- 22 Mar 2009 10:05
#1843214
By HoniSoit
Marxism as a set of very complex philosophical, political, social and economic ideas could be interpreted in many different ways. My understanding of Marxism begins not with dialectical materialism or the complex Marxian economic ideas but with the notion of emancipation.
I see all progressive social movements as a struggle to emancipate human beings from a myriad of repressions, let it be the repression of the state, the repression of the capitalist economy, the repression of racism and patriarchy or any other forms of repression that we may or may not have recognised. I see Marxism very much in the context of this continuous social movement of human emancipation.
Having used the notion of emancipation as my starting point, I approach Marxism from a left-libertarian perspective, that is to say, I see the central ideas of Marxism to be the self-management of society, and it's not just workers self-management, but everyone in society. Crucially, this self-management has to be done in an as democratic and as non-hierarchical fashion possible.
In this sense, I may run counter to the way many Marxists understand Marxism, and may be accused of being utopian or unscientific. I’m in a way guilty of the charges because I see the ideas, the inspirations of people as to what kind of society they wish to live in as the basic starting points for subsequent struggle. I wish to use Marx's political and economic ideas to serve the realisation of those inspirations.
Finally, I don't particularly agree with people saying Marxism is out-dated. I think a theory could be debated as to their explanatory and predictive power but simply dismissing it as out-dated doesn't shed any light on our understanding. But I think it's important to recognise even within the Marxist tradition, there is wide disagreement with regard to the merit of many Marx's ideas; so it's crucial to realise there could be a lot wrong with Marxist ideas, and be more open to alternative thoughts both within and outside Marxism.
Marxism as a set of very complex philosophical, political, social and economic ideas could be interpreted in many different ways. My understanding of Marxism begins not with dialectical materialism or the complex Marxian economic ideas but with the notion of emancipation.
I see all progressive social movements as a struggle to emancipate human beings from a myriad of repressions, let it be the repression of the state, the repression of the capitalist economy, the repression of racism and patriarchy or any other forms of repression that we may or may not have recognised. I see Marxism very much in the context of this continuous social movement of human emancipation.
Having used the notion of emancipation as my starting point, I approach Marxism from a left-libertarian perspective, that is to say, I see the central ideas of Marxism to be the self-management of society, and it's not just workers self-management, but everyone in society. Crucially, this self-management has to be done in an as democratic and as non-hierarchical fashion possible.
In this sense, I may run counter to the way many Marxists understand Marxism, and may be accused of being utopian or unscientific. I’m in a way guilty of the charges because I see the ideas, the inspirations of people as to what kind of society they wish to live in as the basic starting points for subsequent struggle. I wish to use Marx's political and economic ideas to serve the realisation of those inspirations.
Finally, I don't particularly agree with people saying Marxism is out-dated. I think a theory could be debated as to their explanatory and predictive power but simply dismissing it as out-dated doesn't shed any light on our understanding. But I think it's important to recognise even within the Marxist tradition, there is wide disagreement with regard to the merit of many Marx's ideas; so it's crucial to realise there could be a lot wrong with Marxist ideas, and be more open to alternative thoughts both within and outside Marxism.
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