Liberal Marxism

Liberal Marxism is an approach that combines elements of Marxism and liberal thought, seeking to reconcile core liberal values such as individual rights and democracy with Marxist critiques of capitalism and class.^[1]

Liberal Marxism can also be viewed as liberal socialism in a broad sense, but liberal socialism in a narrow sense often refers to social liberalism or social democracy that supports social ownership and the rights of property.^[2] Karl Marx is generally known as a critic of liberalism and liberal rights. However, some socialists claim that he praised the achievements of liberalism, such as freedom of speech, and defended the substantive freedom, only criticizing the freedom in the great inequality of wealth and power.^[3]

By country

China

In the 1980s, liberal Marxists opposed 'ultra-leftist' policies and advocated for reformist socialism. They viewed Western liberal democracy as a model of institutions capable of restraining the abuse of power, such as freedom of press and the liberal right to organize.^[4]

Today, the Chinese Communist Party still advocates "Marxism–Leninism", and there are some "liberal wing" (自由派) intellectuals like Wang Yang and Qin Hui.

Czechoslovakia

Socialism with a human face is a slogan related to programs promoted by Alexander Dubček and his colleagues in the late 1960s and sought to promote moderate democratization, economic modernization, and political liberalization based on Marxism.

Japan

The Japanese Communist Party (JCP) supports a multi-party liberal democracy that is distinct from authoritarian one-party systems in other communist-ruled countries such as the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union.

Russia

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, identified himself as a "Marxist" but implemented social democratic liberal reforms such as Perestroika and Glasnost, which promoted greater civil liberties and moderate market liberalization.

Liberal Marxism emerged in Russian academic discourse after dissolution of the Soviet Union, a period of time to explore new economic and ideological frameworks; Russian economists Aleksandr Buzgalin and A. Kolganov published a paper, Do We Need Liberal Marxism? in the July 2004 issue of the Russian economic journal Voprosy Ekonomiki.^[5]

References

^ Frederick Harry Pitts, ed. (21 January 2020). "A Liberal Marxism? Mutual Care, Global Humanity and Minimum Utopia". Wiley Online Library. doi:10.1111/1467-923X.12809.
^ • Thomas Cate, ed. (2012). Keynes' General Theory: Seventy-Five Years Later. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 251. ISBN 978-1-78100-103-5. ... pacific transition to socialism, which led Hollander (2008) to call him the first revisionist. And, on different occasions, Keynes evoked a 'socialism of the future' which is sometimes called social-liberalism or liberal socialism.
• Keith Clements, ed. (2015). The Moot Papers: Faith, Freedom and Society 1938-1944. A&C Black. p. 552. ISBN 978-0-567-19831-0. Hobhouse was a Liberal politician who argued for 'social liberalism' or 'liberal socialism', i.e. a qualified acceptance of government intervention in the economy. Tillich's green point of the impotence of the Idea apart from The Moot Papers ...
• Fred Dallmayr, ed. (2015). Freedom and Solidarity: Toward New Beginnings. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-6579-0. Hence, the remedy for social ills envisaged by Dewey is a regime that might be called "liberal socialism" or "social liberalism," but preferably "social democracy"—that is, a regime where all members enjoy freedom in solidarity.
• Pierre Pestieau, Mathieu Lefebvre, ed. (2018). The Welfare State in Europe: Economic and Social Perspectives. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-254906-8. ... and welfare programs, and liberal socialism, or social democracy, that supports economic interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a capitalist economy.
• James Crotty, ed. (2019). The Welfare State in Europe: Economic and Social Perspectives. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-87705-6. Liberal Socialism was Keynes's particular version of social democracy.
^ "What Karl Marx Really Thought About Liberalism". Jacobin. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
^ Tu, Hang (2025). Sentimental Republic: Chinese Intellectuals and the Maoist Past. Harvard University Asia Center. ISBN 9780674297579.
^ A. Buzgalin; A. Kolganov, eds. (2004). "Do We Need Liberal Marxism? (on the Article by E. Gaidar and V. Mau "Marxism: Between the Scientific Theory and 'Secular Religion")". Вопросы экономики. doi:10.32609/0042-8736-2004-7-132-149.

[1] Frederick Harry Pitts, ed. (21 January 2020). "A Liberal Marxism? Mutual Care, Global Humanity and Minimum Utopia". Wiley Online Library. doi:10.1111/1467-923X.12809.

[2] • Thomas Cate, ed. (2012). Keynes' General Theory: Seventy-Five Years Later. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 251. ISBN 978-1-78100-103-5. ... pacific transition to socialism, which led Hollander (2008) to call him the first revisionist. And, on different occasions, Keynes evoked a 'socialism of the future' which is sometimes called social-liberalism or liberal socialism.
• Keith Clements, ed. (2015). The Moot Papers: Faith, Freedom and Society 1938-1944. A&C Black. p. 552. ISBN 978-0-567-19831-0. Hobhouse was a Liberal politician who argued for 'social liberalism' or 'liberal socialism', i.e. a qualified acceptance of government intervention in the economy. Tillich's green point of the impotence of the Idea apart from The Moot Papers ...
• Fred Dallmayr, ed. (2015). Freedom and Solidarity: Toward New Beginnings. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-6579-0. Hence, the remedy for social ills envisaged by Dewey is a regime that might be called "liberal socialism" or "social liberalism," but preferably "social democracy"—that is, a regime where all members enjoy freedom in solidarity.
• Pierre Pestieau, Mathieu Lefebvre, ed. (2018). The Welfare State in Europe: Economic and Social Perspectives. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-254906-8. ... and welfare programs, and liberal socialism, or social democracy, that supports economic interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a capitalist economy.
• James Crotty, ed. (2019). The Welfare State in Europe: Economic and Social Perspectives. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-87705-6. Liberal Socialism was Keynes's particular version of social democracy.

[3] "What Karl Marx Really Thought About Liberalism". Jacobin. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2025.

[4] Tu, Hang (2025). Sentimental Republic: Chinese Intellectuals and the Maoist Past. Harvard University Asia Center. ISBN 9780674297579.

[5] A. Buzgalin; A. Kolganov, eds. (2004). "Do We Need Liberal Marxism? (on the Article by E. Gaidar and V. Mau "Marxism: Between the Scientific Theory and 'Secular Religion")". Вопросы экономики. doi:10.32609/0042-8736-2004-7-132-149.

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