Karl Marx, born on this day in 1818, was a foundational political theorist and journalist associated with the philosophy of Marxism.

Among Marx’s best-known texts are the “The Communist Manifesto” and the three-volume “Das Kapital”, in which he set out to define and explain the behavior of the capitalist mode of production.

Marx’s political and philosophical thought have had enormous influence on subsequent intellectual, economic and political history, and his name has been used as an adjective, a noun, and a school of social theory.

Marx’s critical theories about society, economics and politics - collectively understood as Marxism - hold that human societies develop through class conflict. In capitalism, this manifests itself in the conflict between the ruling classes (known as the bourgeoisie) that control the means of production, and the working classes (known as the proletariat) that enable these means by selling their labor power in return for wages.

Employing a critical approach known as historical materialism, Marx concluded that, like previous socio-economic systems, capitalism produced internal tensions which would lead to its self-destruction and replacement by a new system known as socialism.

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  • Antiwork [none/use name, he/him]@hexbear.net
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    17 hours ago

    I heard Vijay Prashad talking about leftists have to be more likable and do less of the infighting shit because it’s unappealing to outsiders and I’m just not sure I agree that’s the problem. It’s usually the easiest thing to point to as if we just were more approachable more people would want to join a communist organization.

    I think it comes down to power and material impact. Arguing and disagreeing over small shit is done by all parties and yet they still have power because they hold onto it and wield it with ease.

    One thing he did say that struck a nerve is he was talking about China being a serious country. The imperial core is not serious, but that doesn’t mean our effort to organize and build solidarity within the working class shouldn’t be taken seriously. The Black Panthers are great example of this. They were serious about what they were doing and that is why when they built power and people trusted them.

    This is also more of a self reflection in what I could work on as I’m organizing.