Question

Karl Marx calls religion "the opium of the people." He argues that it is a tool used by the elites to oppress the proletariat and at the same time he argues that it is used by the proles (working class/non-elites) as a way to ease their suffering. With U.S. consumption of opioids dramatically on the rise & and American income inequality on the rise

Do you think Marx is correct? Consider three questions:

1. Do you believe there exists a correlation? That is, does economic inequality lead to suffering?

2. Does religion provide the kind of relief Marx suggests?

3. Is it a bad thing? Marx argues that religion distracts from reality ("real suffering," he says), and prevents us from solving the "real" economic causes of our suffering. Do you think he is right?

Answer 1

1. I do believe that economic inequality leads to suffering. Financial security is essential for every individual’s survival and its reach is restricted to only a few privileged individuals, it is likely to increase suffering among others.

2. Religion for many is a way of life from which individuals able to find meaning and relief with respect to their suffering. In this era however, the influence of religion in our daily lives has decreased and therefore the extent to which it I can relieve our suffering is questionable.

3. I wouldn’t consider religion to be linked to economic deprivation. Perhaps it maybe the means by which individuals abuse their power, but religion in itself cannot be the cause of economic suffering.