Did Greek Philosopher Epicurus Influence Marx’s Communism?

Marx’s communism is maligned for how it manifested in the political world, and while faults with the practice are evident throughout twentieth century history, it is interesting to note that some of the earliest theories of communism may have been thought up by Epicurus and other ancient Greek philosophers.

Epicurus, an ancient Greek philosopher born on the island of Samos, was the subject of the later German thinker Karl Marx’s PhD thesis.

Having studied law at the University of Bonn, and law and philosophy at the University of Berlin, Marx went on to do his classically-laden doctorate at the University of Jena, also in Germany.

Marx is said to have been profoundly influenced by Epicurus, and dedicated his thesis, a Hegelian dialectical analysis of the differences between the natural philosophies of Democritus and Epicurus, to the ancient philosopher.

It is believed that Marx valued Epicurean thinking for its emphasis on materialism. He saw Epicurus as an empiricist, whose outlook on the world was internally consistent and practically applicable.

Aside from empirical, materialistic thinking, Epicureanism, along with other ancient Greek schools of thought, may have influenced Marx’s theory of communism, Marxism.

According to Doyne Dawson’s book Cities of the Gods: Communist Utopias in Greek Thought, there was a background milieu of communal thinking in late fifth century BC ancient Greece, where ideas resembling communism had become popular to the extent that they were being parodied by the playwright Aristophanes, in his comedy The Assemblywomen.

In the play, the women of Athens take control of the Ecclesia, or city government, and abolish all private property, along with making the sharing of women and collective rearing of children mandatory.

More than a decade later, in Plato’s masterwork Republic, the philosopher invited his readers to understand that an ideal state would eliminate all forms of private property among the aristocracy and move towards the sharing of women and children.

It is unknown whether the advent of the Epicurean commune in ancient Greece, which began with his first school, known as The Garden, was a seed in the communistic thinking to later be brought to the world by Marx, or whether it was simply a hippy practice.

Did Epicurus’ Communism Resonate With Karl Marx?

What is known is that Epicurus put a strong emphasis on friendship as the basis of a fulfilling and satisfying life. According to the Cambridge Companion to Epicureanism, by James Warren, the avoidance of hardship and fear is an ideal state for an Epicurean, and while this freedom from “the difficult life” could be achieved through political ends, Epicurus advised against a life in politics.

According to Warren, Epicurus encouraged the formation of communities of friends who all lived outside the traditional political state. This community of virtuous friends would then turn its focus to internal affairs and justice, which is not dissimilar to Marx’s theory that capitalism, the existing system, would give way to communism.

In the centuries that followed his first philosophical commune (The Garden), several hundred Epicurean communes were established around the Mediterranean.

However, as stated by ClassicalWisdom.com, Epicureanism was not met with favor in Rome. With the rise of Christianity came the fall of the hedonism-led philosophy.

Epicureans did not believe in an afterlife, and while they did not deny the existence of gods, they sowed seeds of doubt as to whether the supernatural beings concerned themselves with human affairs.

This worldview was not compatible with Christian theology, as the early Christian writer Ambrose of Milan pointed out in his letter to a Christian congregation at Vercellae in 396 AD: “Epicurus himself also, whom these persons think they should follow rather than the apostles, the advocate of pleasure, although he denies that pleasure brings in evil, does not deny that certain things result from it from which evils are generated.

“He asserts in fine that the life of the luxurious which is filled with pleasures does not seem to be reprehensible, unless it be disturbed by the fear either of pain or of death.”

Many experts have stated that Epicurean communes were subsequently either converted into today’s Christian monasteries or shut down by Emperor Justinian I, who in the early sixth century AD, ordered the closing of all pagan schools that conflicted with the church’s doctrines.

Could ancient Greek thinking about shared living spaces, children and women, along with Epicurus’ rejection of intervening gods and life under a typical political setup, have had some affect on the mind of Karl Marx and his future communism? Or was it all the foundational elements of the ‘hippy’ life?