Wildfire of Marxism -- Book

Marx died in Britain in obscurity. That was 1883, for his funeral only a handful of people were present, one among them was a British. No detachments of the British "proletariat" were present to salute their discoverer. In this most important capitalist country of that time, 19th century, there was no report of a single representative of British "proletariat" trying in any way to attend. "Proletariat" was absent from the funeral of a person who later became the idol of the "scientific socialism", his bust occupying many public squares and his image adorning great many walls private and public.

Shifting Sands of Marxism -- Book

Where do these tenets of Marx's views stand among the Marxists and the broader left today? It is barely a lip service to the prophet. In maintaining Marx's "materialist" view his disciples are hardly any different from the Christians and Moslems who have tried to decipher the principles of mathematics and physics from the pages of Bible and Qur'an, and with every new scientific advancement they belabor to justify their holy books.

Exchange and Trade -- Book

How can we measure Marx's notions of trade and exchange and how has it evolved since? Examination of this question is important for understanding how Marx's perception of exploitation evolved through his disciples. Marx saw trade beginning with the exchange of things where through capitalist corruption it gets extended to other spheres of human relationships, exchange of non-material.

Revolution -- Book

Marx saw reform and compromise as futile and in many respects illusory. In his view progress was ultimately possible only through revolution. Society needed a social upheaval, a revolution, to promote certain perceived interests, workers interest, and eliminate other interests, the capitalists. In his view this process was natural and inevitable where the learned like himself had only to participate and be its shaman, the wise one. As time passed he became more frustrated with his own prognosis while piling on theoretical constructs.

The State -- Book

Marxists view of the state is an extension of their rigid view of other social relationships and economic categories. It is crude and ahistorical. Their perception of state is an organization that came to existence with the development of trade and creation of class society. These Marxian class societies have a standing armed organization. Whereby this organization's central task is to protect the interests of the privileged classes against the disenfranchised ones. The role of the downtrodden is to suffer and wait for an opportunity to overthrow the propertied classes.

Exploitation -- Book

Marx's notion of class begins with the assumption that there was a stage not too long ago when there were no classes, i.e. there were no privileges and no exploitation. He contends that in the primitive tribes everyone was equal because everyone more or less did the same thing, everyone consumed the same and at the end of the day there was nothing left. There was no accumulation of things and therefore no basis for privilege and therefore no "classes".

Class Struggle -- Book

"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." That is Marx's vision of the history and is one of the fundamental principles that every Marxist adheres to. This declaration of Marx in Communist Manifesto probably is as important to the Marxist theorists as his economic theories. I have dealt with the foundation of Marx's economic theory earlier but the question is how valid is Marx's famous notion about "class struggle" and history. This is a statement that shouts out through the entire Marx's writings. One cannot conceive of Marxism without his perception of the history and the "class struggle".

Alienation -- Book

There are multiple and broad concepts attached to the word alienation but Marx took up this word and gave it a particular socioeconomic meaning. His concept of alienation which one can read in his early writings and mostly is associated with the young Marx is basically the separation of the worker from the means of production.

The Family -- Book

One of the corollaries of Marx & Engels's thesis is that with socialism not only the state will wither away, but the nuclear family will be done with also. Their understanding was that the existence of monogamous relationships, nuclear family, was based only on the needs of the "class" society to transfer wealth to their off spring and the family really does not have any useful function among the working people other than a mechanism for the reproduction of new workers to be exploited. The height of the influence of this idea was reflected in the cultural revolution of the 1960s and 70s in the West with varied consequences. Complications of the issue of the nuclear family is an ongoing discussion of our modern world, that whether a healthy and functioning nuclear family is indispensable for a socially responsible upbringing and what are the negative and positive influences of this cultural landslide.

Marxist Eden Lost -- Book

In the next few posts I am returning to some other sections of my book. The first few sections apart from the introductions dealt with the core principles that Marx enunciated, his economic principles. In these next sections I am dealing with Marx's social manifestations of his principles. As before titles of these posts are ending with "... -- Book" and for the purpose of the continuity I encourage you to read the earlier posts with similar title patterns.

Confession

I voted for Kshama Sawant for Seattle City Council to replace Richard Conlin.  Sawant is a confessed socialist with red hot slogans. People who are familiar with me and my blog, they know that I am writing against the communist and socialist ideas. During the past presidential election I criticized the people who were gearing up to vote socialist instead of voting for president Obama. See my blog "Honk for Jesus or Vote Socialist".

Blueprint

An architect's drawing of a bridge on a sheet of paper connecting two impassable land masses is an initial concept.

Bomb Iran or ...

Instead, flood the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) with professional women from the West. Aeronautic technology has an alternative use other than producing bombers.

Marx's Sage -- Book

Marx created and used quite a few smart phrases in his debates with his opponents.

Materialist Version of a Myth -- Book

The central thread of the three great religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, all originating in the Middle East goes like this:

Marxian Wealth -- Book

Marx’s ultimate defense of his doctrine is his modeling of capitalist economic system. His work on this modeling that led to the three volumes of "The Capital" has been held up as the ultimate verdict against capitalism. It was thought that his critique of capitalism has laid bare the ruthless exploitation of the workers, which according to Marx is the sole source for the creation of capital, its formation, accumulation and growth.

Marxian Constructs -- Book

Marx said that “The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.” In this respect Marx saw himself in contradistinction to other philosophers, and his works as the end of philosophy. He saw himself as the last philosopher with a revolutionary message, of an impending and inevitable transformation, that was putting an end to philosophy and exploitation. His prophetic finality sets Marx's tone of blazing polemics. His tone by itself makes reading of Marx's works very difficult.

Shortcomings -- Book

A couple of years ago I mentioned that I would post some short articles giving a framework for the book that I am working on. I had a series of posts titled "Perspective ..." and a series of other posts, some related and some unrelated to this book. I am shifting gears a bit. I will have a series of posts that are directly related to this book and will end each post title with " -- Book". This way readers of my blog can follow this particular trend easier. Sorry I did not find an easier way of doing it. I wish the Google Blogger was more user-friendly in this regard.

Ms. Ambassador

The election of Mr. Rohani as the president of Iran and the change of tone by his administration have raised hopes that a possible military confrontation between the West and Iran would not be on the horizon and the two sides could come to a quick resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue.

Sirens of Success

"In Greek mythology, the Sirens were dangerous and beautiful creatures, portrayed as femme fatales who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island."

There are successes and victories which in the end are nothing but setbacks and defeats. Those successes and victories have their own euphoria and are enticing but only set one up for a bigger setback and defeat. This is the case with the anti-war activists who are against the intervention by the United States and other Western countries in Syria.