Minimum program: Difference between revisions

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The minimum program in Marxism refers to a set of demands for immediate reforms, which is in contrast to the maximum program of fully constructed socialism or communism.

One of the first examples of a minimum programme is in the 1880 programme drawn up for the French Workers' Party by Jules Guesde with Paul Lafargue, Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx. The introductory Preamble, also known as the "maximum section" was given to Guesde by Marx and concludes with the following paragraph (according to the Penguin translation from the German in MEW)

The French socialist workers, who have set themselves in the economic arena the goal of the return of all means of production to collective ownership, have decided, as the means of organisation and struggle, to enter the elections with the following minimum programme.^[1]

Examples

Communist Manifesto

In the Communist Manifesto, the short-term demands were as follows:

progressive income tax
abolition of inheritances and private property
abolition of child labour
free public education
nationalisation of the means of transport and communication
centralisation of credit via a national bank
expansion of publicly owned land, etc.

Black Panther Party's Ten Point Program

These are abbreviated points, the original can be read here.

Freedom
Full employment
End the robbery of the oppressed communities
Decent housing
Public education
Free healthcare
End of police brutality
End the wars
Re-try all Black people by a jury of their peers
"land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, peace and people’s community control of modern technology"

References

↑ "Marx, First International and After" pp. 376-377, Penguin, London, 1974. NB the translation from the French at http://marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1880/05/parti-ouvrier.htm translates the last phrase as "immediate demands"

[1] "Marx, First International and After" pp. 376-377, Penguin, London, 1974. NB the translation from the French at http://marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1880/05/parti-ouvrier.htm translates the last phrase as "immediate demands"

[1]

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 One of the first examples of a minimum programme is in the 1880 programme drawn up for the [[French Workers' Party]] by [[Jules Guesde]] with [[Paul Lafargue]], [[Friedrich Engels]] and [[Karl Marx]]. The introductory Preamble, also known as the "maximum section" was given to Guesde by Marx and concludes with the following paragraph (according to the Penguin translation from the German in MEW)<blockquote>The French socialist workers, who have set themselves in the economic arena the goal of the return of all means of production to collective ownership, have decided, as the ''means of organisation and struggle'', to enter the elections with the following minimum programme.<ref>"Marx, First International and After" pp. 376-377, Penguin, London, 1974. NB the translation from the French at <nowiki>http://marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1880/05/parti-ouvrier.htm</nowiki> translates the last phrase as "immediate demands"</ref></blockquote>
+== Examples ==
+=== Communist Manifesto ===
+In the Communist Manifesto, the short-term demands were as follows:
+* [[progressive income tax]]
+* abolition of inheritances and [[private property]]
+* abolition of [[child labour]]
+* free [[public education]]
+* nationalisation of the means of transport and communication
+* centralisation of credit via a national bank
+* expansion of publicly owned land, etc.
+=== Black Panther Party's Ten Point Program ===
+These are abbreviated points, the original can be [[Library:Ten Point Program of the Black Panther Party|read here]].
+* Freedom
+* Full employment
+* End the robbery of the oppressed communities
+* Decent housing
+* Public education
+* Free healthcare
+* End of police brutality
+* End the wars
+* Re-try all Black people by a jury of their peers
+* "land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, peace and people’s community control of modern technology"
 == Further reading ==