Pope John Paul II promulgated his first major social encyclical, Laborem Exercens (“On Human Work”), in September 1981. The encyclical, evoked many favorable reactions, even from Marxists. One such writer even argued that on social issues at least, John Paul II stands as “a sturdy and reliable ally.” The Pope often speaks in categories more familiar to Marxists than to Catholics. Another commentator even indicated doubts whether U.S. Catholics realize the importance of the encyclical because “The pope's concerns are the (...) concerns of Marx, his categories and history are those of Marx.” Yet, the Pope seems to identify Marxism with Marxist-Leninism. (shrink)

Marx spent his life propagating ideas, Yet in theory he treated ideas as mere reflections of economic situations. The article takes a closer look at the young marx's views and concludes that marx recognized the importance of ideas where they 1) express the real needs of the people, 2) lead to effective action, And 3) correspond to conditions which permit their realization.