Marxism and Race?

[rudeXboy]

I have been studying Marxism for several years now and I have found very few mentions of race in any of the Marxist dogma. I found Marx to be somewhat a racist himself. Does anyone know any differently? and is it possible to be a racist Marxist (I know someone who declares he is)?

[Red Menace]

Well a few other board members have told me this, but that both marx and engels were pretty racist and sexist. engels once said "there can't be a stranger set of affiars than a woman doing the work and a man staying at home"

they were men of their time, but yes they would be considered racist and sexist compared to today's standards.

[rudeXboy]

Originally posted by Red [email protected] 02, 2007 04:58 am
Well a few other board members have told me this, but that both marx and engels were pretty racist and sexist. engels once said "there can't be a stranger set of affiars than a woman doing the work and a man staying at home"

they were men of their time, but yes they would be considered racist and sexist compared to today's standards.
By the standards of their time its expected.

Marxism completely has everything to with the class structure, race doesn't come into it. Not to say that racism is a part of Marxism, but its quiet possible to be a racist Marxist (although unlikely due to the whole 'equality for all' thing) .

Religion is another thing. Marxist belief preached the hate of religion and the destruction of it. I would like to here some opinions of my fellow Marxists on religion.
-I myself have been called anti-semitic, islamaphoebic and many other things. What people don't seem to understand is that I have nothing against the individual but everything against the religion. Yes I know many people define themselves by their religion and honestly I DO have a problem with that.

[Vargha Poralli]

Originally posted by RedMenace+--> (RedMenace)but that both marx and engels were pretty racist and sexist.[/b]

The concept of Race of Marx and Engels time was not as it is today.


rudeXboy
Religion is another thing. Marxist belief preached the hate of religion and the destruction of it. I would like to here some opinions of my fellow Marxists on religion.

You are totally wrong Marx did not preach for hate of religion and destruction of it.A recent discussion about it (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=62031&hl=marxism,and,the+religious+superstructure) may give you an Idea.

Another thing to quote Leon Trotsky

Religion will only cease to exist completely with the development of the socialist system, that is, when technology frees people from degrading forms of dependency on nature, and amid social relations that are no longer mysterious, which are completely transparent and do not oppress people.


I myself have been called anti-semitic, islamaphoebic and many other things.

That depends on how you attck religion or religious people.

[TC]

Race has a class basis because before colonialism, the vast majority white people were agricultural workers and the vast majority of black people were pre-agricultural in pre-state social organization. This made them very easy to round up and use as a slave population in the colonies which was cheaper than importing paid labour from Europe. After this caste relationship was abolished the class relationship lingered as the black population was without inheritance and long standing community connections putting them at a material disadvantage to the existing white free labour and the ability to guess someone's socio-economic class by their skin colour means that this could be replicated over generations.

And in fact Marx did write extensively about slavery and colonialism and no one legitimately studying Marx for years would think of it as a 'dogma' so i wish you wouldn't be so presumptuous.

[rouchambeau]

I'm currious as to how Marxism would go about explaining the anti-coolie riots.

Also, TC, there is more to race than just black and white.

[Janus]

The last thread on this:
Were Marx and Engels racists? (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=56161&hl=racist)

[détrop]

We should remember that when we see a person of a certain race and feel somewhat aggitated, it is not the race but the culture practiced by the race that we dislike. Until there is one unified culture between all races...there will be alienated cultures by other cultures, and here is where the conflict emerges.