Marxism: An American Christian Perspective by Arthur F. McGovern, S.J. (review)

150 BOOK REVIEWS In sum, this book is valuable, for it shows the diversity of Rahner's thought and disciples, who are clearly revealed to be other than the devots and sectaries of an introverted conventicle, where, as in a monastic choir, the verses of the master are liturgically recited and repeated. On the other hand by this book I am also reminded of sage advice given me at the beginning of my philosophical studies, " If you can't figure out Cajetan or Capreolus or John of St. Thomas, try St. Thomas himself." In a finite world of limited time, the transposition is obvious. In any case, though, let the last words of this review belong to the editor of this volume, the longtime friend and interpreter of Karl Rahner, Herbert Vorgrimler, who says to his mentor," You [are] yourself your own best interpreter" (p. rn). The Catholic University of America Washington, D.C. ROBERT KRESS Marxism: An American Christian Perspective. By ARTHUR F. McGOVERN, S.J. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1980. Pp. 839. This book by Arthur McGovern, a professor of political philosophy with a wide and penetrating knowledge of his field, and a committed Christian and Jesuit priest, is, I think, a very important contribution to Christian thought in the United States. This is especially true for American Catholics, since the author devotes a good deal of space to the papal social teaching and to common Catholic attitudes regarding Marxism and socialism. Yet Christians of other churches will also greatly benefit from it, since the common American perspective on Marxism crosses church lines and is more defined by cultural and socio-political determinants than by ecclesiastical or theological ones. The book is important for various reasons. First, it provides an informative and analytical study of Marxist theory and practice which is wellbalanced and fair, with no axes to grind nor bandwagons upon which to jump. McGovern tries to be very critical and objective-" dialectical": an " effort at understanding by looking at both sides "-but also does not hide the values and commitments which form his own perspective. Second, he is not afraid to acknowledge the positive contributions of Marxism to both social science and Christian theology. He repeatedly challenges American Christians to be ready to see the positive side of Marxism as they are to criticize its negative side. Third, while the book does have a good deal of the theoretical analysis which is necessary to understand Marxism, the concern of the book is " a very practical one": whether Christitm!l i;an., <;Qn~ BOOK REVIEWS 151 sistently with their Christian commitment, use Marxist analysis and even collaborate with Marxists in the human struggle for a more just society. The author at least wants American Christians to understand why Christians in Third World countries have affirmed the possibility of doing so and acted accordingly. Thus I think McGovern's is the type of book American Christians should read both in order to form a different perspective on critical social problems and in order to form a new perspective on their own Christianity. His perspective is open and sympathetic to the challenge of the Marxist critique of society and socialistic solutions. Yet he himself acknowledges that it is different from one which would " grow out of 'praxis ' and a commitment to socialism," " one perhaps far more critical of the Church and less critical of Marxism." As one who has worked for many years in Latin America and has attempted to understand, develop, and practice a liberation theology perspective, I will note my difficulties with certain of McGovern's analyses and evaluations, as well as underline his positive grasp and exposition of ideas that will help the development of this new critical theology, especially in the United States. McGovern himself is wholesomely selfcritical and honest about his limitations: his " dependency on books rather than direct experience "; his awareness that " one's experiences, class origins , values, and temperament all influence judgments reached and what one selects to emphasize or overlook." The book attacks the problem of Marxism and Christianity from three perspectives which form the three main parts and which are interdependent. Part I offers an historical perspective. It is crucial because the basic method used by McGovern to analyze Marxism and its compatibility with Christianity is the "historical-genetical " method. Both Christian and Marxist positions develop out of a historical context and continue to develop (and change) in new historical situations. So the first section deals at the outset with Marx's own writings and the evolution of his ideas. Then it turns to the development of Marxism after Marx, both " Classical Marxism," the dominant Marxist tradition, and "Critical Marxism," the critique of and challenge to many of the classical " dogmas " of official Marxism by certain European Marxists. Finally, in order to understand how the Church's response to Marxism, like the Marxist critique of Christianity, is always relative to a social and historical context which changes and modifies previous positions, McGovern studies the history of the Church's attitudes toward Marxism and socialism, all the way from early papal anathemas to modern Christian Marxists who seek to apply modern papal social teaching. With respect to McGovern's analysis of Marx's thought and its continuation and development in later Marxism, what is needed to complement and enhance his study is another book on Marxism and Christianity, also recently published by Orbis, and authored by the Mexican Christian Marxist, Jose Miranda, who is not only a Scripture scholar but also a careful student 15~ BOOK REV11llWS of Marx and Marxists, as Marx against the Marxists: The Christian Humanism of Karl Marx proves. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the relationship between the heritage that Marx left and the heritage that Jesus Christ left. McGovern certainly recognizes that the legacy of Karl Marx has given rise to many different interpretations, and that the followers of Marx (especially Engels, Lenin, and Stalin) developed ideas and strategies that have no direct connection with Marx's thought or writings. But Miranda makes a clearer distinction, substantiated by texts from Marx, between Marx and classical Marxist ideas, and he uses this to show that contradictions between fundamental Marxist ideas and Christianity are more apparent than real. As Miranda says in his Preface, " It is not just the satanic image of Marx concocted by conservatives that is demonstrably false. Equally false is the image of Marx presented by certain revolutionaries who call themselves' Marxists'." McGovern could have greatly benefited from Miranda's book if it had been published before his own. McGovern, in his analysis of Marx's thought, stresses a couple of ideas that he considers useful for Christians in qualifying their fears of Marxism as essentially atheistic and totalitarian-ideas that Miranda will develop even more. One is that " Marx became an atheist prior to becoming a socialist," and there is no intrinsic connection between his atheism and his advocacy of socialism (p. 246} . It was Engels who developed after Marx's death the idea of scientific atheism based on a philosophical materialism (different from Marx's " historical materialism "); and it was Lenin who developed a militant atheism as a revolutionary strategy for radical social change. But modern critical Marxists, such as Lukacs, Bloch, Machovec, and Garaudy , have begun a reappraisal of religion and have discovered positive and even revolutionary elements in the Christian religion. Thus McGovern thinks that " it is historical tradition far more than any inner logic which has linked Marxist atheism and socialism together" (p. 272}. Another idea found in Marx that has great significance in Christianity is that, at the same time that he relentlessly attacks the individualism found in Western societies and promoted by Capitalism, " Marx stresses throughout the ' individual ', not the sacrifice of the individual to a collectivity-as critics of Marx often charge" (p. 80). For Marx the evil of Capitalism is that it does not allow the majority of individuals to be served by the productive forces of society, nor to achieve freedom, nor to be fulfilled, not alienated, by their productive work. In his treatment of Marxist development- since Marx, McGovern shows that not all Marxists agree with what the dominant Marxist tradition of the Communist Party holds: that Marxism should be identified with the actualized dominant form ("praxis") it has taken in history. Again, there are critical Marxists who consider true Marxism "an open, constantly changing system of ideas," and who " tend to treat Marxism primarily as BOOK REVIEWS 153 a method of analysis and not as a complete system of all knowledge " (p. 50). It is this open, self-critical Marxism, and not the closed, dogmatic Marxism imposing its worldview as absolute truth, that McGovern thinks gives an opening to Christians to enhance, from a Marxist perspective, their own perceptions and commitments. Yet he frequently expresses an extreme caution and fear about adopting Marxist strategies or tactics for social change, on the ground that " Marxist regimes have a dismal record of imposing a social order and ideology rather than allowing people to express or develop their own hopes, plans and worldviews" (p. 311). What McGovern does not seem to be sufficiently aware of is that Western Capitalist societies, including the United States, also have a " dismal record of imposing a social order and ideology" (the "American way of life," consumerist values, efficiency above all, etc.) through means that are perhaps less violent and more subtle, but nevertheless effective. One could also question his statement that " The power of a state to impose its ideology is certainly far greater than the power of a church to bind by conscience and guilt .. .," if by " power " one means effectiveness. Has the power of the Polish Communist Party, for example, to impose its atheistic ideology on Polish Catholics been more effective than the power of American society to " impose " the ideology of the profit motive on American Catholics, or more effective than the power of American Christian churches to impose an ideology of uncritical anti-communism on American Christians? One of the most useful things we can gain from Marxist analysis is an awareness of ideological influence or manipulation on all levels, and I do not think McGovern is sufficiently aware of that in the " democratic " societies. The author's treatment of the development of Catholic social teaching and official attitudes toward Marxism and socialism, from Pope Leo XIII up to the present day, should be very helpful and enlightening for most readers. He states that the Church's stances against Marxism and socialism have been mainly motivated by " the need for a balance between societal or state power and protection of the individual," and that the Church has now gotten to the point where it " seems clearly more open to the possibility of a democratic, participatory socialism ..." (p. 123). Further progress in shaping future Church actions and teachings will come about, thinks McGovern , mainly from " A new consciousness of the Church as ' the people of God ' [which will] make the influence of popular movements far more important ." The social teaching of the Church will proceed less from the top down and more from Christian praxis. Part II of the book studies the impact of Marxism on Christian social thinking and action. It studies the case against Capitalism from which the appeal of Marxism stems. Then it attempts to explain and evaluate liberation theology in Latin America which has become the focal point for contemporary Christian-Marxist relations. McGovern argues that it is incorrect 154 BOOK REVIEWS simply to accuse liberation theology of using theology to justify Marxist revolutionary views. As a case in point he analyzes the Church in Chile under Allende and the movement of Christians for Socialism which began there and then spread to other parts of the world. He thinks that the Marxist criticisms of Capitalism are for the most part true in substance, though he believes various charges are exaggerated and one-sided. He stresses the impoverishing effect of Capitalism on poor, Third World countries , but he also deals with the poverty and inequality in the United States that result from the operative absence of Christian value norms and priorities . When he talks about the importance of moral norms and values, I think McGovern makes too sweeping a statement when he says that " Marxists tend to look at values only as part of ideology reflecting the prevailing economic system" (p. 150; my emphasis). It depends upon the Marxist, the values, and the system. And the author recognizes that one of the distinguishing marks of Marx's method was to treat economics and its productive factors not simply as " things " (human beings included) but as "social relationships" (with qualitative values). McGovern's treatment of liberation theology is generally good and shows that he grasps its methodology and concerns. But some statements are weak or misleading. It is true that "Praxis is not a final criterion of truth, for the praxis itself must be evaluated "; but what must be said is that neither theory (abstract truths or norms) nor praxis stands alone at any point, and the criterion of truth is their reciprocity or dialectical relationship and interdependence ("doing the truth": truth in action, truth as experienced, truth as real liberation) . Truth is always re-thought as theory and re-done as action in such a way that both are constantly new. When McGovern comments on the ideological critique that liberation theologians espouse, he seems to fail to grasp its full implications. When theologians like Segundo call all present activities of the Church " ideological " (conducting a school, hearing confessions, etc. [p. 188]), he is not saying that they are only or totally ideological. He is simply pointing out that when the Church operates in society and inserts itself into the real world (as it must), the dominant ideology of that society affects the Church and its members on all levels of activity, no matter how religious or " interior" they may be. Everything we do and think is linked to our particular place in society, our class, race, and sex interests, our attitude toward social change, etc. When McGovern, in dealing with the biblical perspectives of liberation theology, criticizes Miranda's Marx and the Bible for being one-sided, he expresses a certain truth, and yet at the same time, I think, misses the intention and effectiveness of Miranda's monumental study. The latter wanted to bring out some central themes in the Bible in such a clear and powerful ("moving" says McGovern) way as to get Christians to re-read the Bible in a totally different manner. I know several Catholics for whom BOOK REVIEWS 155 the reading of Miranda's book was a turning point in their theology, even though, like myself, they did not agree with all his conclusions. Miranda's intention, in this and other books, is also to bring modem exegesis to the radical conclusions that Scripture scholars and theologians are reluctant to accept since they are so radical and challenging (both for theological tradition and social life). It is not true, I think, to say that "Miranda often does impose a Marxist framework on the Bible " (p. 194) . Miranda simply wants to show that the kind of radical critique Marx could make, and his passion for justice, are still weak compared to the prophetic critique and passion that comes out of Scripture. Part III addresses the major difficulties raised as Christian objections to Marxism. It treats of the key issues of atheism and materialism, and the political-moral problems evoked by classical Marxist views on property, violence, class struggle, and democracy. Miranda's most recent book fills many lacunae in this part, which is already good. Its concluding section offers McGovern's personal reflections on Marxism and Christianity, especially focusing on the feasibility and desirability of socialism as an alternative for the United States. McGovern makes an important point when he says (p. ~69) that in countries where socialist movements are pressing for change there has been greater interaction between Christians and Marxists, and the tensions and conflicts are no longer on pro-communist vs. anti-communist lines (nor, I could add, Catholic vs. Protestant lines) but are rather conflicts or divisions within the Church itself, "between Christians still hostile to or fearful of Marxism and those advocating socialism," between those who want to hold on to the old despite its problems, and those who are willing to risk (in general I think McGovern is too fearful of the risks-part of a life of faithinvolved in seeking a new future in which not everything is known or certain ) and to pay the price for the new. Especially important is the author 's enlightening treatment of how the concept of " the right of private property " has developed and changed in Catholic thought. What Catholic social teaching always sought to defend-responsible ownership for all-can now perhaps only be achieved in modern conditions by some kind of socialist system. McGovern's treatment of the difficult and delicate problem of revolutionary violence is fair and balanced, and he leaves the problem where it should be: to be ultimately answered prudentially in the concrete situation in which there is no absolute principle of violence or non-violence, and always with the goal of bringing violence (institutional, contestatory, or repressive) to an end. (One comment: Can one say the revolutionary struggle which succeeded in Nicaragua " did not trigger broad revolutionary hopes throughout Latin America "? It certainly has raised such hopes in Central America (especially in EI Salvador), and its impact has been great 156 BOOK REVIEWS on Latin Americans in many other countries who seek for a new socioeconomic order. In the concluding section McGovern reiterates his central thesis that " Marxism viewed as a self-critical method of analysis is not incompatible " with Christianity. "When tactics and strategies of social change are added on, Marxism may or may not prove incompatible " (p. 310) . He is convinced that " socialism and Marxism both raise the right issue-ownership and control of the means of production" (p. 315). Yet he remains extremely wary of Marxist political groups-or any " ideological " party (Does McGovern think that the American Democratic and Republican Parties are not ideological?) , and his great fear of any kind of revolutionary Marxism is that it will not produce or maintain the value of " democracy " (which tends to become almost an absolute for him). Thus McGovern would advocate a" democratic socialism " similar to what Michael Harrington espouses and actively promotes in the United States. McGovern's final point, in " A Christian Epilogue," is well taken: as Marxism can contribute something important to the Christian perspective on human society, so do Christians" have a precious and important heritage that bears upon Marxism and social change " (p. 3~7) . As Christian Marxists like Miranda have said, what has been historically lacking in socialism, keeping it from being what we would expect and want it to be, is precisely the great and necessary element of Christian faith and the absolute human dignity of every human person it implies. Christians know the Marxists have erred in offering Marxism as a substitute for Christianity. The same Christians have an extremely important mission in the cause of justice within a socialist perspective. McGovern's book can help American Christians to be open to that cause and to further it out of their own heritage. Union Theological Seminary New York, N.Y. JACK RISLEY, 0.P. The Philosophical Approach to God. By W. NORRIS CLARKE, S.J. WinstonSalem , N.C.: Wake Forest University Press, 1979. Pp. viii + 115. In his The Philosophical, Approach to God (the published version of three lectures delivered as the sole invited lectures at the Fourth James Montgomery Hester Seminar at Wake Forest University in 1979) Fr. W. Norris Clarke looks to "update" as well as to explain his own particular brand of Neo-Thomism as it applies to the area of philosophical theology: 1) to update it by accommodating it, in part, to certain recent currents of thought, namely, Transcendental Thomism and process (i.e. Whiteheadian) ...