Karl Marx followers?

[Marx]

Does anyone here read or like the philosopher Karl Marx?

[Shinylight]

I like his beard, he looks like a bichon frise.



I'm a fan of leftist economics.

[Marx]

Hahahaha! That made me laugh. Why, he's a dead ringer of a bichon frise - that's for sure. Awesome! I've been reading into his works/theories for about a year and a half now. I don't agree with all his points, but I do consider myself a Marxist for the most part.

[Shinylight]

I too agree with some of his points but not all. He had some very good ideas and theories, sadly the Russians bastardised a lot of it.

His views on religion were certainly controversial

[Anomalocaris]

I think for his age, he was a sharp and ground breaking observer of the past. But he lacked caution in his extrapolations and overreached in his forecasts.

His views on religion might not be as nuanced as a thoughtful observer today might form, but they certainly seemed to have major parts of the framework right.

[Autumnlicious]

Marx focused too much on class stratification. His ideas for a communistic state were too entwined to the concept of state-like entities, enough for authoritarians to bastardize his works and still claim ideological purity. It is possible that in the future, society will have evolved past needs and desires for material goods such that an individual can work and better oneself as one sees fit.

But now is not that time.

[Minimalist]

All "isms" fail for the same reason. Humans are not as rational/reasonable/predictable as the formulator of the "ism" thinks they are.

Still, that does not mean that there may not be an occasional good idea which can be extracted and used.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

Does anyone here read or like the philosopher Karl Marx?

Yes.My approach to my discipline (Social Anthropology) includes Marx' explanations, but is not limited by them.

My introduction to Marx was a monograph about alienation. I was so impressed I immediately read 'Capital'. I thought,and still think Marx was a genius.

My final year paper was entitled: "Australia is a middle class hegemony".I took the affirmative,demolishing the interactionist argument that Australia is a classless society. I got a distinction.I've always suspected that it didn't hurt that my tutor was the flaming red son of a Yorkshire coal miner.


Having said that I must point out that I remain a pluralist , rejecting all pure ideologies and belief systems.

[Marx]

I too agree with some of his points but not all. He had some very good ideas and theories, sadly the Russians bastardised a lot of it.

I agree! Lenin went too far with it, killing the Tsarist was simply not moral; in my opinion anyways...there could have been a better outcome. I'm not fond of a working class revolution myself. It's sad that his theory is heavily misinformed, especially since Stalin took over and made it a Totalitarian regime state...

His views on religion were certainly controversial

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All "isms" fail for the same reason. Humans are not as rational/reasonable/predictable as the formulator of the "ism" thinks they are.

Still, that does not mean that there may not be an occasional good idea which can be extracted and used.

Exactly! Most political ideologies do tend to fail, sadly. Non-critical thinkers lack beliefs they were not taught, or merely think it is wrong, as well as being indoctrinated.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

I agree! Lenin went too far with it, killing the Tsarist was simply not moral;

What has that got to do with anything?

Realpolitik is based on pragmatism,and is amoral. In the same situation, I would have killed as many Romanovs as I could get my hands on,but much sooner.That action was absolutely politically necessary.

Besides,there was never a Marxist state in Russia or in what became the USSR. Communism by definition is democratic and cannot be a totalitarian state.



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Realpolitik (see also Political realism; from German: real “realistic”, “practical” or “actual”; and Politik “politics”) refers to politics or diplomacy based primarily on power and on practical and material factors and considerations, rather than ideological notions or moralistic or ethical premises. In this respect, it shares aspects of its philosophical approach with those of realism and pragmatism. The term realpolitik is sometimes used pejoratively to imply politics that are coercive, amoral, or Machiavellian. Realpolitik is a theory of politics that focuses on considerations of power, not ideals, morals, or principles. The term was coined by Ludwig von Rochau, a German writer and politician in the 19th century, following Klemens von Metternich's lead in finding ways to balance the power of European empires. Balancing power to keep the European pentarchy was the means for keeping the peace, and careful Realpolitik practitioners tried to avoid arms races.

Rodrigo Borja defines it as the principle on which nations act, in their foreign policies, driven by their own interests and not by altruism, friendship, idealism or solidarity considerations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realpolitik