The Direct Relationship Between Democracy and the Dictatorship of the Bourgeoisie: A Critical Review of the Literature

Authors

  • Herbert Fonseca de Oliveira Melo UNIFAP

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36557/2009-3578.2024v10n2p04-10

Keywords:

democracy, dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, Marxism, hegemony, capitalism.

Abstract

This literature review aims to understand the relationship between modern democratic regimes and the Marxist concept of the “dictatorship of the bourgeoisie.” The analysis assumes that, despite the formal appearance of popular participation and legal equality, liberal democracy fundamentally functions as a tool for maintaining the economic power of dominant classes. Based on classical authors such as Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, and Antonio Gramsci, and contemporary thinkers like David Harvey and Boaventura de Sousa Santos, the paper explores the structural limits of bourgeois democracy. A qualitative and bibliographical methodology is employed. The results suggest that liberal democracy, although it promotes rights and elections, is structurally based on the logic of capital reproduction, thus becoming a sophisticated form of class domination.

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References

1. Marx K. Crítica ao Programa de Gotha. São Paulo: Boitempo; 2012.

2. Lenin VI. O Estado e a Revolução. São Paulo: Centauro; 2006.

3. Gramsci A. Cadernos do Cárcere. Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira; 2001.

4. Harvey D. O novo imperialismo. São Paulo: Loyola; 2005.

5. Santos BS. Democratizar a democracia: os caminhos da democracia participativa. Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira; 2010.

6. Poulantzas N. Poder Político e Classes Sociais. São Paulo: Martins Fontes; 2000.

7. Chomsky N. Problemas do conhecimento e da liberdade. São Paulo: UNESP; 2005.

8. Jessop B. State Theory: Putting Capitalist States in Their Place. Cambridge: Polity Press; 1990.

Published

2024-08-31

How to Cite

Melo, H. F. de O. (2024). The Direct Relationship Between Democracy and the Dictatorship of the Bourgeoisie: A Critical Review of the Literature. INTERFERENCE: A JOURNAL OF AUDIO CULTURE, 10(2), 04–10. https://doi.org/10.36557/2009-3578.2024v10n2p04-10

Issue

Section

Literature Review