I know it was meant as a joke, but one of the main things I remember from lecture is Professor Manty's comment about how all communist philosophers having to have beards. Not only did I think it was funny, but I also wondered if there was any connection between beards and philosophers, and maybe even more importantly, is there any meaning behind that connection?
Before we go into a deep analysis communists and their beards, lets start with seeing who this applies to.
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
Russian Communists from the 1800's
V.I. Lenin
Another Russian Communist but from the early 1900's
Leon Trotsky
Suprise, another Russian communist (who was actually later expelled from the Communist Party but thats another story)
Ho Chi Minh
A communist leader from Southern Vietnam in the mid 1900's
(just to prove that my point is about Communists, not just Russians)
Although there are several more examples of Communist leaders with beards, I did not want my entire post be just be pictures of men with facial hair so now I will get to my point.
Although in modern times a beard has come to be known as a sign of uncleanliness or being unrefined, beards were more classically known as a sign of wisdom, masculinity, or higher status. Some of these attributes are still alive today if we think of extreme examples, usually through movies and Hollywood (who do you know that is more wise than Gandalf or Professor Dumbledore?) From the beginning of certain civilizations, the beard came to be known as a sign of manliness and power. I did some research and in ancient civilizations such as India, Egypt and Greece, men of higher status would grow their beards long and took special care of them to show their power. Researchers believe that this connection was made because of the beards connection with puberty, which is the time when boys turn into men in most societies. When a boy goes through puberty, he first has the ability to grow facial hair because of a series of hormonal changes and is first accepted into his role of adulthood.
So, how does this unspoken symbolism behind the beard relate to communism?
The Communist Manifesto, a very interesting and intriguing part of our reading last week, lays out a few reasons why having a beard might be beneficial to a Communist leader. Written by Marx and Engels, two huge fans of facial hair in their time, argued that class struggles, or the exploitation of one class by another, are the motivating force behind all historical development. They write about their haterd of capitalism and its creation of the bourgeoisie (the ruling class). So why would two men who hate the ruling class want to be views as powerful? It is because their theory of communism calls for a revolution against this class. In order for a revolution to happen, there needs to be a strong leader of that movement. If you are going to fight against the government, wouldn't you want to follow someone that you believed to be powerful and competent? Their theory is that if the revolution succeeds, then they will be able to get rid of the ownership of property and of classes altogether This in turn would create a perfect society where everyone would have enough to survive and no one class would be exploiting another group of people. They argue that this society will not come about through reforms or through social changes, but only through a full out revolution and overthrow of the government.
Although the idea of a utopia is a nice thought and there have been several communist revolutions throughout history, they did not turn out quite like Marx and Engels suggested. As seen in countries like Russia, Vietnam, and Cuba, an actual Communist government usually ends up completely controlling the people and the economy. There is usually a huge exploitation of most of the people in the country and basically the government ends up becoming the bourgeoisie that it set out to destroy in the first place. These governments exhibit extreme amounts of power and masculinity (can you think of a female communist leader?), two of the original thoughts connected to the beard. Could it be that these Communist leaders such as Ho Chi Minh and Lenin sought to use their beards as a sign of power or control?
Lastly, if you are still skeptical of the connection between communists and beards, why do you think it is that the United States has not had a bearded president since Benjamin Harrison in 1889? Even before that, out of all of the presidents in the entire history of the United States, there have only been three others with beards. There is also a long history of bearded candidates losing out to clean shaven ones in numerous presidential elections. For example, in the elections of 1856 and 1916, the candidate with a beard lost by a wide margin to the clean shaven one. There have also been absolutely no U.S Presidential elections where both candidates had beards. Could it be that we as Americans have unconsciously made this connection between communists and beards and therefore avoid a bearded leader? Why would our leaders not want to be connected with this view of power and masculinity? Is there a connection at all or is this all just a series of odd coincidences? What do you think?
I admire your thoughtful consideration of beard-science, and I do agree with your argument. Since times immemorial, beards have conveyed power, masculinity and wisdom. You are right to reference the facial hair of such notable figures as Gandalf and Dumbledore, and we might also do well to consider that of Socrates and Darwin. If we are to examine beards in a Marxist sense, however, we should consider not only the presence of the beards themselves, but the changing nature of the beards' forms, and their associated practical and symbolic functions. The facial hair of Marx and Engels are untamed and, in a sense, savage. They reflect the grooming habits of atavistic man, with the beard providing a very practical function, both to keep the face warm in harsh winters and to command respect from others. The beards of Lenin and Trotsky, however, appear more refined and sophisticated, attentive to societal grooming norms. If we consider Leninism and Trotskyism to be impure implementations of Marxist theory, we can also consider the tamed quality of their beards to demonstrate a sense of alienation from man in his most basic state.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on this post! It is refreshingly light compared to the dense content of many of the other posts. We've become an increasingly hairless society as time has gone by. Beards, I feel, did have a powerful effect on one's self image that portrayed wisdom and intellect. Throughout history, beards have represented a masculine dominance that women (and some men) biologically cannot replicate, which could have also represented signs of power. I think the reason why recent world leaders prefer to be clean shaven is because of the negative societal associations we make about beards and also the changing perception of what is attractive. Not only that, but beards also make those who sport them look much older, which in years past could have contributed to the general perception that they were wiser. However, this perception seems to have recently changed. According to a study performed in 2007 by the Daily Telegraph, the general perception of beards has taken on an increasingly negative connotation. According to this study, bearded men are perceived as being less caring, generous, and cheerful as those that are clean-shaven. It is interesting how this perception has changed over time. Good job, once again, this was a nice break from the traditional post
ReplyDeleteIt is an interesting idea that to give strong impression people usually use beard. However I still believe that outfit is not more important than our inner virtue. Personally, I don’t think they raise their beard for some purpose. I think it is kind of custom at that time. As we think man should not wear pink pants, at that age people might think the man should have beard. However, it is true that beard gives a strong impression to people. I cannot imagine Marx and Stalin without beard. Also I cannot imagine prime minister Churchill and president Kennedy with beard.
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