Why Do Marxists and Realists Draw the Same Maps?

To what extent can Marxist-Leninist geopolitical analysis be classified as a subset of Realpolitik given their frequent convergence on foreign policy conclusions?

Marxist-Leninist analysis operates as a specific form of economic Realpolitik regarding the present functioning of the international system, though it diverges fundamentally on the root causes and future trajectory of state behavior. Both frameworks share a ruthless materialism that rejects the Liberal Internationalist notion that foreign policy is driven by human rights, international law, or moral values. When a Marxist-Leninist analyzes a conflict, they strip away the ideological rhetoric of democracy or freedom to reveal the underlying material interests, just as a Realist strips away the same rhetoric to reveal the strategic interests of national security. Consequently, they often arrive at identical conclusions regarding current events, viewing wars and sanctions not as moral crusades but as cold calculations of power and resource acquisition.

The primary distinction lies in the engine driving this behavior. For the Realist, the state is a unitary actor trapped in a permanently anarchic system where survival mandates the pursuit of power; the logic is cyclical and inescapable. For the Marxist-Leninist, the state is a committee for the ruling class, and the drive for war is dictated by the specific economic necessities of global capitalism, such as the need to export capital or seize markets. While a Realist views the US-China conflict as an inevitable result of a rising power challenging a hegemon, a Marxist views it as inter-imperialist rivalry born from capitalist overaccumulation.

Ultimately, Marxist-Leninism accepts the Realist description of the world only as long as capitalism exists. It treats the brutal power politics described by Realists as a historical symptom of class society rather than an immutable trait of human nature. Therefore, while their analysis of the present is functionally indistinguishable—rendering Marxist-Leninism a type of Realpolitik of the oppressed—their end goals are diametrically opposed, with Realists seeking to manage the nightmare of perpetual conflict and Marxists seeking to awaken from it through systemic revolution.