[Beren]

Well, that's an improvement. The former Head of the Commission, Barroso, is known to have been a Maoist in his younger days.

Juncker tries to separate Marx from Mao basically.

[Atlantis]

Juncker tries to separate Marx from Mao basically.

True! He is trying to put Marx into his historical context, which today's wannabe Marxists are incapable of.

[Atlantis]

It was the opposite of NATO, not the EU, the EU's opposite was Comecon. What an appealing alternative it was!

Kids nowadays, don't know these things, Beren. If you can't Google Comecon it didn't exist.

[Beren]

True! He is trying to put Marx into his historical context, which today's wannabe Marxists are incapable of.

To Juncker Marx is just a fellow progressive German, one of the greatests, from the 19th century.

[Heisenberg]

So he's not claiming Marx's legacy, just "celebrating" him as a "fellow progressive German" and "drawing a connection between him and the EU."

Seriously, what is the point of this thread?

[Beren]

So he's not claiming Marx's legacy, just "celebrating" him as a "fellow progressive German" and "drawing a connection between him and the EU."

Seriously, what is the point of this thread?

He's not claiming Marx's legacy because he's not a Social Democrat, but he accepts him as a great progressive thinker and a legitimate part of European history and the European mindset.

Maybe there is no point in this thread for you as a pro-Soviet Brexiter who will lose his EU-citizenship soon.

[Rugoz]

So now social liberals are claiming Marx was really one of them.

Not so far-fetched. Marx was an advocate of individual freedom and he believed in positive liberty just as social liberals do.

[One Degree]

Social liberals believe in legislating their own slavery. I don’t think that was Marx’s vision, but it did turn out that way.

[Thomasmariel]

Never read Karl Marx, but then I don't read anything from that time period

[noir]

@Potemkin

Spoiler: show

Israeli ambassador in UK mark Karl Marx birthday. It seems he was proto Zionist Jew.

[One Degree]

He was Jewish, Lutheran, and Catholic so you can not say his atheism was out of ignorance.

[noir]

The Jewish history regards him as auto "anti semite" Jew, because of his writing on Jewish function in economy

http://www.philosophersmag.com/opinion/ ... tisemitism

So now it seems the picture is quite complicated.

[B0ycey]

Actually, for Junker to acknowledge Marx's birthday isn't as bizarre as many on here wish. Marx would agree with many of the values that the EU has supported. He did after all advocate open borders and workers rights. I think that many seem to consider Soviet Communism (Leninism, Stalinism) Marx's Communism. This is not true - and as such is where the confusion lays.

[Rugoz]

Marx would agree with many of the values that the EU has supported.

Marx would love the EU for being the first political entity to enshrine free markets in its constitution.

[Beren]

Marx would love to point out how capitalism is prising open European nation states.

[B0ycey]

Marx would love the EU for being the first political entity to enshrine free markets in its constitution.

For Marx the ultimate goal was Communism. But even he knew Socialism would need to come first. The EU is arguably a socialist project. It distributes wealth from rich areas to poor areas and promotes equality, unity and openness. So you could make an argument he would be pro-EU, even at first. Who knows. Nonetheless it doesn't hide the fact that his intelliect and theories should be appreciated by everyone. Junker like most people appreciated Marx for what he was. A great understander of the inequality and unfairness Capitalism has to society as a whole and also an understander of the reasons for why this is.

[Rugoz]

The EU is arguably a socialist project.

For the record, speculating about what Marx would like today is pointless, because he would be faced with today's reality and consequently revise his economic theories.

Either way, the fact that the EU distributes income from rich to poor members to some extent doesn't make it a "socialist project". Every federal state does that.

[Beren]

I think it's fair to say Marx would be a harsh critique of the EU, although he would accept it as the next stage in Europe's capitalist development. He would also call on the European working class to get pan-European as well and would agitate against nationalistic populism.

[One Degree]

For the record, speculating about what Marx would like today is pointless, because he would be faced with today's reality and consequently revise his economic theories.

Either way, the fact that the EU distributes income from rich to poor members to some extent doesn't make it a "socialist project". Every federal state does that.

I agree. It is a disservice to Marx to imagine his views would not be different based upon today’s realities. I would imagine he would be the last person to believe ideology should be stagnant.

[B0ycey]

For the record, speculating about what Marx would like today is pointless, because he would be faced with today's reality and consequently revise his economic theories.

Well I agree, but it isn't exactly offensive to state an opinion is it? Unless you are One Degree who states an opinion on everything but takes offence when someone does likewise of course.

Nonetheless really this whole thread is on Junker marking Marx's birthday anyways. Is it really such a surprise to people that he would considering that Marx isn't against all of the EU's principles and would support quite a few of them as they complement Marxism quite well?