The Vegan Marxist
27th May 2010, 10:10
This topic seems to be an important one, in which comes to the mind of any person who's, 1) a leftist (whether a socialist, communist, anarchist, etc.), & 2) wants to be a parent someday. The idea that your own child may not be who you want them to be in life, or worse, become the enemy of your very beliefs is intolerable & quite nerve wrecking at times. In which, this all usually leads up to the natural procedure that most parents of today partake in - authoritarianism. Forcing the child of your own to believe in what you believe, to view as you view, in which only brings detrimental effects to their daily life as they grow up. As studies have shown, when parenting like this is put into action, the child more than likely rebels & becomes what you despise either way. So the authoritarian take on parenting should be an easy "no-no".
Another way parents tend to take on is the idea that, as long as they let their child do what ever they want & gets the best any child could get, then that child will be perfect & will love you because of it. Sadly, this is becoming a well used tactic by many modern-day parents of the 21st century. The act of spoiling your child, thinking that, by these acts alone, your child will become un-corruptible is laughable at least, & worrying at best. You may think that a child will love you forever because you're always doing & giving them what they want, but fact of the matter is that the child will eventually take on the idea that they're special from other kids & deserve the best when they want it & where they want it. Which only leads them to taking advantage of you. Besides, if you were trying to gain your child's support in order for them to allow you to make them class aware, do you really think spoiling them will do this? I would say hardly not. The best they might become would be an anarcho-capitalist, if not worse. Yes, authoritarianism is bad, but a little authority isn't always wrong. Parents should be guiders, not servants.
So what exactly should a parent do in order for their child to become the good little socialist/communist they always wanted them to be? Well, it won't come through the use of force, & it sure as hell won't come through the act of spoiling them rotten. Well, as a Marxist, I believe that things should be taken dialectically & see things as a moving path, not just something at face value. Socialism, as was written by Karl Marx, should be taken under scientific thought - hence the term "Scientific Socialism". If what your goal pertains is the development of a class-aware child towards the ideal of Socialism, then it should only be taken like anything else when it comes to Socialism - scientifically.
So what does science tell us when it comes to the development of thought, itself? Well, one has to first understand that there is no such thing as "human nature". Man (mankind) does not just get born into who they are now. Instead, like the same process we went through growing up, the development of thought is brought by what we call "environmental conditioning". What this means is that, whatever they see, hear, & are put on them by another, they learn from those personal experiences & give off a certain repetitive motion from what they saw as a kid, & apply such when they've finally grown up. So if a child becomes a killer, one can bet that they would be able to find the source to such behavior by merely looking into his/her's past, in which of course could lead to how the parents treated their child as they grew up. But of course, this just leads to another question - how do I environmentally condition my child to become class-aware?
Alright, look at it like this. Let's say mommy & daddy are die-hard Marxists. They read Communist literature, watch the news & criticize it through dialectical reasoning or collective thought, & more than likely go on some kind of peace rally, in which promotes their views. The child, as s/he grows up, will witness these things & learn from it. They'll eventually start asking questions, in which every child does, & that should be when you educate them by answering their questions. Don't tell them if what you're saying is right or wrong, but rather your own intake on what it is & let them try & understand it themselves. I promise, if you treat your kid right & let them go about their day, you'll find yourself having a son or daughter in which is similar to you.
So in other words, take things under a dialectical manner & just let your kid live his/her own life. Live yours as you take care of your child & let the environment guide him/her. As any parent should, be around your child whenever possible. S/he will need you a lot in life, & with that constant surrounding, they'll notice your way of life & will eventually adapt to it. That is the only way a child should be brought up in life, especially if you're hoping to develop class-awareness within your child. To become class aware, they must first become aware that they are within a free-will position to learn what they can, when they can. I'm not saying you shouldn't guide your child towards your belief, quite the opposite actually. I don't want you to tell good things about Capitalism if you know Capitalism is wrong. Just give them your own intake on things & let them learn from there. See if they agree with you or not.
So remember, in order to gain Socialism, whether it be through class awareness through a community, whether it be direct action by a group, or merely to try & gain numbers, in which those numbers may be your own children, you must always partake in it through scientific thought, as pertained by Karl Marx, himself. So good luck all present & future parents in your journey in bringing about another class-aware individual into this world. The revolution has no boundaries. The world is our backyard. Use it!
"No baby is born a murderer. Immersed in a conflict-culture such as ours, he interacts with the conditions of his environment to develop a pattern of reaction that can, under certain circumstances, lead him to kill another human being. As he grows up, he often sees headlines and pictures in newspapers telling of murder. In literature, movies, and television he witnesses thousands of murders. Our sick society dotes over such legendary murderers as Jesse James, Al Capone and Bonnie and Clyde. A young child lives under conditions where he is trained to be jealous and acquisitive. His king-sized ego learns to respond with feelings of deep hurt and rejection. If one day the grown man were to find his wife in bed with another man, he would respond in a way that is dictated by the years of conditioning. It would seem natural for him to seize a gun and murder the man." ~Jacque Fresco
Red Love & Salutes!
Another way parents tend to take on is the idea that, as long as they let their child do what ever they want & gets the best any child could get, then that child will be perfect & will love you because of it. Sadly, this is becoming a well used tactic by many modern-day parents of the 21st century. The act of spoiling your child, thinking that, by these acts alone, your child will become un-corruptible is laughable at least, & worrying at best. You may think that a child will love you forever because you're always doing & giving them what they want, but fact of the matter is that the child will eventually take on the idea that they're special from other kids & deserve the best when they want it & where they want it. Which only leads them to taking advantage of you. Besides, if you were trying to gain your child's support in order for them to allow you to make them class aware, do you really think spoiling them will do this? I would say hardly not. The best they might become would be an anarcho-capitalist, if not worse. Yes, authoritarianism is bad, but a little authority isn't always wrong. Parents should be guiders, not servants.
So what exactly should a parent do in order for their child to become the good little socialist/communist they always wanted them to be? Well, it won't come through the use of force, & it sure as hell won't come through the act of spoiling them rotten. Well, as a Marxist, I believe that things should be taken dialectically & see things as a moving path, not just something at face value. Socialism, as was written by Karl Marx, should be taken under scientific thought - hence the term "Scientific Socialism". If what your goal pertains is the development of a class-aware child towards the ideal of Socialism, then it should only be taken like anything else when it comes to Socialism - scientifically.
So what does science tell us when it comes to the development of thought, itself? Well, one has to first understand that there is no such thing as "human nature". Man (mankind) does not just get born into who they are now. Instead, like the same process we went through growing up, the development of thought is brought by what we call "environmental conditioning". What this means is that, whatever they see, hear, & are put on them by another, they learn from those personal experiences & give off a certain repetitive motion from what they saw as a kid, & apply such when they've finally grown up. So if a child becomes a killer, one can bet that they would be able to find the source to such behavior by merely looking into his/her's past, in which of course could lead to how the parents treated their child as they grew up. But of course, this just leads to another question - how do I environmentally condition my child to become class-aware?
Alright, look at it like this. Let's say mommy & daddy are die-hard Marxists. They read Communist literature, watch the news & criticize it through dialectical reasoning or collective thought, & more than likely go on some kind of peace rally, in which promotes their views. The child, as s/he grows up, will witness these things & learn from it. They'll eventually start asking questions, in which every child does, & that should be when you educate them by answering their questions. Don't tell them if what you're saying is right or wrong, but rather your own intake on what it is & let them try & understand it themselves. I promise, if you treat your kid right & let them go about their day, you'll find yourself having a son or daughter in which is similar to you.
So in other words, take things under a dialectical manner & just let your kid live his/her own life. Live yours as you take care of your child & let the environment guide him/her. As any parent should, be around your child whenever possible. S/he will need you a lot in life, & with that constant surrounding, they'll notice your way of life & will eventually adapt to it. That is the only way a child should be brought up in life, especially if you're hoping to develop class-awareness within your child. To become class aware, they must first become aware that they are within a free-will position to learn what they can, when they can. I'm not saying you shouldn't guide your child towards your belief, quite the opposite actually. I don't want you to tell good things about Capitalism if you know Capitalism is wrong. Just give them your own intake on things & let them learn from there. See if they agree with you or not.
So remember, in order to gain Socialism, whether it be through class awareness through a community, whether it be direct action by a group, or merely to try & gain numbers, in which those numbers may be your own children, you must always partake in it through scientific thought, as pertained by Karl Marx, himself. So good luck all present & future parents in your journey in bringing about another class-aware individual into this world. The revolution has no boundaries. The world is our backyard. Use it!
"No baby is born a murderer. Immersed in a conflict-culture such as ours, he interacts with the conditions of his environment to develop a pattern of reaction that can, under certain circumstances, lead him to kill another human being. As he grows up, he often sees headlines and pictures in newspapers telling of murder. In literature, movies, and television he witnesses thousands of murders. Our sick society dotes over such legendary murderers as Jesse James, Al Capone and Bonnie and Clyde. A young child lives under conditions where he is trained to be jealous and acquisitive. His king-sized ego learns to respond with feelings of deep hurt and rejection. If one day the grown man were to find his wife in bed with another man, he would respond in a way that is dictated by the years of conditioning. It would seem natural for him to seize a gun and murder the man." ~Jacque Fresco
Red Love & Salutes!