Marxism Relevance Today - Debate

[elijahcraig]

I have been in a debate with several people on a message board on the possibility of a Marxist future, or Marxism's relevance today.

Here's a link to the thread: http://littleroom.ibforums.com/index.php?s...?showtopic=9214 (http://littleroom.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=9214)

Please read through the thread and give me your opinions.


What do you think?

[Dench]

I couldn´t find the previus debate. Bt i can still tell you my opinion, right?

Many of the effects of Capitalism that Marx (and Engels) knew where comming hasn´t peaked untill now.
If the doubther is a student of Marx work it´s thinkable that he has also been reading Kautsky,Bernstein or something by the other "revisitionists" (spelling ?).
They where strongly convinced that Marx work was out off date, and a dogm off the past.
But one of the biggest flaws in the argument is -exept the fact that they died before they could see the end of the social system they where debating- that Marx work hadn´t been finished at the time.

But now we can see that Marx and Engels where right (naturely not 100%), capitalism is falling appart, creating new viruses like neo-liberalism. Constant war-mode is one of it´s tools, uninployment, decreasing public fonds and the raping of the "Lazarus-level" of the proletariat.
Capitalism (like all other social system) must drain it´s progressive abilities before it steps down and let another system fill it´s place, the same way that Cap. filled the place of Feodalism.

The workers of Marx time was unable to suceed with a socialistic revolution because the where working all day, didn´t have the money to study nor the ability to mobilise.

Thats not how it is today.
the workingclass of our time is relatively well schooled -but still not a socialistic school-, they got the possebilety to communicate and prepare, and the working day has been cutted down to half the time.
This is the worker in the west.
They are the ones who have to bee the revolutions avantgarde.
This one of the points where Marxism splits from Leninism; Lenin belived that Cap. should bee defeated at it´s weakest point, where Marx claimed the opposite: the revolution can´t be successfull if it´s revolutioneres are hungry, tired, unschooled and desperate.

Yes i belive that Marx´s work is relevant today, but it isn´t a practical ideology. It dosn´t give any direct pointers on how to carry out the Revolution. But there are others who do that...

Marxism has changed, and it can´t stop changing, that would be the end of it. Then it would be "unrelevant", "out of date" and ultimately forgotten.
But Marxism can never be a ideology for a party, it´s a ideology for a peolple.

[redstar2000]

I got an error message saying that you have to be a member to read the posts in their forums.

Is there any good reason to join this board?

:cool:

[elijahcraig]

I'm spreading the word of Marx that's all.