Author(s)

Zhiyi Li ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ School of Philosophy and Sociology, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China

Corresponding Author

ABSTRACT

This paper explores Marx's view of justice through his critique of Proudhon. It first traces the evolution of Marx's attitude toward Proudhon from affirmation to divergence and finally to negation, then analyzes Marx's two main criticisms: Proudhon's concept of justice lacks a realistic foundation, and his proposed path to justice is limited to the sphere of exchange. On this basis, the paper summarizes three characteristics of Marx's own view of justice: justice is historically finite, its foundation lies in the sphere of production rather than distribution, and its ultimate goal is the free and all-round development of human beings. Unlike Proudhon's eternal and moralistic justice, Marx's justice is rooted in historical materialism and provides a thorough sublation of bourgeois ideology.

KEYWORDS

CITE THIS PAPER

Zhiyi Li. Exploring Marx's View of Justice from Marx's Critique of Proudhon. Philosophy Journal (2026). Vol. 5, No.1, 42-48. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/phij.2026.050107.

REFERENCES

[1] Marx, K., Engels, F. (1960) Collected Works of Marx and Engels, 1st ed., Vol.1. Beijing: People's Publishing House.
[2] Marx, K., Engels, F. (2002) Collected Works of Marx and Engels, 2nd ed., Vol.3. Beijing: People's Publishing House.
[3] Marx, K., Engels, F. (1958) Collected Works of Marx and Engels, 1st ed., Vol.4. Beijing: People's Publishing House.
[4] Marx, K., Engels, F. (1963) Collected Works of Marx and Engels, 1st ed., Vol.19. Beijing: People's Publishing House.
[5] Wood, A.W. (1972) The Marxian Critique of Justice. Philosophy & Public Affairs, 1(3), 244–282.

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