindof philosophical
shortpolitics"or "theliberalnotionof freedom"
hand.According
to Marx'sanalysisinhisearlywritings,
thecentrifugal
ofthe
separation
stateandcivilsociety
marksoffmodern
from
thatofothertimes.Freedom
istaken
politics
as formal,
andthisdefinition
is whatbrandsit as liberal.
politicalfreedom,
Polity
VolumeXXI , Number4
Summer1989
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756 The Jewish
QuestionAboutMarx
to civil societywhichexistsbetweenthe religious
subservience
and
the
profaneworld.2
sphere
Bothofthesewriters
is Marx's
agreethattheliberalnotionoffreedom
Jewsand
real subjectin "On the JewishQuestion." Accordingly,
McLellanconsidersit the
Judaismenterthepictureonlyincidentally.
nominalissue,"a convenient
pegonwhichtohanghis[Marx's]criticism
of the liberalstate,"whileDuprelocatesthe Jewishquestionwithin
who
withShlomoAvineri,
Marx'sgeneralcritiqueofreligion.
Together
in
what
his
delimit
has
Judaism
they
exposition,
altogether
ignores
It
to
is
an
that
the
becometheorthodox
approach has
approach
article.3
fromthe
in
theoretical
resources
powerful extracting
provedenormously
of
the
standard
of
terrain
Marx's
rhetoric.
Yet
reading "On the
rough
itmeansto Marx
of
what
misses
an
entire
dimension
Jewish
Question"
to be free,preciselybecause it skips over Marx's own relationto
Judaism.
If we wereto read"On theJewish
time,innoQuestion"forthefirst
we surelywouldnotblurtout, "Whatis
centof theseinterpretations,
How does he relatethestateto civilsociMarxsayingaboutfreedom?
wewouldbe likelyto ask,"Whyis thismanso
ety?"Instead,I imagine,
theessayappearsto
That he is shockingly
anti-semitic?"
anti-semitic,
toBruno
leaveno doubt.True,initsfirst,
responding
longerinstallment,
Marx'sanimusrevealsitselflessblatantly.
Bauer'sbookDie Judenfrage,
withoutcommentBauer'sclaim,
He sinsonlyby omission,repeating
... sincehe op"The Jew,by hisverynature,cannotbe emancipated
lawto acto
actual
his
his
nationality,
illusory
nationality
poses illusory
tuallaw.'"
to bristlewithantiIn thesecondsection,though,Marxseemsfairly
forBauer'sinquiryinto
He beginsby substituting
Jewishsentiments.
to becomefree"'the
Jewsand Christians
"thecapacityof present-day
it
to overcomein
is
element
"What
social
necessary
specific
question:
that
is
the
realproblem,
For
to
Judaism?"
order abolish
Marx,
(p. 48).
for
Jews
of
civil
besidewhichthe pettymatter
pales intoinrights
2. Louis Dupre, Marx's Social Critiqueof Culture(New Haven, CT: Yale University
Press, 1983), p. 25.
3. Shlomo Avineri,The Social and Political Thoughtof Karl Marx (Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress, 1968).
4. Karl Marx, "On theJewishQuestion," TheMarx-EngelsReader, 2nd ed., ed. Robert
to thisartireferences
C. Tucker(New York: W.W. Norton& Co., 1978),p. 27. All further
in the text.
cle will be indicatedparenthetically
5. The wordfahigkeitwhichtranslateshereas "capacity" can also imply"fittingness"
as in salonsfahig,"fit forthe salon," i.e., polite society.
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DennisFischman 757
theemancipation
oftheJews
Indeed,"in thefinalanalysis,
significance.
is theemancipation
of mankindfromJudaism"(p. 49). Jews,Marx
seemsto be saying,can onlybecomefreewhentheyno longerexistas
Jews.
We would be mistakento thinkMarx advocateseitherreligious
assimilation
or genocideas a solution.6
Marxdoes nottaketheJewish
faiththatseriously.
If religion
ingeneral,i.e., Christianity,
is theopium
of thepeople,MarxviewstheJewishreligionas lackingthepowerto
produceevenillusoryhappiness.ReligiousJudaismis a merenullity
which"wouldevaporatelikesomeinsipidvapourin thereallife-giving
airofsociety,"ifsocietywereas itshouldbe. Indeed,totallydisregardJudaismwiththe
ing the contentof Jewishbelief,Marx identifies
economicarrangements
he findsprevailing
in capitalist
and the
society,
abolitionof Judaismwiththetranscendence
of capitalism.
Let us considertherealJew:notthesabbathJew,whomBauer
buttheeveryday
Jew.
considers,
Letus notseekthesecretoftheJewinhisreligion,
butletus seek
thesecretof thereligion
in therealJew.
What is the profanebasis of Judaism?Practicalneed,selfinterest.
Whatis theworldly
cultoftheJew?Huckstering.
Whatis
hisworldly
god?Money.
itselffromhuckstering
Verywell: thenin emancipating
and
money,and thusfrompracticalJudaism,our age wouldemancipateitself(p. 48).
"Money,"writes
Marx,"is thejealousgodofIsrael,besidewhichno
othergodmayexist."In orderto speakofthegrowing
powerofmoney
overpolitics,Marxcarriestheassociationto itsouterlimits:society,
he
declares,has become"Jewish.""The god of the Jewshas become
secularized
andhasbecomethegodofthisworld.Thebillofexchange
is
therealgodoftheJew.His godis onlyan illusory
billofexchange"(p.
50). On thisaccount,Marxfindsnothingincongruous
in speakingof
"theeffective
domination
of theChristian
worldbyJudaism."To supportthispoint,hecan evenquoteBauerwithapproval:". . . in theory,
theJewis deprived
ofpoliticalrights,
whileinpractice
hewieldstremendous powerand exerciseson a wholesalescale thepoliticalinfluence
whichis deniedhimin minormatters."'
6. Contrary
to DagobertD. Runes,whosawfittopublish"On theJewish
Question"as
A WorldWithout
Jews(NewYork:Philosophical
Library,
1959).
7. "On theJewish
indictments
of
Question,"pp. 49-50.Theseare onlytheparticular
Judaism
mostintegral
to Marx'sargument.
The essayalso containsoffhand
accusations
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758 The Jewish
QuestionAboutMarx
"The Jew" functions
as a symbolin Marx'sthinking.
He does not
to
to
The
of
mean
subscribe
a
Jewish
really
conspiracy
theory. overtones
thisessayare,however,
stillominousand,as readers,we areentitled
to
ask why,if Marxmeantonlyto criticize
liberalism
forneglecting
the
powerof money,he saw fitto dragtheJewsintotheargument.
I.
The questionconcerning
Marx'santi-semitism
bringsa second,equally
on Marxleavehis
troubling
questionin itswake.Whyis it thatwriters
evenunexamined?
The issueis notunanti-Jewish
slursunchallenged,
inpassing
mentions
anti-semitism
noticed,fornearly
everycommentator
is a notableexception).
Theybringitup,however,
onlyto
(againAvineri
initself.Itis
itas a problem
itortoexcuseit,nevertoconfront
denounce
of what
as ifthereneverwerea "Jewishquestion,"as ifthesubstance
MarxsaysaboutJewswereentirely
unimportant.
We maytakeMcLellan'sbook againas theepitomeof howMarx's
anti-Jewish
harangueis usuallytreated."It is true,"he admits,"thata
secondsecthebriefer
and
unreflective
quick
readingof, particularly,
is
known
to have
Marx
leaves
a
Furthermore,
tion,
nastyimpression."
in
none
remarks
as
sustained
anti-Jewish
elsewhere
though
"indulged
as here." On theotherhand,McLellanargues,in thesameyearMarx
wrote"On theJewishQuestion,"he lenthissupportto a petition
for
to hisassociateArnoldRuge,"thepointis to
Jewish
commenting
rights,
inrastateandsmuggle
punchas manyholesas possibleintheChristian
tionalviewsas faras we can." In fact,suggests
McLellan,thewhole
in Marx'sessaymaybe largelyaccidental.
anti-semitic
lineof thought
- has thesecondary
- Judentum
sense
"The GermanwordforJewry
of commerceand, to some extent,Marx played on this double
has been
moralis clear:Marx'santi-semitism
The implicit
meaning."8
to hismainpoint.No harm
and in anycase itis tangential
exaggerated,
it. Timeto moveon.
donein ignoring
the
The problemwiththisreadingofMarxis thatittakesforgranted
same dubiousassumptionon whichMarx relies:thatwe can learn
fromthe"Jewishquestion"without
actuallypayingattention
something
of Bauer'stopicmakestheoriginalconto it. Marx's reformulation
andtheJews,itssubject,alongwithit.Whatis more,
invisible,
troversy
andformanas an
forart,forhistory,
fortheory,
exudes"contempt
suchas thatJudaism
endin himself"(p. 51).
8. McLellan, Marx: Life & Thought,p. 86.
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DennisFischman 759
to Marx'sexplicitargument,
commentators
likeMcLellan
by adhering
obscuretheJewish
questionof "On theJewish
Question"evenfurther.
All thisis too bad, forat leasttworeasons.
The firstis thatwhena Jewmakesanti-semitic
remarks
and no one
willwonderiftheyarenotafterall
disputes
them,eventhewell-meaning
true.For,as JuliusCarlebachwrites,"thereis probablyno individual,
fromAbrahamand Moses to Herzland MartinBuber,to whomthe
epithet'Jew'has beenmorepersistently
appliedthanMarx."9
Bornin 1818in theancientcityof Trier,KarlMarxdescendedfrom
threecenturies
of rabbison bothsidesof hisfamily,
scionsof
including
the illustriousHeschel and Katzenelenbogen
families.10
His father,
Heschelha-LeviMarx,changedhisnameto Heinrichuponhisconversionto Christianity
abouta yearbeforeKarlwas born.Heschel'sbaptismwasa matter
ofeconomics,
notfaith:thePrussiangovernment
had
thatall lawyersbe Christians.
Paris
begunto enforceits requirement
vautbienunemesse.TheJewish
forhim.
faith,too,heldlittleattraction
A staunchrationalist,
inphilosophy
a follower
ofKant,Heschelbelieved
in a simpledeism,"thefaithofNewton,Locke,and Leibniz."" Yethis
tiesto theJewish
firmenoughthatin 1815,hedrafted
a
peopleremained
to protestan edictaimedat bankrupting
long memorandum
Jewish
whilein the following
moneylenders,
yearhe unsuccessfully
soughta
special exemptionto allow him to keep both his religionand his
KarlMarx'sfather
was one of themany
livelihood.12In all probability,
Jewswhoconverted
"without
their
andsocial
reallyrelinquishing family
tieswiththeJewish
community.""
Karl'smother,
Henriette
evenmorestubMarx,remained
Pressburg
in
entrenched
her
Jewish
Thedaughter
bornly
ofa Dutchrabbi,
identity.
sheresisted
conversion
until1825,nearlyeightyearsafterherhusband's
and
almost
a
baptism
thatof Karl,
yearafterherchildren's,
including
thensixanda half.Fromhercorrespondence,
itis clearthattheMarxes
retained
theirJewish
withHeschel'ssister-in-law,
the
contacts,
especially
widowof therabbiof Trier,and herchildren.Even in 1853,a full
eighteen
Henriette
yearsafteradoptingtheLutheran
couldwrite
church,
9. JuliusCarlebach,Karl Marx and theRadical Critiqueof Judaism(London: Routledge
& KeganPaul, 1978),pp. 310-11.
10. See thegenealogical
tablein McLellan,Marx:Life& Thought,
p. 466.
11. Ibid.,p. 7. Thereference
seemsall themorepointedsinceitechoesthetraditional
"God of Abraham,
formula,
Isaac, and Jacob."
12. Jerrold
NJ:Princeton
Seigel,Marx'sFate (Princeton,
Press,1978),pp.
University
42-43.
13. Carlebach,Marx & Radical Critique,p. 32.
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760 The Jewish
QuestionAboutMarx
forSouthAfrica:"And
to herownsisteraboutKarl'ssister'sdeparture
itseemsthatthelotofthePeopleis againbeingrealizedinme- thatmy
theworld... ."14
shouldbe scattered
children
throughout
one biographer
asserts:"Karl Marxspenthis
As forMarxhimself,
totheway
whosereligious
wasa witness
earliest
division
yearsina family
couldplaytrickson theirselfsociety'spowerovermen'slivelihoods
forthat
Whether
themto denytheirconvictions."'5
conceptions,
forcing
reasonorsomeother,Karlavoidedstudying
Hebrew,eventhoughat the
member
he attended
thelanguagewastaughtbya Christian
Gymnasium
to whichHeschelMarx
of theCasinoClub,a pro-French
organization
under
belonged.'6In Berlin,however,Karl did studyjurisprudence
of the Wissenschaft
des Judentums
EduardGans,one of thefounders
and itwas underthatinstructor
thathe firstpaidseriousatmovement,
tentionto Hegel.'7In lateryears,Marxwouldcrosspathswithan exof "non-Jewish
HeinrichHeine,
selection
Jews,"including
traordinary
He also
Moses Hess, FerdinandLassalle,and LudwigKugelmann.'8
historian
HeinrichGraetz.
Jewish
madea friendof therationalist
withotherJewsis
MorecrucialforourpurposesthanMarx'srelations
the fact that othersrecognizedMarx as a Jew. A sponsorof the
theColognepaperMarxeditedin 1842,givesus this
Rheinische
Zeitung,
description.
manof24 whosethickblack
KarlMarxfromTrierwasa powerful
hair sprungfromhis cheeks,arms, nose, and ears. He was
impetuous,passionate,full of boundlessselfdomineering,
but
confidence, at the same timedeeplyearnestand learned,a
whowithhisrestless
Jewish
dialectician
restless
penetration
pushed
to itsfinalconcluof
doctrine
everyproposition YoungHegelian
sion.I9
Marxalso sporteda
and hishairiness,
Asidefromhis "penetration"
14. Saul K. Padover, Karl Marx: An IntimateBiography(New York: McGraw-Hill,
1978), p. 31.
15. Seigel, Marx's Fate, p. 47.
16. McLellan, Marx: Life & Thought,pp. 9-10; Padover,Marx: IntimateBiography,p.
33.
17. Dupre, Marx's Social Critique, p. 67; Padover, Marx: IntimateBiography,pp.
on
des Judentumsmovementaimed at refoundingJewishidentity
76-77. The Wissenschaft
the basis of the scientificstudyof Jewishhistory,ratherthan faith.
18. Isaac Deutscher,The Non-JewishJewand OtherEssays (New York: OxfordUniversityPress, 1968).
19. McLellan, Marx: Life & Thought,p. 53.
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DennisFischman 761
alias. Writes
complexionwhichgave rise to his interesting
swarthy
Engels,"'The Moor' was Marx'snicknamefromhis University
days
on.... If I had evercalledhimby someothername,he wouldhave
somemisunderstanding
hadarisenbetween
thought
us.''20 Yetall hisintimatesunderstood"Moor" as "a veiled reminderof his Jewish
Eleanorundertook
to lifttheveilby learning
origins."21His daughter
Yiddishand "talkingunion"in theJewish
of London.There,
quarters
- whichwas notliterally
shewas knownto declare,"I am a Jewess"22
themother.So
true,sinceJewishreligiouslaw countsdescentthrough
vividwas herconviction
of herbelovedfather'sJewishness
thatshe
took
the
on
herself.
freely
identity
If modernwriters
on Marxleavehis scurrilous
attackson Judaism
of
run
the
risk
to
them.Along
unanswered,
then,they
helping perpetuate
withFreudand Einstein,
Marxis themodernworld'sfigure
oftheJew.
Who shouldknowbetter,
thenaivemayjustlyask, whatJewishfaults
arethantheJewKarlMarx?
II.
to combatanti-semitism,
we haveanother
Besidesthemoralobligation
of
the
Jewish
the
reasonto be astonished
scholarly
by
neglect
question,
concerns.
Letus saythatMarx's
on theoretical
onethattouchesdirectly
real targetsin thisessay are the liberalnotionof freedomand the
modernseparationof stateand civilsociety,as is generally
supposed.
ina marvelously
on thesethemes
indirect
Marxachieveshiscommentary
manner.At everystep of his argument,he makes his point by
tothesymbol"Judaism"
heimputes
thevariousmeanings
manipulating
with
them
the
he
and by contrasting
meanings ascribesto "Christianity." It wouldseem,then,thatwe haveto unpackthoseheavilyladen
in orderto understand
whatMarxis sayingaboutpoliticsand
symbols
Butthatis exactlywhathas notbeendone.
freedom.
Whatkindofemancipation
do
"The GermanJewsseekemancipation.
theywant?Civic,politicalemancipation"(p. 26). Fromhis opening
20. Padover, Marx: IntimateBiography,p. 48.
21. Seigel,Marx's Fate, p. 89.
22. Ibid.Eleanor'sstoryis given(somewhat
in RonaldFlorence,
Marx's
romantically)
theonly
Daughter
(NewYork:Dial Press,1975).Fromthesamesource(p. 18),wegather
"Jewish
tohavetold.Referring
totheFranco-Prussian
joke" Marxis recorded
War,Marx
to Engels:"Both nationsremindme of the anecdoteof the two Russian
comments
noblemen
serfs.Noblemen
A strikes
theJewofNobleman
accompanied
bytwoJews,their
Jud,schlagichdeinenJud.'So bothnationsseem
B, andB answers:'Schlagstdu meinen
to theirdespotsbybeingallowed,eachof them,to strike
reconciled
at thedespotofthe
othernation."
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AboutMarx
762 TheJewish
Question
sentences
on,Marxlooksto thecaseoftheJewsto shedlighton how
thatJudaism,
withitsarbecome
free.BrunoBauerhadargued
people
in
from
Jews
fully thelifeof
participating
particularity,
prevented
rogant
to
for
attend
sessions
If
would
thestate. they
legislative
agree, instance,
would
for
thenJews
beeligible
evenwhentheytookplaceonSaturday,
some
thefullsetofrights
"If,thereafter,
political
emancipation
implies.
tofulfill
their
ormanyoreventheoverwhelming
majority
feltobliged
shouldbe leftto themas an absolutely
suchpractices
duties,
religious
matter."23
private
Marxrejects
as a private
becauseitpreserves
duty,
religion
Precisely
forhumanfreedom.
formula
as an inadequate
emancipation
political
to
Bauercallsforpolitics
motivates
TheHegelian
idealofthestatewhich
can
inwhich
needsofthespirit
allthehigher
ofuniversality,
bea sphere
ofreligion
is
"theexistence
bemet.To Baueras wellas toMarxhimself,
for
that
If
ofa defect"
Jews
theexistence
Christians,
matter)
(or
(p. 31).
itisprimafacie
evidence
thatthestate
holdontotheir
practices,
religious
stillexerts
theirneeds,andthatthenonpolitical
is notfulfilling
great
choices.
powerovertheir
ofpurely
meansto makepeoplefreeis not,
Theincapacity
political
to
defeat
the
state's
confined
however,
byreligion.
shares
theweaknesses
ofmanabovereligion
elevation
Thepolitical
thestateas
Forexample,
measures.
ofallsuchpolitical
andmerits
a stateabolishes
bypolitical
property
(i.e., mandecrees
private
the
whenit abolishes
of private
meanstheabolition
property)
for
and
elector
representatives....
property
qualification
notonlydoesnot
ofprivate
Butthepolitical
property
suppression
The
itsexistence.
it
abolishprivate
presupposes
property,actually
thedistinctions
established
afteritsfashion,
stateabolishes,
by
distincsocialrank,education,
birth,
non-political
occupation,
inpopular
ofsociety
is an equalpartner
member
tions,thatevery
the
which
alltheelements compose reallife
andtreats
sovereignty,
ofthestate.Butthestate,none
ofthenationfrom
thestandpoint
to act
theless,allowsprivate
education,
occupation,
property,
ocas private
ownfashion,
their
after
education,
property,
namely
nature
their
andtomanifest
(p. 33).
particular
cupation,
"theillusory
thestatemakesmanifest
Insteadof realuniversality,
Jews
do
notbecome
as
life."24
of
modern
political
universality
Just
23. Cited in "On the JewishQuestion," p. 29. For a fulltranslationof Bauer's article,
see PhilosophicalForum, vv. 2-4 (1978), pp. 135-49.
24. McLellan, Marx: Life & Thought,p. 73.
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DennisFischman 763
emancipated
by the ballot if theystillneed the synagogue,so selfdo notbecomefree,rationalcitizenssimply
individuals
interested
byacBoththeJewandthebourgeois
remainsubjectto
politicalrights.
quiring
or money,evenifintheiralienatedway
an external
power,be itreligion
it
In
embrace
their
own.
becausepoliticshas failedtocreate
as
fact,
they
a homeforthehumanspirit,
theonlysensible
thingtodo istohangonto
one's privategood.
BaueraskstheJews:Haveyou,fromyourstandpoint,
therightto
demandpoliticalemancipation?
We ask the conversequestion:
fromthestandpoint
ofpoliticalemancipation
can theJewbe reormanbe askedtoabolishreligion?
quiredto abolishJudaism,
(p.
30).
The sympathetic
tone Marx adoptstowardhis fellowJewsat this
It is almostas ifhewerecautioning
is remarkable.
stageoftheargument
themnotto selltheirbirthright
(on whichhe spendssuchharshwords
He reproves
later)forthemessof pottagethatis moderncitizenship.
them,notfortheirreligious
faith,butfortheirpoliticalcredulity.
If you wantto be politically
withoutemancipating
emancipated,
the
the
contradiction
is not
and
yourselves
humanly, inadequacy
in
in
but
the
nature
the
of
and category political
entirely yourselves
If youarepreoccupied
withthiscategory
emancipation.
youshare
thegeneralprejudice(p. 40).
III.
forwhichhe
Butof course,Marxdoesdiscovera realformof freedom
thinksgivingup Judaismwouldbe amplyworthwhile:
namely,human
emancipation.Oddly, in the entireessay, he affordsit only one
paragraph.
will onlybe completewhenthe real, inHuman emancipation
dividualmanhas absorbedintohimself
theabstractcitizen;when
as an individual
man,in hiseveryday
life,in hiswork,and in his
he has becomea species-being;
and whenhe has
relationships,
andorganized
hisownpowers(forces
recognized
propres)as social
powersso thathe no longerseparatesthissocial powerfrom
himself
as politicalpower(p. 46).
Thisis an enigmatic
to tellwhat
passage,to saytheleast.It is difficult
Marxmeansby"humanemancipation,"
the
exceptthatitwillovercome
and insufficiency
of communallifethatpoliticalemanfragmentation
cipationonly feeds.The problemfor the readeris to discernthat
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764 The Jewish
QuestionAboutMarx
thedistinction
between
is
underlying
politicaland humanemancipation
an evenmorebasicdivisionbetween
civilsocietyand thepoliticalstate.
whichsplits
Or,to be evenmoreprecise,weneedtorealizethata society
lifeintothesetwospheresdiffers
froma societyin which
dramatically
theyare united.
Whatis the"politicalstate"?In theContribution
to theCritiqueof
of a sphereof
Hegel'sPhilosophy
ofRight,Marxtracestheemergence
whichlies
politics,centeredon government,
laws, and constitutions,
the
of
life
concerned
with
survival
"without
alongside parts
materially
thecontentof theremaining,
permeating
non-political
spheres."Hegel
claimsthestatesubsumed
andtranscended
all theparticular
of
activities
material
life.Marxdebunksthisclaimofuniversality.
As politicalstate,
he argues,thestatemerely
ofnaputsitselfforthas onemorefragment
tionallife,in no wayintegrating
or integrated
withtherest.
In monarchy,
forexample,and in therepublicas a merelyparticularformofstate,politicalmanhashisparticular
modeofbeing
man
as
a
individual.
man,
alongsideunpolitical
private
Property,
all appearhere... as thecontent
civilsociety,
contract,
marriage,
to whichthepoliticalstateis relatedas organising
form;properly
therelationofthepoliticalstateto thiscontent
is merely
speaking,
thatof reason,inherently
withoutcontent,whichdefinesand
whichnowaffirms
and nowdenies.25
delimits,
to Marx,"theabstraction
ofthestateas suchbelongsonly
According
to moderntimes,becausetheabstraction
of privatelifebelongsonlyto
moderntimes."Otherages and cultures
did notsplitoffthe"political
fromthematerial
as distinct
stateortheothercontent
ofthe
constitution
lifeof thenation."In ancientGreece,forexample,"therespublicais
theirrealcontent,
and theprivate
therealprivateaffairof thecitizens,
individual
is a slave" - i.e., onlyslavesborethebrandof an identity
havingnothingto do withtheirrolein publiclife.DuringtheMiddle
Ages, again, "the life of the nationand the life of the stateare
inan estate,a guild,ora
identical,"butonlybecauseone'smembership
determines
one's
the
status.
"What distinguishes
corporation
political
the
from
these
states
substantial
modernstate
characterized
by
unitybetweenpeopleandstate"is forMarx"thattheconstitution
itselfhasbeen
actuality
alongsidethelifeof thepeopledevelopedintoa particular
of therestof the
thatthepoliticalstatehas becometheconstitution
25. Karl Marx, "Contributionto the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right," in
Tucker,Marx-EngelsReader, p. 21.
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DennisFischman 765
is severedfrom,and set
state."'26The questfora fullyhumanexistence
whichsecureexistence
itself.
against,theactivities
Thesamehistorical
thepolitical
dividing
up ofsociallifethatproduces
stateat thesametimegivesbirthtocivilsociety.In "On theJewish
Question," Marx specifiesthathe meansby civilsociety"the sphereof
humanneeds,labour,privateinterests,
and civillaw" (p. 46). From
humanneeds,the otherelementsfollow.SinceMarxassesseshuman
needsintwodistinctly
different
ways,healso holdstwoopposedevaluationsof civilsociety,neither
of which,however,
can standwithout
the
ofall forMarxa typeofdeprivation,
other.Humanneedsarefirst
a lack
whichfrustrates
humanpowersand stuntsthe development
of the
needsspurhumaninvention,
species.Atthesametime,though,
openup
as yetunrealized
and,in short,advancehumandevelopment.
capacities,
In fact,acquiring
newandmoresophisticated
needsis partofwhatMarx
thinksprogress
is all about.
Civilsociety,
thesphereofhumanneeds,reflects
boththenegative
and
thepositiveevaluation.Shornof "eventhesemblance
of a generalconis a realmofpureegoism.Within
tent,"(p. 45) civilsociety
it,eachperson is only"an individualseparatedfromthecommunity,
withdrawn
intohimself,
withhisprivateinterest
and actingin
whollypreoccupied
accordancewithhisprivatecaprice"(p. 43). If thepoliticalstatefailsto
civilsocietyneveraspiresto it.
provideuniversal
freedom,
Paradoxically,Marx goes on to arguethatcivil society,and not
"Politicalmanis
politics,formstherealbasisforhumanemancipation.
man
as
an
moral
onlyabstract,artificial
man,
allegorical,
person"(p.
theeffective
46). Civilsociety,theworldof practicalneed,constitutes
realityin whichpeopleactuallylive.Narrowand selfishit maybe, but
canbe powerful
onlychangesincivilsociety
enoughto movethespecies
civil
and
state
toward
an integrated,
meanbeyond society political
alike,
life.
ingfulspecies
Bothcivilsociety
andthepoliticalstatearehumaninventions,
as Marx
seesthem.Neither
is naturalnorinevitable;
botharebecoming
obsolete.
YetMarxchampions
theimportance
ofcivilsociety
forfuture
emancipaHis commitment
tion,notbecauseit is good butbecauseitis effective.
embracesthenastybutrealoverthenicebutfictional.
The dialecticbetweenpoliticalstateand civil societyhelpsus to
understand
whatMarxmeansbyhuman,as opposedto merely
political,
Politicalemancipation
emancipation.
deepensthe splitin social life.
Humanemancipation
overcomes
socialrelations
on the
it,reconstituting
26. Ibid., pp. 32-33.
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766 The Jewish
QuestionAboutMarx
basis of whatpeople requireboth to surviveand to live humanly.
theconcepts"civilsociety"and "politicalstate,"Marx'sreply
Without
that
or simply
to Bauerseemsperverse,
Thus,itis striking
meaningless.
accountof whyMarx writesthatthe
no one has givena satisfying
politicalstateis "Christian,"whilecivilsocietyis "Jewish.""'27
ofchurchandstate
theliberalnotionthatseparation
Marxcontradicts
of
from
the
influence
removes
Instead,heseesinliberal
politics
religion.
eventhan
more
Christian
"the
Christian
state,"
perfected
democracy
"the statewhichis stilltheological,"whichis merely"the Christian
religioninsteadof
negationof the state" (p. 36). By privatizing
the
state
Christian
the
projection
it, political
helpsperpetuate
abolishing
God. In orderto endthisalienaof humanpowersontoa transcendent
theunmet
tion,thestatewouldhaveto becomeinvolvedin answering
needsthatdrivepeopleto thesolaceof religion.For thepoliticalstate,
thisis impossible,
because,Marxargues,itswholeclaimto prothough,
intoaccount
restson itsrefusalto takeprivatedifferences
videfreedom
in thewayit treatsitscitizens.Thereis neither
richnorpoor,Jewnor
to thepoliticalstate.For Marx,thatfactalonespeaksvolumes
gentile,
whichobabouttheoriginsofthestate"undertheswayofChristianity,
jectifiesall national,natural,moral,and theoretical
relationships."'28
We havealreadyseenthatMarxdoes notthinkanymorehighlyof
as a faith.Indeed,he tendsto dismissthe
thanof Christianity
Judaism
civilsociety,
of Judaism
content
How, then,can he identify
altogether.
draws
a distinction
"Jewish"?
Marx
of
as
social
theeffective
life,
reality
between"sabbath" Judaism,the theologyhe considersan "insipid
ofJudaism
"theparticular
situation
Judaism,
vapour,"and "everyday"
in thepresent
enslavedworld"(p. 48). Justas civilsocietyis theengine
thatthepoliticalstateworksto conceal,so theeveryday
Jew,in Marx's
of
the
Jewish
the
secret
is
religion.
formula,
as "practicalneed,self-interest."
situation
Marxsumsup theJewish
Absenttheeconomicdiscrimination
theyfaced,theJewswouldleaveoff
But "practical
he
their
Jews:
burdens, argues,definetheiridentity.
being
well
of
as
civil
the
society"
need,egoismis
(p. 50). It is forthis
principle
of
with
theperfection
attains
its
he
"Judaism
apogee
reason, asserts,
in
the
Christian
reaches
civilsociety;but civilsocietyonly
perfection
27. In "Liberalism and the JewishConnection," Political Theory,February1985, pp.
58-84, JoelSchwartzexaminesonlythelinkswithreligious(or whatMarx would call "sabbath") Judaism,not withJewishidentity.
28. "On the JewishQuestion," p. 51. Perhaps this explains the commentof Marx's
Cologne acquaintanceGeorg Jung,"For Marx, at any rate,theChristianreligionis one of
the mostimmoralthereis." McLellan, Marx: Life & Thought,p. 42.
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DennisFischman 767
world"(p. 51). In otherwords,Jewish
civilsocietyonlydominates
the
Christian
succeedsinseparating
thestate
politicalstateonceChristianity
tobanishhumanneed,Christianity
fromcivilsociety.Byattempting
succumbsto it. "It was onlyin appearancethatChristianity
overcame
real
Judaism.It was too refined,
too spiritual
to eliminate
thecrudeness
of
realm"(p. 52).
practicalneedexceptbyraisingit intotheethereal
IV.
in whathe has to sayaboutJewsand Judaism
TakingMarxseriously
leadsto twodiscoveries
aboutthethinker
andhistheory.
First,welearn
thatMarx'sreputation
as an anti-semite
obscures
thetruecomgreatly
of
his
on
views
Judaism.
As
a
he
holds
Judaismin
plexity
religion,
As
a
social
on
the
other
Marx
greatest
contempt.
power,
hand,
regards
Judaism
as supremely
WhatMarxchoosestocall "Jewish"is
important.
lessthanthedriving
forceof hissocialandpoliticaltheory:
the
nothing
of
human
in
as
the
contradictions
of
reality
need, expressed
capitalist
or
society."It is indeedno longerasked:whichmakesus free- Judaism
On thecontrary,
it is nowasked:whichmakesus freeChristianity?
the negationof Judaismor the negationof Christianity?"
(p. 47).
Marx'sansweris clear.Thenegation
ofJudaism
is essential
toemancipa- becausethe
thenegation
ofChristianity
leadstonothing
tion,whereas
Christian
an illusion,possessedof no
politicalstateis itselfa nothing,
substantial.
Marx'stribute
to Judaism
is the
powerto produceanything
kindof recognition
one grantsa skilledand potentadversary.
Froma
manwholistshisideaofhappiness
as "to fight"and ofmisery
"to submit,"thisis indeeda compliment.29
As a corollary,
though,we mustrealizethatwe havenotunderstood
whatMarx'stheory
meansuntilwe understand
whatJudaism
meantto
Marx.We knowitsymbolizes
thegritty
detailsofhowpeoplemakea liv29. McLellan,Marx:Life& Thought,
thisreading,
somemight
p. 457.Against
pointto
thelanguageof thefirst
of the"Theseson Feuerbach,"
whereMarxchargesthatFeuerbach"regards
thetheoretical
attitude
as theonlygenuinely
humanattitude,
whilepractice
is conceivedand fixedonlyin its dirty-judaical
manifestation"
(Tucker,Marx-Engels
Reader,p. 143). I thinkthisreference
Marx is
actuallysupportsmyinterpretation.
- as, in "Jewish"
Feuerbach
forregarding
all practical
as alienating
reproaching
activity
civilsociety,it is. "Hence he does not graspthe significance
of 'revolutionary,'
of
practical-critical,
activity."
Marx'spointhereis thatFeuerbach
holdsa prejudice
whichparallels
the
againstpractice
onemustlookobjectively
totheconprejudice
againsttheJews.In bothcases,hecounsels,
tradictions
embodied
ineachto seethemas signsofa potentially
future.
This
progressive
whose"materialism"
intoa blindfaithin theempirically
escapesFeuerbach,
degenerates
present.
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768 The Jewish
QuestionAboutMarx
unresolved
problemof humanneed.But whythis
ing,thehistorically
Suchrepresentations
do not,as a rule,arisefromnowhere;
symbol?30
in thewriter's
mindwhichgrowmore
theyarepreparedbyassociations
vividat opportune
moments,
onlyto fadewhentheybeginno longerto
be needed.Jerrold
mayhave
Seigelpointsoutone reasonwhyJudaism
relevant
to Marxin 1843:
seemedparticularly
whohadfreedhimself
If Bauerwasa former
Christian
by
religious
in
Marxwas origina secularizedJewwho
denyingChristianity,
regardedhimselfas liberatedfrom"practicalJudaism,"selfMarx's claimagainstBauerwas thathis own personal
interest.
standpoint- grantingall its defects- ratherthan Bauer's, pro-
videdthepointof entryfortruehumanliberation.31
to this.Bauer'sargument
and Marx's
thereis something
Certainly,
Like
as
a
medieval
so
much
resemble
religious
disputation.
nothing
reply
for
beoutlived
its
reason
Judaism
has
Bauer
claims
theChristian
clerics,
to
the
facts.
refusal
see
stubborn
ing and onlysurvivedon invincible
of themonarch'seye:without
Marxargueslikea rabbiwhois mindful
forthefaith,he findsreasonsnevertheless
anypositivevirtues
claiming
andthusbestshisaccuserat hisowngame.32While
tojustify
itsexistence
aboutMarx's
thisdesireto scorepointson Bauermaytellus something
it stillleaves the contentof Marx's symbol"Judaism"
motivation,
whollyunexplained.
leadsus to askyeta thirdquestion:
Ourreadingofthisessaytherefore
Germans
the "Jewishquestion"itself.What did nineteenth-century
meanby "the Jewishquestion"?Whatdid thephrasemeanto Marx?
of Jewsand JudaismoutsidehisimWhatwas Marx'sownexperience
and howdiditcolorwhathe hadto sayon theissue?If
mediatefamily,
theJewish
questionis tiedup in Marx'smindwithhisideasabouthow
become
free,thenwhatdoeshisstancetowardtheemancipation
people
of theJewstellus abouthisnotionof freedom?
30. I am not concernedherewiththevexedquestionof how symbolsfunctiongenerally,
but ratherwithhow theyworkin Marx's thinking.The themeof "Judaism" seemsto form
a linkin a chain thatbinds human needs withcivilsociety,and both witha practicaland
realisticrefusalof theclaimsof thepoliticalstate.Moreover,theseelementsare relatedinfromone to thenextbyprocessof association.To
ternally,so thatMarx moveseffortlessly
of literarytheory,symbolsin Marx's thoughtfunctionas metonymies
use theterminology
ratherthan as metaphors.See Susan Handelman, The Slayers of Moses (Albany: State
of New York Press, 1982), pp. 54-55.
University
31. Seigel,Marx's Fate, pp. 117-18.
NJ: FairleighDickinsonUniver32. See Hyam Maccoby, Judaismon Trial(Rutherford,
sityPress, 1982).
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DennisFischman 769
At thebeginning
of thenineteenth
whenGermanliberalsincentury,
French
ideals
were
thePrussianmonarrevolutionary
agitating
spiredby
of
for
the
thekingdom
a
status
Jews
reconstitution,
throughout
chy
mainedwhatithadbeensincetheMiddleAges.Jewswerenotcitizens
in
the
not
even
Under
were
human.
existed
as
serlaw,they
They
Germany.
vicamerae,"serfsofthechamber,"thepersonalproperty
oftheking,to
be disposedof at his pleasure.GermanrulersvaluedtheirJewsas an
theautonomous
sourceofrevenue.
unending
Theyzealouslymaintained
Jewish
socialstructure
so as tomakeentire
Jewish
communities
responsiblecollectively
fortaxlevies.Nonpayment
waslikelyto resultinthetakingoftherabbior otherlocalleadersas hostages.Likeotherserfs,Jews
couldnotmovefromonetownto another,
orhavemorethanone
marry,
childwithoutpermission.
Becauseof theirinternational
connections,
to settlein Germany
witha
however,Jewswereofficially
encouraged
viewto facilitating
trade.Periodically,
to assuagethe resentment
of
Christian
thegovernment
turneda blindeyewhilepogroms,
merchants,
anti-Jewish
afterviolence
riots,decimatedthepopulation.Invariably,
haddieddown,a newsetof Jewswouldbe invited
into continue
thecycle.33
UnderNapoleon,aftera lengthy
of theirallegiance,
the
investigation
Jewsof Germany
becamecitizensbeforethelaw. In practice,
theedict
was enforcedunevenly.Because of its origins,Jewishemancipation
"was stigmatized
whichintheeyesofthegenbytheconceptoftyranny
tilepopulation
wasattachedto all actsoftheNapoleonicregime."34
The
1816
the
saw
restrictions
on
Jewish
trade
which
aroused
Heschel
year
Marx'sprotest;1817,thedecreesagainstJewishlawyerswhichmoved
himto convert.
In theyearKarlMarxwasborn,anti-Jewish
riotsbroke
out in Prussiaand continuedintothenextyear.BecausesomeJews,
especiallyveteransof the Napoleonicwars,foughtback, the whole
Jewishcommunity
of Wurzburgwas expelled."In December1822,
FrederickWilhelmIII barredJewsfromteachingat universities
or
wereforcedto realize
emancipation
schools.36The advocatesof Jewish
thatnominalcitizenship
wouldnot suffice.Theyturnedtheirefforts
towardtearing
downall invidious
in thewayof full
legislation
standing
Jewish
in publiclife.
participation
33. Carlebach,
Marx& RadicalCritique,
pp. 12-17.
34. Hans Liebeschutz,
"GermanRadicalism
andtheFormation
of Jewish
PoliticalAttitudes
theEarlyPartoftheNineteenth
inStudiesinNineteenth-Century
during
Century,"
Jewish
Intellectual
ed. Alexander
Altmann
MA: HarvardUniversity
History,
(Cambridge,
Press,1964),p. 145.
35. Carlebach,
Marx& RadicalCritique,
pp. 23-24.
36. Liebeschutz,
"GermanRadicalism,"p. 142.
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770 The Jewish
QuestionAboutMarx
Beforetheycouldgrapplewiththelaw,though,theyhad to confront
centuries-old
prejudicesagainsttheJewishpeople. "The imageof the
in thepublicmind,"writesJewish
Jewprevailing
JacobKatz,
historian
was theimageof thepopularChristian
the
tradition,
combining
in
the
the
tenets
of
Jews'
Christian
guilt rejecting
theological
tradesman
whosegreedand
messageandan aversionto theforeign
in theone
by a commonbrotherhood
cunningremainunchecked
creed.37
convinced
Thatthiscaricature
manyeducatedGermansis borneout
term
of
the
"Jewish
the
emancipation."The Jews'initial
history
by
all Jewshad
was
called
at
thrust citizenship
"naturalization,"
implying
then
Protestant
minister
in
before.
An
beenaliens Germany
enlightened
introduced the nomenclature"civic betterment"(burgerliche
whichbecamewidespread,partlybecause it leftamverbesserung),
adsocietyor theJews.Finally,Jewish
biguouswhowasto be bettered,
vocatestook up the term"emancipation"becauseit "impliedthat
tillthenfromthoseconcerned,
andthat
hadbeenwithheld
naturalrights
thesemustbe restoredto themunconditionally.""'38
Preciselyforthis
to the term
reason,opponentsof Jewishrightsobjectedstrenuously
they
alreadyhad all therights
"emancipation."Jews,theycontended,
to be equalto full
toodegraded
couldhandle:as Jews,theyweremorally
citizenship.39
suchas these
Thefearandsuspicionof Jewsthatledto denunciations
did not,however,ariseonlyfromthepopularimagesof Christ-killers
madetheJewsand ChrisCulturaldifferences
and Jewish
moneymen.
to each other,all themoreincomprehensible
tiansof Europestrangers
FromtheChristian
fortheirapparentsimilarities.
side,theJewish
questookon theformofthequery,"AretheJewscongenitally
tiontherefore
unsociableand rude,or aretheythiswayas a resultofbeingsegregated
into ghettos?'"40JohnMurrayCuddihycalls this emphasison the
andHistorical
ItsOrigins
Impact,"
37. JacobKatz,"The Term'Jewish
Emancipation':
in Altmann,
Studies,pp. 9-10.
38. Ibid.,p. 21.
ofChristian
thecredentials
39. Jewsresponded
Europetopassjudgment
bychallenging
asked rhetorically,
on questionsof freedom.HeinrichHeine, Marx's contemporary,
notonlyofthepeople
ofourtimes?It is theemancipation,
"Whatis thegreatassignation
theblacksof WestIndiaand similar
of Ireland,of theGreeks,theJewsof Frankfurt,
Europe"(ibid.).LudwigBorne,a
peoples,butof thewholeworld,especially
depressed
as a
the
"Seen
from
older
pointof view,Germany
European
added,
reformer,
slightly
"GermanRadicalism,"
p. 14).
wholewasa ghetto"(Liebeschutz,
12 (March
and Christian
40. Leon Poliakov,"Anti-Semitism
Teaching,"Midstream
TheOrdealofCivility
(NewYork:BasicBooks,
Cuddihy,
1966):13.CitedinJohnMurray
1974),p. ix.
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DennisFischman 771
Jews"the ordealof
mannersof thewould-beemancipated
unseemly
"This
he
"stems
... froma
writes,
ultimately
civility."
problem,"
the
differentiation
of
to
Judaism
inability
culturally
legitimate
disabling
of cultureand society."4"'Put moresimply,theJewsof Europecould
theirownconcerns
not,wouldnot,or did notsee theneedto privatize
in orderto becomegood citizens.The politeness
of
and characteristics
life
in
the
Christian
"the
of
the
surface
we
solidarity
public
polity,
fragile
call civility,''42
of the
createda schismin thelivesand thepersonalities
Jewswhofirstencountered
it.
Withtheadventof Jewish
whenghettowallscrumEmancipation,
- likesomewideble and theshtetlach
beginto dissolve,Jewry
enters
a
eyedanthropologist
upon strangehalakhah[codeof
indismay,withwonder,anger,
examine
this
world
conduct].They
and punitive
objectivity.43
thecompliment,
TheChristian
world,of course,returns
judgingJewish
and resisting
behaviorbyitsownstandards
as publicmisconduct,
every
to violateitsnormsofwhatmaybe spokenaboutand ofwhat,
attempt
forthesakeof decency,mustbe keptsilent.
TheJewish
elsebutChristian
then,wasnothing
questioninGermany,
to
as
how
to
entire
who
treat
an
are
unfitto be free.
puzzlement
people
Marx
its
he
thecomshares
Though
rejects theological
underpinnings,
monassessment
of theJewish
Indeed
his
on
strictures
"Jewish
religion.
Jesuitism"
descendin a straight
line fromthe Gospel imageof the
Phariseesvia Paul's anathemaon "the Law" in the name of "the
of thisstereotype,
at least,thereis no
Spirit."44Abouttheprovenance
Marxalso acceptsthestockpictureof theJewish
mystery.
moneyman,
for"commerce."Evenifhe doestwist
rightdownto thetermJudentum
its usual meaningintoan indictment
of Christian
societyforits own
hecan onlyachievethisendbyagreeing
toidentify
Jewsand
Jewishness,
money.
Neither
MarxnorhisLeftHegeliancontemporaries
saw anything
exin thisequation.BrunoBauerwritesinDie Judenfrage
that
traordinary
theJewsare a parasitenationwholivebeyondtheirappointedtimein
to Christian
history
byusury,contributing
nothing
productive
society.45
41. Cuddihy,Ordeal, p. 4.
42. Ibid., p. 14.
43. Ibid., p. 68. Halakhah actuallytranslatesbetteras "way of going," althoughit can
also include "law."
44. See Schwartz,"Liberalismand the JewishConnection," p. 82, n. 64.
45. Nathan Rotenstreich,Jewsand GermanPhilosophy(New York: Schocken Books,
1984), p. 81.
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772 The Jewish
QuestionAboutMarx
In TheEssenceof Christianity,
in
LudwigFeuerbachgoesevenfurther.
wordsthatMarxwouldecho,he statesthattheJewish
godis "themost
intheworld- namely,
practical
principle
egoism;andmoreover
egoism
in theformof religion.Egoismis theGod whowillnotlethisservants
cometo shame."Furthermore,
he accusestheJewsof "thealimentary
viewof theology."
Eatingis the most solemnact or the initiationof the Jewish
and renewstheact of
religion.In eating,theIsraelitecelebrates
obcreation;in eating,mandeclaresNatureto be an insignificant
eldersascendedthemountain
withMoses,
ject. Whentheseventy
"theysawGod; andwhentheyhadseenGod,theyateanddrank."
Thuswiththemwhatthesightof theSupremeBeingheightened
was theappetiteforfood.46
As MarxWartofsky
pointsout,whenFeuerbachdiscussesHoly Communion,he seesnothing
grossor ignoblein theact of eating."On the
it is seenas man'sennoblement
of hisdependence
on water,
contrary,
wine,andbread,as thestuffoflife."47ButwhenFeuerbach'ssubjectis
their
to stresstheirselfishness,
the Jews,he loses no opportunity
in
and theirabsurdpracticality.
Marxsees a significance
materialism,
Jewish
egoismthatFeuerbachmisses,buttheybothagreethatJewsare
egoistsas longas theyare Jews.
Whatis curiousabout thisis thatnothingin Marx's nativemilieu
wouldnaturally
lead himto thisconclusion.His birthplace,
Trier,conof 12,000- a littlehigher
than
tainedonly260Jewsoutofa population
more
urthenationalaverage,butstillonlyabout2 percent.
the
Among
mostwidespread
wereartisanban oftheJewsofTrier,theoccupations
notmoneylending
ortrade."4Therewaslittlescope
shipandinnkeeping,
inTrieranyway:
locatedintheheartoftheMosellewine
forhighfinance
In fact,thougha higher
wasprimarily
itseconomy
agricultural.
country,
in
lived
of
Jews
non-Jews
than
cities,theJewish
population
percentage
on
Trier
district
centered
was 68.5 percentruralof thegovernment
If Marxhad written
morethantwo-thirds.49
onlyof whathe reallyexwithhuckstering,
nor
of
Jews
neither
his
association
perienced,
negative
the
force
of
elemental
social
human
as
itscounterpart,
need,
Judaism,
wouldhavebeenpossibleforhim.
trans. George Eliot (New York:
46. Ludwig Feuerbach, The Essence of Christianity,
Harper & Brothers,1957), p. 114.
Feuerbach(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversity
Press, 1977),p.
47. Marx W. Wartofsky,
321.
48. Carlebach, Marx & Radical Critique,pp. 10-11.
49. Ibid., p. 372.
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DennisFischman 773
V.
The symbols"Jew" and "Judaism"in Karl Marx's "On theJewish
towidelyheldstereotypes
rather
thanemQuestion"owetheirexistence
themas literary
termsof art,playingon
piricalexample.Marxemploys
theirvariousnuancesto denigrate
thepoliticalstatebecauseitsexistence
impliesthatof Jewishcivilsociety,to deridepoliticalemancipation
in control,and to assertthesuperiority
becauseitleavesJudaism
ofhis
ownapproach,thenegation
ofJudaism,
totheproblem
ofhowtomake
free.
humanity
all this,whatMarxmeantby"Judaism"is stillindoubt.For
Granting
withintheboundaries
of thesestereotypes,
thereis simplyno roomfor
Judaism
is idenanypositivepictureof Judaism.Yetin Marx'stheory,
tifiedwithattention
to practicalneed,whichMarxvaluesaboveall. Instead of ennoblingJudaism,one would thinkthe connectionwith
manners
woulddemeancivilsociety.
Yet
casuistry,
greed,andoutlandish
forMarx,althoughtheJewishness
of civilsocietyis an argument
for
this
Jewish
character
is
what
makes
it,
transcending
possibleits
as
well
as
that
of
the
state
and
of
the
rift
between
them.
transcendence,
the
Jewish
defects
of
civil
are
its
virtues
as
well.
How
Apparently,
society
can we understand
this?
We mustremember
our earlierobservation
thatforMarxto place
value on any social phenomenon,
it mustreallyexist,i.e., produce
material
effects.
Marx'sviewis no simpleutilitarianism:
effective
reality
is a necessary
condition
of hisesteem,butnotalwayssufficient.
Bythis
standard,we can readilysee that"Jewishrudeness"mustindeedbe
judgeda virtue.In "On theJewish
Question,"MarxdeclaresChristianthecrudenessof practical
ity"too refined,too spiritualto eliminate
need" (p. 51). It takesno greatleap oftheimagination
to readthisas a
thepowerof practicalneedover
swipeat BrunoBauer,sinceignoring
to hisformer
teacher.Bycalling
politicallifeis Marx'sprecisereproach
attention
to thebruteeconomicfacts,Marxviolatesthenormsof Left
and statesunwelcome
in an obnoxiousJewish
truths
Hegeliandiscourse
manner.
Nordoeshe letthematter
rest.In TheHolyFamily,theinterminable
polemicagainstthe Left Hegelian"CriticalCritics"thatMarx and
Frederick
Engelscompiledin 1844,theauthorsattack"St. Bruno"once
again.Oncemore,MarxchoosestheJewish
questionas hisbattlefield.
Thistime,though,
hedrawsa tight
connection
between
Jewish
vulgarism
and theabilityto see themeaningof realhumanfreedom- thekindthat
onlycommunism,he now asserts,can achieve.
To the massy,materialJewsis to be preachedthe Christiandoc-
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774 The Jewish
QuestionAboutMarx
thatspiritualistic
trineofspiritual
freedom,offreedomin theory,
freedom
thatimagines
itselftobe freeeveninchains,thatisblissful
in "the idea" and that is only embarrassedby all massy
existence.. . . From this statementone can measure at once the
criticalcleavagethat divides,massy,profanecommunism
and
socialismfromabsolutesocialism.The firstprinciple
of profane
socialismrejectsemancipation
in meretheory
as an illusion,and
desiresfor real freedom,besides the idealistic"will," very
palpable,materialconditions.50
The Jewsare "massy" (of the masses,plebeian),and theylead a
"massyexistence"(lumpish,material,
real).Theycannotimaginereal
on theirown;thatis leftforMarxhimself
to do. Eventheyare
freedom
of
that
Bauer's
form
stems
capable seeing,though,
proffered offreedom
in partfromthedesirenotto be embarrassed
them
by
anylonger.For
theircrampedbutsecuremodeof survival,
Baueroffers"emancipation
" WecanhearMarxwarning,
inmeretheory.
as hedidin"On theJewish
that
the
Jews
hold
the
must
outfor realthing.
Question,"
Evenmore,however,
wecan recognize
an unexpected
parallelMarxis
betweenprofanesocialismand theJews.Profanesocialism,
in
drawing
on changing"very
fact,seemsto be distinguished
by its insistence
palpable,materialconditions":the same programwhich,one year
earlier,Marxhad called"thenegation[orabolition,or transcendence]
of Judaism."Marx'ssuccessin comingto gripswiththerealissueof
herewithneither
his
as he understood
humanfreedom,
it,is connected
In later
educationnor his class background
but withhis Jewishness.
buthere,beworks,hetriesto dodgetheissueofhisownconsciousness,
tweenthelines,he hintsat an explanation.
in TheHoly Familyin conjunction
Whenwe considertheargument
withthelineMarxpursuesin "On theJewish
Question,"theexampleof
theJewstellsus vitalelements
ofhowMarxbelievespeoplebecomefree.
thepositiontheyoccupyin civil
One predisposing
factoris certainly
of Judaismin the
"the
or
Marx
calls
situation
what
society,
particular
factor
world"
Another
such
wouldbe a standenslaved
present
(p. 51).
to
thevicissitudes
is
not
"too
too
concede
which
point
refined, spiritual"
a setof culturalresources
thatdirect
of humanneeds- a perspective,
cowed
intoacto
take
material
conditions
without
seriously
being
people
his
Marx
oscillates
between
them
as
immutable.
Over
lifetime,
cepting
looksimmirole.Whenrevolution
oneortheothertheprimary
granting
the
of
social
while
when
he
credits
relations,
prospects
nent,
objective
50. Seigel, Marx's Fate, pp. 144-45.
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DennisFischman 775
of the
upheavaldim, he turnsto blame the ideologicallimitations
In general,though,
hisattention
shifts
to thestudyofpolitical
masses."5
takescenter
and,as itdoes,theproletariat
stage,whiletheJews
economy
into
the
wings.
disappear
Marx'swritings,
we finda tension
however,
Continuously
throughout
in hisnotionof freedom
thatappearsfirstand mostclearlyin "On the
JewishQuestion"as we have read it. Everyday,
practicalJudaismis
of
to
in
civil
the
realities
rooted,according Marx,
societyduringa
For
its
that
reason, negationgoes lockstepwiththe
capitalistic
age.
of
it: thepowerof money,the
the
conditions
thatmaintain
superseding
exchangesystem,ultimately
capitalismitself.In the freedworld,the
theold societyand helpedthe
Jewishperspective
whichhad criticized
newonetobe bornwouldloseitsreasonforbeing.It woulddisappearin
bothitssabbathand everyday
versions:theformer
exploded,thelatter
ofitsmaterial
ofJudaism
basis.Theparticular
situation
would
deprived
be dissolved.The Jewsthemselves
wouldbe absorbedintothespeciesas
theabstractcitizenis absorbedintotheindividual.
And yet,evenfromthestandpoint
of humanemancipation,
can the
Jewsbe requiredto abolishJudaism?
as Marxdescribes
Emancipation,
situation
itshidit,proceedsbyreadingone'sparticular
closely,finding
denpossibilities,
andreinterpreting
itthrough
in
order
to
become
action,
itsauthor.It cannotsucceed,however,
ifin therereading
theauthoris
for
then
who
is
it
who
becomes
own
free?
Marx's
is
annihilated,
identity
boundup withtheJewish
of
In
alienated
human
life.
activity criticizing
whatpossibleworldwouldhisanxiety
overtrading
thesubstantial
Jewish
for
an
freedom
perspective
illusory
finally
disappear?
51. Seigelnotesthistendency
in thecontrasting
Marx
analysesof the1848revolution
inFranceandTheEighteenth
givesin TheClassStruggle
Brumaire
ofLouisBonaparte
(pp.
199-203).
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