do you agree with this quote:

[ed miliband]

Freud has eloquently described resistances to psychoanalysis; intuitive resistance to Marxism is no less widespread, even among socialists. It is emotionally and intellectually difficult to be a Marxist since it goes against the grain of moral indignation which is, of course, the main reason people become socialists.

from: http://theoaklandcommune.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/telling-the-truth-about-class-by-tamas.pdf

yes or no, and why. i highly recommend the text as a whole, also.

[Comrade Dracula]

Heh, as far as I'm concerned, the answer is yes, I agree.

For myself, anyway, such was the case. When I first arrived to Revleft, I was one of those annoying tankies who espoused a highly vulgarized ideological rhetoric that wasn't even truly communist and instead a proper bourgeois moralist/populist one, arguing for the betterment of humanity through communism without understanding either that there was no unified humanity nor that communism, contrary to my former opinion, was both classless and stateless (since I didn't understand what a state meant either). Also, I argued for a coup d'etat by a substitutionist party.

As such, I romanticized my own imaginary version of Marxism and had a tough time accepting the real deal. Thankfully, since a lot of people here whom I held in high regard had no such qualms, I eventually warmed up to it.

But yes, I can see how Marxism's amoral approach may repulse quite a few people. Hmpf. Revolutionary rhetoric versus revolutionary theory. Class-based ideology versus objective analysis. The moral grain, as widespread and influential as it is, certainly seems to favor the earlier of the two.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

Freud has eloquently described resistances to psychoanalysis; intuitive resistance to Marxism is no less widespread, even among socialists. It is emotionally and intellectually difficult to be a Marxist since it goes against the grain of moral indignation which is, of course, the main reason people become socialists.

How does Marxism "go against the grain of moral indignation"?

Marxist analysis and moral indignation seem to me to be different things, and not necessarily mutually exclusive.

[Luís Henrique]

Freud has eloquently described resistances to psychoanalysis; intuitive resistance to Marxism is no less widespread, even among socialists. It is emotionally and intellectually difficult to be a Marxist since it goes against the grain of moral indignation which is, of course, the main reason people become socialists.
from: http://theoaklandcommune.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/telling-the-truth-about-class-by-tamas.pdf

yes or no, and why. i highly recommend the text as a whole, also.

Very interesting and thought-provoking text. The sentences you quote shouldn't be taken out of context, so I won't make more in depth comments before reading it as a whole.

Superficially, yes, resistance to Marxism is no less widespread than resistance to psychoanalysis, and perhaps even more ingrained. Furthermore, psychoanalysis is the method to surpass resistance against itself, and Marxism is not the same. There is one other thing I see that provokes that kind of intuitive repulse in a stronger way, and it is Schoenberg's seriality in music.

As to the later part, that Marxism goes against the grain of moral indignation that wins people into socialism, I'm not so sure about it. I would have to understand whether Tamás is claiming that Marxism is in itself completely amoral, or whether it must rely on a completely different kind of moral indignation than that of those he calls "Rousseauists".

Later.

Luís Henrique

[Art Vandelay]

As to the later part, that Marxism goes against the grain of moral indignation that wins people into socialism, I'm not so sure about it. I would have to understand whether Tamás is claiming that Marxism is in itself completely amoral, or whether it must rely on a completely different kind of moral indignation than that of those he calls "Rousseauists".

I would say that Marxism is indeed amoral, however that isn`t to say that certain Marxists aren`t drawn to Marxism for moral reasons or that Marxists can`t hold moral beliefs.

I`m going to read the text now, so maybe I`ll comment afterwards.