The article is based on G. M. Goshgarian's thesis that proletarian philosophy, like the proletarian state, is a contradiction in terms. Proletarian philosophy is both necessary and impossible. It is necessary because Marxism, as a science, requires a theory that enables it to conceptualize its ideas without becoming ideological. It is impossible because Marxism as a philosophy cannot exist as a comprehensive system of knowledge that
would replace the traditional role of philosophy. Proletarian philosophy is a specific political position grounded in class struggle. As such, it can exist only by continually showing philosophy its internal limits. The purpose of this article is not to eliminate the contradictions of proletarian philosophy, but to reveal them in all their dimensions. To this end, the article draws on the philosophy of Louis Althusser. Althusser devoted his
entire life to establishing the foundations of proletarian or Marxist philosophy. From the way he failed in this endeavour, we can formulate a key thesis: proletarian philosophy can exist only as an interventionist practice, a political form of thinking that reveals the limitations of philosophy while opening space for a new understanding of social practices.
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