Re: Relevance of Marxism Today

[Chegitz Guevara <mluziett@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sat, 2 Dec 1995, Willard E. Smith wrote:

> I would appreciate some advise on an effective way to stir my students'
> interest in Marxism. They tend to think Marxism (as well as
> socialism in general) is "dead." They would agree with Fukuyama that
> liberal democracy is the wave of the future. Some would agree with
> Heilbronner that no matter how excellent the marxist critique of
> capitalism is, there is no feasible Marxist alternative conceivable.
> Having eavesdropped on this list for the past 2 weeks I realize that many
> of you could deal with this skepticism far better than I and I look
> forward to any assistance you could give me. Thanks

If we could answer that question, I suspect there'd be a lot less of us
here, and more of us out there, getting people interested in Marxism. :)
But seriously, carrot and stick them. One the one hand, teach them about
the real changes that occur in human beings as they take power into their
own hands (Paris Commune, 1905, 1917, the Italian Factory takeovers, the
Seattle general strike, Hungary 1956, etc.). Use actual acounts, not
stuff written by experts. On the other hand, show them the barbarism and
corrution that is capitalism, from big businesses hand in the Nazi rise
to power (talking about Ford and GM is good here as well), to showing how
bourgeois democracy operates on a dady to day basis.Michael Parenti's
book, "Democracy for the Few," would be good here (although his final
chapter is lame). Do it in the opposite order that I presented it though,
because talking about all the horrible stuff of this society has a
demoralizing cynicising effect, and the revolutionary stuff can give them
hope for change.

But, ultimately, it isn't the ideas of Marxism that are going to win
people over. It is what we do. People won't begin to be won over to
Marxism until they have a material reason to be, except individually.
That means that instead of constantly trying to build our tiny sects, we
have to help other movements to succeed. As they win, people begin to
feel their power, and come out from behind their protective walls.

Being funny and charasmatic don't hurt, either. There's one communist
professor at my university that the conservative students just love, and
he never pulls any punches politically. He's openly pro-communist,
anti-capitalist, but his sense of irony and humor win them over,
personally, though not politically. And of course, the leftist students
find him imensely valuable. Another commie professor talks about football.
Find a way to connect with your students on a human level, and part of the
battle is over.

In other words, you have a real uphill battle ahead of you.

Marc, "the Chegitz," Luzietti
personal homepage: http://shrike.depaul.edu/~mluziett
political homepage: http://shrike.depaul.edu/~mluziett/chegitz.html

"Gas! GAS! Quick boys!--an ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone was still yelling out and stumbling,
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime . . .
Dim, through the misty panes and the thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning."

>From "Dulce Et Decorum Est," written sometime between Oct. 1917 & March
1918, by Wilfred Owen, killed in the last week of WWI.




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