A wild lurker appears...

[Revoltorb]

I'm fairly new to the revolutionary left scene, I only recently became a Marxist in the past few months. Previously a left-liberal (more left than the USA's Democrats but still supporting capitalism), I did some reading into various political philosophies and think that Marxism provides the most convincing analyses. As far as I can tell, I sympathise with Italian Left Communism though I don't really care much for labels and prefer a united front movement. Currently I'm in New Jersey but I'll be heading up to Boston this fall to continue my studies at graduate school.

Even though this is my first post I've actually been lurking here for the past few months (and will probably mostly lurk here still) and have greatly enjoyed the learning opportunity presented by the opposing viewpoints on various parts of communist thought and revolutionary praxis.

[Book O'Dead]

I'm fairly new to the revolutionary left scene, I only recently became a Marxist in the past few months. Previously a left-liberal (more left than the USA's Democrats but still supporting capitalism), I did some reading into various political philosophies and think that Marxism provides the most convincing analyses. As far as I can tell, I sympathise with Italian Left Communism though I don't really care much for labels and prefer a united front movement. Currently I'm in New Jersey but I'll be heading up to Boston this fall to continue my studies at graduate school.

Even though this is my first post I've actually been lurking here for the past few months (and will probably mostly lurk here still) and have greatly enjoyed the learning opportunity presented by the opposing viewpoints on various parts of communist thought and revolutionary praxis.

Welcome.

What does it mean to you to 'become a Marxist', and how is that accomplished?

[Revoltorb]

Welcome.

What does it mean to you to 'become a Marxist', and how is that accomplished?

I suppose what I mean by that is that I have come to believe that a Marxist analysis of society is the correct one, proletarian revolution and all. This is differentiated from being a communist which I think requires active participation in a revolutionary movement and independent of Marxist analysis. Marxists can be communists but don't have to be and vice versa.

[Book O'Dead]

I suppose what I mean by that is that I have come to believe that a Marxist analysis of society is the correct one, proletarian revolution and all. This is differentiated from being a communist which I think requires active participation in a revolutionary movement and independent of Marxist analysis. Marxists can be communists but don't have to be and vice versa.

Thanks for the reply, but it spawns another question: What else is there left for a Marxist to do but become a communist?

[Lee Van Cleef]

Welcome to the forum! I hope the forum can provide a helpful learning environment. I am curious as to how someone so new to Marxism in general has become attached to "Italian left communism," as it's pretty obscure and has hardly any presence in the real world. I would recommend getting well-acquainted with Marx and Engels before declaring yourself for any particular tendency.


I suppose what I mean by that is that I have come to believe that a Marxist analysis of society is the correct one, proletarian revolution and all. This is differentiated from being a communist which I think requires active participation in a revolutionary movement and independent of Marxist analysis. Marxists can be communists but don't have to be and vice versa.
While there are certainly many people in academia who would agree with you here, I think Marx would refute this distinction. As his famous tenth thesis on Feuerbach says,


The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it.

[Rooster]

Welcome to the board.

[Revoltorb]

Thanks for the reply, but it spawns another question: What else is there left for a Marxist to do but become a communist?

Well right now I'm trying to find an organisation that I would like to associate with and I'm waiting until I go up to Boston to really start looking in earnest.



Welcome to the forum! I hope the forum can provide a helpful learning environment. I am curious as to how someone so new to Marxism in general has become attached to "Italian left communism," as it's pretty obscure and has hardly any presence in the real world. I would recommend getting well-acquainted with Marx and Engels before declaring yourself for any particular tendency.

It's actually because of these fora that I've been introduced to it and so I looked into it more and it sounds right to me.


While there are certainly many people in academia who would agree with you here, I think Marx would refute this distinction. As his famous tenth thesis on Feuerbach says,

I agree, that's actually why I differentiate between Marxism the philosophy and communism which is the implementation thereof.



Welcome to the board.

Thanks!

[InTheEnd]

Hello, wild lurker!

[Left Leanings]

Welcome to RevLeft :)

[Railyon]

>>A wild lurker appears

Railyon uses "Welcome to RevLeft"!

It's super effective!

Wild lurker joins the party.

[ВАЛТЕР]

Hello and welcome! :)

[Alfonso Cano]

Welcome comrade. :)

[bad ideas actualised by alcohol]

>>A wild lurker appears

Railyon uses "Welcome to RevLeft"!

It's super effective!

Wild lurker joins the party.

Damn You!
I wanted to make that joke when I saw the title.

On-Topic: Welcome!