Along with the development of the natural sciences, social sciences also made great progress. These included Classical German Philosophy with the names of F. Hegel and L. Feuerbach and Classical British political economy with A. Smith and D. Ricardo. Three critical utopians at the beginning of the 19th century were H. Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier and R. Owen. The ideas of these utopians had values such as condemning and criticizing the current regime, proposing a model of a future communist society in which the role of industry, science and technology was emphasized, eliminating the contrast between mental and manual labor and the historical role of the State and the liberation of women. However, there were still limitations, especially with the pioneering social forces that could carry out the revolutionary transformation from capitalism to communism. Marxism was born to meet these requirements.

2. The role of K. Marx and F. Engels in shifting Socialism from utopia to science

Besides the above-mentioned objective conditions and premises, Marx and Engels played a significant role in bringing socialism out of utopia and into science. First: The transformation of Marx and Engels from the idealistic to the materialist view, the revolutionary democratic to the revolutionary communist stance.

K. Marx was born into an intellectual family. From the beginning, in his doctoral thesis on the topic, “The Difference Between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature,” he exhibited a critical spirit with the stance of idealism but expressed as a two-way relationship between people and the objective environment and the ability of people to improve that objective environment. Marx disagreed with Democritus’ philosophical conception of nature because, according to him, this concept had a deterministic tendency. For Epicurus, Marx defended him on one side but still criticized him for the concept of absolute freedom. Marx’s early liberal ideas in the field of philosophy gradually formed his liberal ideas in the political field. From the end of 1843 to April 1844, through his work “A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right,” K. Marx clearly showed changes in his ideological position.

For F. Engels, though he came from a bourgeois family and was influenced by religion more than society, gradually in his mind, doubts and conflicts between what was true and false and the contrast between rich and poor arose, eroding his religious faith. Witnessing the poor life of the workers, and the direct conflict between them and the bourgeois in Renani, a Kingdom of Prussia, the reality of that society made a deep impression on Engels and helped him break from religion. He gradually formed a new concept about the world, focusing on socio-political issues instead of religious faith. In 1843, the works “Condition of England” and “Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts” expressed changes in his ideological position.

In order to achieve this, the working class needs to make an alliance with the democratic and progressive forces by upholding the principles of ideological, political and organizational independence during the common struggle for social progress. They achieved this by effectively applying revolutionary measures to ensure the fulfillment of their historic mission. Especially by adopting the slogan “Proletarians of all countries, unite!” at the end of “The Communist Manifesto,” K. Marx and F. Engels affirmed the great significance and international solidarity of the international communist and workers’ movement. Therefore, “The Communist Manifesto” marked the formation of the basic categories and principles of Marxist Doctrine in general and the birth of scientific socialism in particular with the progression of socialism from utopia to science.

3. The meaning of studying the foundation of Marxism

Today, compared to the era of Marx and Engels, human history has advanced many times over. Although it has not been concretized in every detail, the changes of today’s times are not beyond the predictions of Marxism. It is these changes that enrich this theory in the current context. Therefore, the scientific character of Marxism is still valid.

As a scientific theory, it is always open, and it is that openness that confirms the scientific character of Marxism. Reality has proven that, in the 20th century, Marxism was inherited, protected, and developed by V.I. Lenin, and came to be known as Marxism-Leninism. At present, the international Communist and workers’ parties continue to supplement and develop the theory under new conditions. Therefore, the birth of Marxism is not only meaningful to the past society of that time but also has profound meaning in today’s period.

First: Marxism is not a speculative theory fabricated by the human brain, nor is it a random discovery of a specific genius mind. But it has come from a process of acquisition and developed from the premise that the ideological culture was increasingly maturing in the hearts of the societies that came before it, especially in capitalist society with the three critical utopian socialists in the early 19th century. This is considered a normal problem but at the same time affirmative of the scientific characteristic of the foundation of Marxism. When discussing this role, F. Engels once asserted that German Theoretical Socialism would never forget that it stands on the shoulders of Saint-Simon, Fourier, and Owen. These three men, whose work on illusory and utopian qualities belong to the greatest minds of all times. They brilliantly foretold the multitude of truths which we today have scientifically proven to be correct. Today, Communist parties in the process of building communism, besides national specificity, need to adhere to Marxism- Leninism, a revolutionary and scientific doctrine.

Second: Marxism was born in relation to the reality of the socio-economic life at the heart of capitalism. This objective reality was the most vivid evidence to affirm the scientific nature from the birth of Marxism. When the large capitalist industry was founded, fundamental changes in the economic and political life of society with its inherent internal contradictions could not be reconciled. There inevitably arose a social revolution where the working class conducted that historic mission. It is the development of the capitalist mode of production that has “more and more completely transformed the great majority of the population into proletarians”(2), and it is also “the capitalist mode of production that has paved the wave for the revolution”(3). Therefore, the process of building socialism in all nations should be based on reality – the objective socio-economic conditions of the times of each nation.

Third: Marxism was born as a dialectical unity between theory and practice. Reality has illuminated and is a condition and a real ground for the birth of Marxism. Hence, when Marxism was created, it penetrated into reality and led the movements of struggle of the global working class and the working people to realize the set revolutionary goals. Practice has proven, “Without revolutionary theory there can be no revolutionary movement”(4), and at the same time practice is the criterion of truth. Therefore, it is important to not despise reasoning but avoid absolutizing reasoning.

Fourth: The birth of Marxism confirmed that socialist thought movements before Marxism were “utopian,” and that utopian ideology had many causes, the fundamental reason being that capitalism had not developed yet. The movements of socialist thought before Marxism were born before capitalist production methods were fully developed. Great industry had only just begun in England. Therefore, the conflict between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie was not yet mature. In addition, methods and tricks had not yet fully appeared to resolve the conflict. Therefore, those theories were not mature and had not escaped from idealistic conceptions of history. It was unable to discover the nature and laws of the movement of capitalist society or the emergence of the future society. Today, in the process of building socialism, the Communist parties need to postpone their hasty and subjective views when they do not have enough conditions and prerequisites for the construction of socialism.