Similarities Between Karl Marx And Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke, Karl Marx, and the Death of Chivalry
Edmund Burke lamented the death of chivalry in Reflections on the Revolution in France in many ways, whereas Marx praised the death of chivalry in The Communist Manifesto. Burke wrote that with the age of chivalry dying, the “glory of Europe has been extinguished forever” (446, Burke). Meanwhile, Karl Marx wrote about how chivalry and the bourgeoisie were horrible to begin with. Marx saw the system as exploitation “veiled by religious and political illusions”. Burke believed that the end of chivalry would be devastating for Europe, whereas Marx believed that it already was devastating enough.
Burke said that it is chivalry that “has given its character to Europe” (447, Burke), and

he believed that the death of chivalry would affect Europe in negative ways. Marx’s writings disagreed with those of Burke because Marx’s writings pointed at the idea that the system of the bourgeoisie negatively impacted every society it occurs in.
Burke believed that chivalry set Europe apart from civilizations of the past and present. In Reflections on the French Revolution, Burke says “it is this which has given its character to modern Europe. It is this which has distinguished it under all forms of government, and distinguished it to its advantage, from the states of asia, and possibly from those states which flourished in the most brilliant periods of the antique world” (447, Burke). Burke wrote that the code of chivalry is what has set Europe apart from past and present civilizations. He believed that chivalry, being unique to Europe, distinguished Europe in a positive way.
Burke lamented the death of chivalry for women, he believed that the death of chivalry would affect the status of women. Burke wrote that without chivalry, “a queen is but a woman, and a woman is but an animal—and an animal not of the highest order” (447, Burke). This is to say that without the code of chivalry, which was largely based around how gentlemen should treat women, it would turn women into animals. It takes away the status that women held due to how men were to treat them. The point Burke is making here is that with nobody to treat a queen like a queen, she becomes just another woman. In turn, if there is nobody to treat the woman as a woman, she is just a lowly animal. In the words of Burke, Chivalry was a “generous loyalty to rank and sex, that proud submission, that dignified obedience, that subordination of the heart, which kept alive, even in servitude itself, the spirit of an exalted freedom!” (447, Burke).
One main lament Burke has over the death of chivalry is the death of a societal code. Burke believes that society needs a code of manners to accompany laws. He says that chivalry created manners, elegance, classes, and domination in the ages where it was prominent. Burke said that the code of chivalry was important because it was handed down from generation to generation through “all the gradations of social life” (447, Burke). The handing down of the code of chivalry can be seen all the way back to the middle ages, where the it was largely instituted by knights at that time.
In Reflections on the Revolution in France, Burke writes that “nothing is more certain than that our manners, our civilization, and all the good things which relate to manners and with civilization, have, in this European world of ours, depended for ages upon two principles, and were, indeed, the result of both combined: I mean the spirit of a gentleman and the spirit of religion” (448, Burke).

This quote is dire to his argument as to why the death of chivalry is a negative thing. Burke believes that the European world depended on gentlemen, which the code of chivalry produced. Without the code of chivalry, there would be no set way as to how a gentleman should act. Marx saw chivalry as a problem of exploitation for Europe. Meanwhile, Burke saw chivalry as being vital to civilized society.
Marx believed that even though the bourgeoisie played a prominent role in history, it’s impact was predominantly negative. In Marx's’ words, “the bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations”. Marx said that wherever there is a bourgeoisie, the relationships between the members of that society break down. We see the population split up into classes and nobility, which Marx

believed.
Marx also wrote that the bourgeoisie “substituted naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation”. Marx was the founder of Marxism, which is a prevalent form of communism. This belief in communism affects his views on chivalry and the bourgeoisie because he believes that women should not be treated differently than men, and that all classes should be equal. With a bourgeoisie, there is a class system, which Marx strongly does not believe in. Communism does not include nobility, bourgeoisie, peasants, and kings. In an ideal communist world according to Marx, there are no classes and everyone is equal. With a strong belief in this system, it is easy to see why Marx would see class system and bourgeoisie as exploitation.
Marx and Burke had opposing views on bourgeoisie and chivalry because Marx believed in communism and equality for everyone, whereas Burke believed that chivalry was vital for Europe. Burke wrote that chivalry was “without force or opposition, it subdued the fierceness of pride and power; it obliged sovereigns to submit to the soft collar of social esteem, compelled stern authority to submit to elegance, and gave a domination, vanquisher of laws, to be subdued by manners” (447, Burke). Having a large population of people submit to a domination of a social code of conduct and manners was important for Europe’s foundation. However, Marx believed that nobody should submit to domination other than that of a central government. However, with the code of chivalry being a dominant force itself, we can see that this is one of the reasons he believed chivalry was nothing more than “brutal exploitation” (447, Burke).
In conclusion, Burke feared the death of chivalry because he believed it would destroy the social order that was already present in Europe. Burke was lamenting all that would be lost along with the code of chivalry. Burke believed that society needs chivalry because society needs gentlemen. Marx believed that chivalry was never necessary in the first place, and that the bourgeoisie damages every society in which it appears. ************