The
majority of people in the world, except perhaps the mentally ill,
seldom ever claim to be Marxists anymore. Whenever progressives are
accused of being Marxists or socialists, they mock their
simple-minded opponents and go on their merry way.
However,
we have to keep in mind the famous quote about the
greatest trick the Devil ever having played was how he convinced the
world that he didn't exist.
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The
great irony of present-day Marxists is that the majority of people
who are either consciously or subconsciously influenced by Marxism
have never read any of Marx's works. Then there are those who have
read his works and who have failed to understand Marx.
(Joseph A. Schumpeter
listed in his book, “History of Economic Analysis”
(Page 362, “Concerning the Marxist System”) quite a formidable
and hefty set of prerequisites that people have to read in order to
properly understand Marx. This probably explains why so many people
are reluctant and/or unable to fully understand Marxism.)
Regardless
of whether people have read or not read or understood or not
understood Marx, many people have uncritically accepted many of his
views as gospel truth. And I am willing to bet that most of those
people don't even know that they are channeling Marx.
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For
example, one thing that I have heard many progressives complain about
often is that, especially after having been “influenced” by the
“corporate media,” far too many middle to low income earners “vote
against their own interest.” For proof simply do a Google search
for “vote against their own interest.”
However,
we have to ask what people mean by “interest” when they pose
their question. In every single instance, when that question is
asked, what they almost always mean by “interest” is the
interests of the group that the individuals supposedly belong to.
For
example, people often ask why ethnic minorities or women vote for
conservative parties, or why the low-to-middle income earners vote
for tax breaks for the “super rich.” Notice how no one ever asks
why a particular woman or member of an ethnic minority group might
vote for a conservative politician or why individuals would vote for
tax breaks that they themselves might not benefit from immediately.
It's always about the group.
This
goes back to Marx's belief, which he stated in the Communist
Manifesto, that “the
history of all hitherto existing human society is the history of
class struggles.” As far as Marx
was concerned, “interests”
are something definite and apart from a person's ideas.
It
was a belief that Marx himself contradicted in the same damned book.
As Marx was not a
member of the proletariat, he conveniently added that “in
times when the class struggle nears the decisive hour... a small
section of the ruling class cuts itself adrift, and joins the
revolutionary class.”
If
it is possible for some people to extricate themselves from the
trappings of their own class and its supposedly inherent interests,
then the law is really not a law! Too many Progressives, however,
don't seem to be able to see the contradiction to question their own
beliefs when they talk about people “voting against their own
interests.” They believe that the “interest” of a class is
obvious and that there could be no doubt about what it is.
I
suppose it is much easier to assume that people who do not agree with
them are brainwashed class traitors than individuals who genuinely
have their own independent minds that happen to be opposed to theirs.
Furthermore,
this idea about class interest is an idea that is all too similar to
that of racists. Racists tend to believe that members of a race all
look and think alike. That they should all behave in a particular
way. That there are certain things that all members of a certain
racial group should inherently like and dislike. Replace the word
“race” with “class” and you get the same argument!
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Edit:
The quote about the Devil may be attributed to Charles Baudelaire but in all fairness, Kevin Spacey did make it sound much better.
