The ontological foundations of real humanism and the abortion issue

Marxist philosophy in its practical application (real humanism) can become a reliable support for the progressive part of the anti-abortion movement, opposing the bourgeois-liberal, neo-Malthusian pro-abortion ideology. Marxist ontological criticism of demographic politics under capitalism can contribute to this. From Marx’s point of view, capitalism inevitably creates «surplus» working population. This «surplus» generates either poverty or artificial abortion. Gender equality under capitalism receives a characteristic market-focused and social-Darwinist interpretation. Neo-Malthusian sociocultural «projections» of the market economy onto the worldview are expressed in the absolutization of individual autonomy, in the underestimation of the potential side of social reality, and in the desire to receive more from society than to give to it. Neo-Malthusianism seeks to dehumanize, to deny the fetus, and sometimes even the new-born, the right to human dignity, while the ontological foundation of real humanism is the affirmation of the essential identity of people with each other, which is ensured by the presence of a material social substratum in all people, including fetuses. Marxist social ontology regards the birth of a sufficient number of children as a necessary condition for the development of productive forces and the humanization of production relations. This also presupposes the creation of a large number of highly skilled jobs. As a conclusion, it is argued that the practice of real humanism with regard to the abortion problem must consist in the struggle for the creation of such jobs, for real social protection of motherhood and childhood, and for other measures aimed at the general development of the productive forces. In addition, having many children should become a common occurrence in families of real humanists.