Marxist Humanism

[tornwarriorx]

So I've seen this term before alot, but I can't seem to get a clear definition from it from websites. What is Marxist Humanism? How does it differ from Marxist Leninism? Thanks in advance.

[ZombieGrits]

It has a lot to do with Marx's earlier works where he put forth the alienation theories, which have influenced some folks to base their opposition to capitalism from a more psychological/sociological point of view rather than an economic one.

I'm pretty sure that just about every Marxist around today can identify as a humanist, since after all the basic goal of communism is to make life good for all humans. "Marxist humanism" as a distinct thread of socialism (like Leninism or Autonomism or Maoism or whatever) never really existed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxist_humanism

[blake 3:17]

I associate the term with the News and Letters group, a small and very nice group in the US. They were a splinter from the Trotskyist movement in the US and emphasised spontaneous mass action along with pretty convoluted Hegelian philosophy. I'm not sure if they're still around. I met a couple of their members several years ago.


More broadly, and this was international and varied, humanist Marxists have emphasised ethics, culture, and art, as opposed to a more clinical "scientific" method. Jean Paul Sartre, Erich Fromm, and E.P.Thompson are probably the most prominent of humanist Marxists.

In the 1940s, 50s, and 60s there was a revival of Marx's actual thought, as opposed to the schematic and crude brand of Marxism being preached by Stalin and many official Communists.

[tornwarriorx]

Thnak you for your replies. Blake, I read a bit about what you were talking about on a marxist website, how it was a revival of Marxian though, opposed to the USSR. You said they focused more on ethics and culture. I can agree that both culture and ethics are things to be focused on, because culture, to a degree, determines societal conditions ( in the case of a traditional economy, where jobs are heridatary), and in the case of women's liberation, culture plays an important role, too. Thank you all again, I'm going to try to find more about it.

[Rosa Lichtenstein]

Check this site out:

http://marxisthumanistinitiative.org/