Is Marxism on the Rise?

[helmut]

Marx wrote quite a lot (he even gave the first coherent description of the Rhenian dialect), so what he "really" said is up to a point a matter of exegesis (or selection from his writings).

The theory he promoted had severe flaws and needed a revision just by the end of the 19th century. The classical "revisionists" lead the was to democratic socialism, fiercely combated by the leftist. The other famous revision is Marxism-Leninism. Besides a theory on imperialism (which is not that bad), Lenin stressed the need for the revolution to be led by a centralized party. Trotsky called this "dictatorship over the proletariat" in contrast to the "dictatorship of the proletariate", which in Marx's thinking was a dictatorship of a huge majority over a small, but dangerous minority.

Later Trotsky helped Lenin to establish this dictatorship over the proletariat, and what happened to him under Stalin seems to me like a just retribution.

I don't think Marxism-Leninism is on the rise. It is other forms of Marxism that gain some influence in certain circles.

 

[FireDragon76]

Marxist philosophy certainly seems to be in a very active and fruitful phase. New currents of thought being worked out like the emerging Organic Marxist school that presents a constructive post modern take on Marxism combining Marxist theory with ideas from process philosophy, traditional Chinese thought (Daoist, Confucian, Mohist) and environmentalim. Overall I notice a move away from the authoritarian communism of the Soviet era and towards democracy and direct local control. Less orthodox dogmatism and more experimentation with new ideas coupled with fresh reexaminations of the writtings of Marx. Not so down on religion either.

I could see that happening. A good example would be Hans-George Moeller of Carefree Wandering on Youtube.

Marx claimed "man makes religion" to exploit laborers. So then, religion (allegedly) reflects that exploitation.

Not really. That's too crass and careless a reading of Marx. Marx was mostly borrowing from Feuerbach, who saw religion as humanity writ onto a cosmic scale, and the proper locus of humanity's spiritual strivings as humanity itself. Marx's own addition was seeing religion as the sigh of the oppressed, dreaming of a better world or escape from suffering.

 

[helmut]

Not really. That's too crass and careless a reading of Marx. Marx was mostly borrowing from Feuerbach, who saw religion as humanity writ onto a cosmic scale, and the proper locus of humanity's spiritual strivings as humanity itself. Marx's own addition was seeing religion as the sigh of the oppressed, dreaming of a better world or escape from suffering.

Let me add: It was Lenin who changed the "opium of the people" into "opium for the people", the escape from suffering into an instrument of the oppressor. That has to do with the different functions of religion, i.e. the many "sects" in Elberfeld (now Wuppertal) or in England, and the state church in Russia.

 

[FireDragon76]

Let me add: It was Lenin who changed the "opium of the people" into "opium for the people", the escape from suffering into an instrument of the oppressor. That has to do with the different functions of religion, i.e. the many "sects" in Elberfeld (now Wuppertal) or in England, and the state church in Russia.

Very true.

It is often unknown (to American audiences) that Marx in his younger years was a Protestant Christian. He was not unsympathetic to religious aspirations.

 

[helmut]

It is often unknown (to American audiences) that Marx in his younger years was a Protestant Christian. He was not unsympathetic to religious aspirations.

That time, almost everybody was a Christian by name.

The personal convictions of the young Karl Marx are unknown. There are school essays - it was expected that the pupil expressed what he has been told, i.e. the religious view of his teacher. AFAIK there is no text by Marx that showed a genuine sympathy for religion.
I once read that the father of Karl Marx was a converted Jew and a very liberal protestant (Kulturprotestant). This classification is somewhat fuzzy, for the movement of "cultural protestantism" was somewhat later.

 

[FireDragon76]

That time, almost everybody was a Christian by name.

The personal convictions of the young Karl Marx are unknown. There are school essays - it was expected that the pupil expressed what he has been told, i.e. the religious view of his teacher. AFAIK there is no text by Marx that showed a genuine sympathy for religion.
I once read that the father of Karl Marx was a converted Jew and a very liberal protestant (Kulturprotestant). This classification is somewhat fuzzy, for the movement of "cultural protestantism" was somewhat later.

Marx had a religious phase as a young teenager and seems to have been sincere about his beliefs, but after coming into contacts with radical thought, he dropped the belief and started criticizing the concept of God.

It is my understanding there was no shortage of this sort of thing in Germany among academic circles and in radical literature.

 

[helmut]

Marx had a religious phase as a young teenager and seems to have been sincere about his beliefs

There is no hard evidence for it. His essays as a pupil were expected to show what he has been taught, not his personal convictions (R.Wurmbrand, who wrote on Marx and Satan, overlooked this). The early writings (the unfinished drama Oulanem, and poems) show a hatred of God and anything that is good.

„Welten selber stark zerstören,
Weil ich keine schaffen kann,
Weil sie meinem Ruf nicht hören,“
»Empfindungen«, by Karl Marx
Karl Marx – sein Weg in den Kommunismus – Ludwig von Mises Institut Deutschland
Note: I do not condone the general train of thoughts on this website.

»… to destroy worlds strongly, / because I cannot create ones / because they don't listen [obey?] to me.« (my translation)

but after coming into contacts with radical thought, he dropped the belief and started criticizing the concept of God.

Before Marx became a leftist, he was rather reactionary atheist. Do you mean right-wing radicals?

 

[lismore]

Possibly the writings of Groucho Marx would be of more value than those of Karl Marx. God Bless