[Marxism] Is "class" at the root of the real division in society?

["Joaquin Bustelo" <jbustelo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jscotlive says, "I reject completely the notion that in a Marxist Party,
organisation, or discussion list people should be ringfenced according to
race, sex or any other false division bestowed upon us by the bourgeoisie.
The word 'whore' has been assimilated into the lexicon of everyday language,
as has 'pimp' (which men could find offensive) and others. This divorces us
from the issue of class as the root of the real division within society, and
language as a symptom of that division."

I wonder if from the point of view of historical and dialectical
materialism, there is any conceivable way to defend the statement that "the
issue of class" is the "root of the real division within society."

The first division of labor (historically) was between men and women; and
while there is a certain amount of debate on just how men came to dominate,
I thought there really was no question in Marxist circles of the priority of
patriarchy in creating the patterns of hierarchy, oppression and
exploitation that are then reproduced along class and race divides. 

At any rate, it seems to me that capitalism as we know it is not about class
fundamentally, and it is not right to say that national and gender
oppression derive from that. Capitalism rests on four pillars, patriarchy,
race/nationality, class, and finally I think it is necessary to add, a
generalized dehumanization of humanity, which includes negation of our
"naturalness." 

*  *  *

I'm not sure what "ringfenced" means, apart from the obvious physical
barrier that comes from combining the two words and then the usage that
makes it the equivalent of the U.S. "lockbox" in the social security debate,
i.e., the sequestering of funds for a specific purpose.

To the degree that Jscotlive's sentence makes sense to me, he rejects the
idea of women or Blacks organizing around their own interests and
oppression, viewing gender and nationality as "false divisions" that have
been "bestowed upon us by the bourgeoisie" as counterposed to "the real
division withing society" which is "the issue of class."

It's the old "Black and white, unite and fight" about which I will say only
that it has nothing in common with Marxism as the founders of the movement,
Marx and Engels, understood it, and can be easily verified.

*  *  *

As for the rest of this miserable debate, I just want to say I'm with Louise
and Steffi.

Joaquín



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