I’ve studied the Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital in college, which is pretty standard. I’ve also read a few of his shorter works like the Critique of the Gotha Programme and On the Jewish Question (which is interestingly one of the more antisemitic works I’ve ever read despite him having Jewish heritage). I also read a few newspapers that featured him during his time, but I don’t really count those.
There’s no denying that his work is influential. This is evidenced by the fact that we’re talking about it right now. But just because it’s influential that doesn’t mean it’s right, or even good. His analysis was flawed and criticized quite a bit, even during his time. But today? A lot of analysis is just irrelevant because it’s a product of a bygone era. You could make an argument that his analysis led to some objectively good things, and that would be true to an extent, however, this is overshadowed by all the disasters that his views led to. What he envisioned for communism and how to get there was a failure in both theory and practice, and this evidenced by the fact that every implementation of his ideas has resulted in catastrophes.
The fact that it’s a utopia? What kind of question is that? A utopia by definition is an imaginary place where everything is perfect. It will never exist because the world is imperfect. You can’t run societies on fantasies, especially through violence and tyranny. The ends don’t justify the means, especially when the ends are impossible to achieve.
I’m just trying to figure out what your perspective is. So you think Marx basically touted how great such a utopia could be and spent a lot of time describing it in great detail without actually considering how or if it would be possible to implement?
I’ve studied the Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital in college, which is pretty standard. I’ve also read a few of his shorter works like the Critique of the Gotha Programme and On the Jewish Question (which is interestingly one of the more antisemitic works I’ve ever read despite him having Jewish heritage). I also read a few newspapers that featured him during his time, but I don’t really count those.
There’s no denying that his work is influential. This is evidenced by the fact that we’re talking about it right now. But just because it’s influential that doesn’t mean it’s right, or even good. His analysis was flawed and criticized quite a bit, even during his time. But today? A lot of analysis is just irrelevant because it’s a product of a bygone era. You could make an argument that his analysis led to some objectively good things, and that would be true to an extent, however, this is overshadowed by all the disasters that his views led to. What he envisioned for communism and how to get there was a failure in both theory and practice, and this evidenced by the fact that every implementation of his ideas has resulted in catastrophes.
Okay then Marx expert, let’s get into the weeds here. What exactly do you think is wrong with utopian socialism?
The fact that it’s a utopia? What kind of question is that? A utopia by definition is an imaginary place where everything is perfect. It will never exist because the world is imperfect. You can’t run societies on fantasies, especially through violence and tyranny. The ends don’t justify the means, especially when the ends are impossible to achieve.
I’m just trying to figure out what your perspective is. So you think Marx basically touted how great such a utopia could be and spent a lot of time describing it in great detail without actually considering how or if it would be possible to implement?