Ends, Means, Justification

The familiar accusation that Marxists subscribe to the proposition 'The ends justify the means' is inaccurate, perhaps disingenuous, and, ultimately, specious.  The charge is inaccurate insofar as it is difficult to reconcile with either of two quotes:  "An end which requires unjustified means is no justifiable end", (Marx, 'On the Freedom of the Press'), and, "A means can be justified only by its end.  But the end in its turn needs to be justified", (Trotsky, unpublished).  It is disingenuous insofar as its speaker does not advocate Marxists ends.  Now, the actual origin of the expression is uncertain, e. g. while it is sometimes associated with Machiavelli, it does not appear as such in his writings.  In any case, finally, the accusation is specious, because the proposition is tautological.  For, by definition, a 'Means' is subordinated to an 'End', a relation that can be interpreted as 'is justified by', independent of any of its instances.