It's always interesting to hear and see how Marxism is such a point of contention. Why do we have to justify ourselves for being Marxists? I'm quite young and I can't even imagine how living under the cold war anti communist climate must have been. Constantly having to refute any association with Marxism-Leninsm must have been exhausting. Although Marxism still hasn't recovered yet fully, I feel like there's a much more open debate in Lefists circles today about the true philosophical meaning of Karl Marx's work. I'm thankful for your insights. Hopefully my generation will come to the realisation that the emancipation of the human race can only be achieved when people have the opportunity to associate freely with their peers.
I'm a sociologist graduate too, a few years later now a masters student in psychodynamic therapy. I very much enjoyed this, and agree with everything you say here. The mere mention of Marx seems to bring about a very intense reaction this past year or two!
There's some pretty serious reasons for that reaction. I am not on the right, for some very important reasons, but the left seems to be in a state of denial, so I haven't really been aligned with the left for some years now either. I have a hammer and sickle tattooed on my chest. A giant tattoo. I was a communist, romantically, in theory for many years. Communism sounds like a very, very attractive and rational idea.....but it. Will. Not. Work. It violates human nature. I'm not saying capitalism is the answer of all answers. Modern communists seem to think that they can implement a holy kind of communism where they won't have to resort to the tactics of Maoism or Leninism. ....but I find this notion to be naive and foolish. Life isn't fair. It's never going to be fair. There are hierarchies in every structure and without dominance hierarchies, everything will fall apart. "Oh, this time it will be different. We've worked the bugs out of the software." No... these systems not only will not work, they will cause suffering on a scale we won't even be able to wrap our minds around. It's too idealistic. We still have to be grounded and pragmatic. How can we create a stable hierarchy without marginalizing people at the bottom.....we can't. Everything in this universe is a catch 22.
All Marx did was show the effects of capitalism. His name has been dragged through the muck six ways from Sunday. Glad to see you posting proff. ... kind of unrelated, but I was wondering if you endorse JFK and RFK's American socialism?
Not sure if I can comment on American Socialism but I do endorse Canadian Socialism. This country would not exist if the government hadn’t built a railway from sea to sea. And thanks to Tommy Douglas we have Universal Medicare, although it needs a big infusion of money if it is to survive.
@@doncarveth Hopefully that big infusion of money will come from the patients themselves. More services now are paid for by the user. There used to be double billing in Ontario. Lot of countries have a better system than single-payer Canada.
In the name of Marxism ,horrible crimes ,mass murder has been committed in many countries. Marx advocated violent overthrow of government. And yet some never learn.
I've had a background in Marx (but like Marx said ' I'm not a Marxist'). My take on the matter is that at the time of the Russian revolution the world working class compared to the world peasantry was still very small and undeveloped with regard to democratic institutions. That this was an important factor in the failure of the Bolshevik revolution as well as Trotsky's earlier warnings about the tendency towards autocracy within the Bolshevik position. I'm in my late sixties now and I find myself wondering if humanity could ever reach a point where it had conscious control over its own destiny or whether, as with Arthur Koestler's view of our inherent paranoid reptilian tendencies, we are a species destined to self destruction. I had a supervisor who was a 'Marxist' who until his dying day had absolute faith in the revolutionary nature of the world working class and their capacity to self emancipate and end class society on a world scale along with all the madness of the Bourgeoise mode of production-I miss him and wish I had his steadfast faith. Thanks for this thought (and affect) provoking video.
This starts really well. It's essential to distinguish between Marxism and Leninism-Trotskyism-Stalinism, which are all perversions of Marx and Engels' ideas. Marx was a democratic revolutionary, unlike the Bolsheviks. He argued for majoritarian social revolution to remove the ruling class. But you then turn on a sixpence, abandoning your initial distinction and start saying you don't support revolutionary politics (Marx's politics) because it means "picking up guns" - but this is nonsense. In fact, armed minortiarian violent revolt is the calling card of Leninism/Stalinism/Catroism, etc and not Marxism. You are misrepresenting revolutionary socialism here, in my view. Still love the channel and appreciate all of your videos so much.
@@doncarveth Thanks for the reply. I understand better where you're coming from now. But I do think that Marx offers more than a sociological analysis. He was committed to revolutionary politics, which means overthrowing the ruling class (without guns and through majority democratic action). I think we should say that the Leninists and their offshoots are not revolutionary for precisely the reasons you give - they are concerned with replacing one power group with another - and yes, operate from out of a PS position, if you like. I would even drop Marxism Leninism as a phrase, since Lenin totally distorted Marx for opportunistic reasons and in my opinion led to a lost century for genuine socialism.
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It's always interesting to hear and see how Marxism is such a point of contention. Why do we have to justify ourselves for being Marxists? I'm quite young and I can't even imagine how living under the cold war anti communist climate must have been. Constantly having to refute any association with Marxism-Leninsm must have been exhausting. Although Marxism still hasn't recovered yet fully, I feel like there's a much more open debate in Lefists circles today about the true philosophical meaning of Karl Marx's work. I'm thankful for your insights. Hopefully my generation will come to the realisation that the emancipation of the human race can only be achieved when people have the opportunity to associate freely with their peers.
Yes. Thanks.
I'm a sociologist graduate too, a few years later now a masters student in psychodynamic therapy. I very much enjoyed this, and agree with everything you say here. The mere mention of Marx seems to bring about a very intense reaction this past year or two!
Yes, thank you
There's some pretty serious reasons for that reaction. I am not on the right, for some very important reasons, but the left seems to be in a state of denial, so I haven't really been aligned with the left for some years now either.
I have a hammer and sickle tattooed on my chest. A giant tattoo. I was a communist, romantically, in theory for many years. Communism sounds like a very, very attractive and rational idea.....but it. Will. Not. Work. It violates human nature. I'm not saying capitalism is the answer of all answers. Modern communists seem to think that they can implement a holy kind of communism where they won't have to resort to the tactics of Maoism or Leninism. ....but I find this notion to be naive and foolish. Life isn't fair. It's never going to be fair. There are hierarchies in every structure and without dominance hierarchies, everything will fall apart. "Oh, this time it will be different. We've worked the bugs out of the software." No... these systems not only will not work, they will cause suffering on a scale we won't even be able to wrap our minds around. It's too idealistic. We still have to be grounded and pragmatic. How can we create a stable hierarchy without marginalizing people at the bottom.....we can't. Everything in this universe is a catch 22.
@@soul_Link12 That’s why I’m prepared to settle for Democratic Socialism, what Sir Karl Popper called “piecemeal social reform.“
Nice to see you doctor. I missed you here
All Marx did was show the effects of capitalism. His name has been dragged through the muck six ways from Sunday. Glad to see you posting proff. ... kind of unrelated, but I was wondering if you endorse JFK and RFK's American socialism?
Not sure if I can comment on American Socialism but I do endorse Canadian Socialism. This country would not exist if the government hadn’t built a railway from sea to sea. And thanks to Tommy Douglas we have Universal Medicare, although it needs a big infusion of money if it is to survive.
@@doncarveth Hopefully that big infusion of money will come from the patients themselves. More services now are paid for by the user. There used to be double billing in Ontario. Lot of countries have a better system than single-payer Canada.
In the name of Marxism ,horrible crimes ,mass murder has been committed in many countries. Marx advocated violent overthrow of government. And yet some never learn.
In terms of "temporary authoritarianism" George Washington must be the exception must he not?
That’s plausible
I've had a background in Marx (but like Marx said ' I'm not a Marxist'). My take on the matter is that at the time of the Russian revolution the world working class compared to the world peasantry was still very small and undeveloped with regard to democratic institutions. That this was an important factor in the failure of the Bolshevik revolution as well as Trotsky's earlier warnings about the tendency towards autocracy within the Bolshevik position. I'm in my late sixties now and I find myself wondering if humanity could ever reach a point where it had conscious control over its own destiny or whether, as with Arthur Koestler's view of our inherent paranoid reptilian tendencies, we are a species destined to self destruction. I had a supervisor who was a 'Marxist' who until his dying day had absolute faith in the revolutionary nature of the world working class and their capacity to self emancipate and end class society on a world scale along with all the madness of the Bourgeoise mode of production-I miss him and wish I had his steadfast faith. Thanks for this thought (and affect) provoking video.
Thank you comrade
This starts really well. It's essential to distinguish between Marxism and Leninism-Trotskyism-Stalinism, which are all perversions of Marx and Engels' ideas. Marx was a democratic revolutionary, unlike the Bolsheviks. He argued for majoritarian social revolution to remove the ruling class. But you then turn on a sixpence, abandoning your initial distinction and start saying you don't support revolutionary politics (Marx's politics) because it means "picking up guns" - but this is nonsense. In fact, armed minortiarian violent revolt is the calling card of Leninism/Stalinism/Catroism, etc and not Marxism. You are misrepresenting revolutionary socialism here, in my view. Still love the channel and appreciate all of your videos so much.
That was not my intention. In my mind, I was associating Marxism with a sociological type of analysis, distinct from Marxism Leninism.
@@doncarveth Thanks for the reply. I understand better where you're coming from now. But I do think that Marx offers more than a sociological analysis. He was committed to revolutionary politics, which means overthrowing the ruling class (without guns and through majority democratic action). I think we should say that the Leninists and their offshoots are not revolutionary for precisely the reasons you give - they are concerned with replacing one power group with another - and yes, operate from out of a PS position, if you like. I would even drop Marxism Leninism as a phrase, since Lenin totally distorted Marx for opportunistic reasons and in my opinion led to a lost century for genuine socialism.
@@shellyshelly9218 makes sense
Thank you for making me curious. Stay well and strong and opinionated! It's a weird world. Have a gorgeous summer.
Thank you, and you too