One common agreement between Gandhism and Marxism is
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) the final goal of a stateless society
Both thinkers saw the State as something the ideal society would do without. Marx expected a classless communist society with no government, while Gandhi described an 'enlightened anarchy' in which each person rules himself; they differed sharply on the means.
- ✓ (a) Gandhi wrote (Young India, 1931) that in the ideal state there is no political power because there is no State; IGNOU notes that socialism and communism likewise aim at a classless and stateless society.
- ✗ (b) Class struggle is central to Marxist and communist ideology, but Gandhi rejected class conflict and violence, seeking change through non-violence and a change of heart (IGNOU).
- ✗ (c) Marx held that private ownership of important economic resources is the root cause of entrenched inequality, so Marxism seeks public control of them (NCERT); Gandhi instead proposed trusteeship, in which the wealthy hold their wealth in trust for the community.
- ✗ (d) Economic determinism, the idea that the economic base shapes society, is Marxist; Gandhi held that material considerations had only a limited role in human life and gave primacy to moral and spiritual forces (IGNOU).
Remember · Gandhism and Marxism share only the end-goal of a stateless society. Means differ: non-violence and trusteeship (Gandhi) versus class struggle and revolution (Marx).
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Political Theory, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 11 · Political Theory, Chapter 3 “Marx was an important nineteenth century thinker who argued that the root cause of entrenched inequality was private ownership of important economic resources such as oil, or land, or forests, as well as other forms of property.”
- IGNOU (eGyankosh), Gandhi's Political Thought, Unit 12: Gandhi's Views on Socialism and Communism (Internet Archive copy) ↗ · reference work “As a political philosophy, socialism and communism earned the critique of Gandhi right from their conceptualisation of the nature of men to their ideal of establishing a classless and stateless society. … class-struggle emerged as the focal point of communist ideology which argued for a violent revolution as the plausible methodology of bringing about communist revolution in the capitalist societies. … material considerations had only limited role to play in determining the course of the human life.”
- IGNOU (eGyankosh), Unit 6: Gandhian Perspective (Gandhi's Young India, 2 July 1931, quoted; Internet Archive copy) ↗ · reference work “There is then a State of enlightened anarchy. In such a State everyone is his own ruler. He rules himself in such a manner that he is never a hindrance to his neighbour. In the ideal State, therefore, there is no political power because there is no State. … The rest of my wealth belongs to the community and must be used for the welfare of the community.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·