Did Marx ever mention the role of the poet in the authentic communist state?

Despite his own love of literature, and thorough knowledge of the great works of the Western literary tradition, Marx said virtually nothing about the fate of art in communist society.

One point he did insist on, however, was that communism would entail a profound human liberation, and this would include, among other things, liberation of our aesthetic capacities and potential. For example, Marx believed that mechanization and automation would make it possible for us to radically shorten the work day, and that reducing work time was in fact a necessary condition for human emancipation and creating a truly liberated society. One of the purposes of shortening the work day is to free up time for creative activity, like writing, painting, building things, composing and playing music, etc.

Marx seemed to assume that there would be more poets in communist society, since all sorts of talents, including a gift for poetry, would emerge once people had the time and encouragement necessary to develop these talents.

Marx seemed to assume that there would be more poets in communist society, since all sorts of talents, including a gift for poetry, would emerge once people had the time and encouragement necessary to develop these talents. At the same time, he also seemed to assume that there would be fewer full-time artists, so to speak, in communist society, for he believed that one of the great defects of capitalism is that it leads to excessive specialization: one is a painter, a lawyer, a plumber, a teacher, a farmer, a poet, an electrician, etc. That is, we are forced to assume one role, and therefore end up developing only a fraction of our various talents and abilities, hence crippling, and even de-humanizing ourselves.

As an alternative, Marx defended the ideal of an all-round or universal development of the individual. He believed that this would be possible in part, as I said, because people would have so much more free time at their disposal. These are the themes that we can find throughout Marx’s work, from The German Ideology to The Grundrisse and Capital.

How do you think Marx would react to the onslaught of modern poetry as it was experienced in the 20th century, with all its existentialism, fragmentation, absurdism, surrealism…?

I suppose that Marx, in keeping with his method of social analysis, would view the developments as being in part an expression, and symptom, of deeper socio-economic changes. He would likely regard them the way that many Marxist critics have viewed them, namely as reflections of the crises of capitalism and capitalist society, with the economic dislocation, alienation, and social atomization. that these crises inevitably generate. While this approach or perspective has its limitations, it seems useful in explaining some aspects and manifestations of literary trends or movements that appeared in the 20th century.