Yes, I’ve read Marx and Engels. Yes, I’ve read Conquest Of Bread. Yes, I’ve read Lenin. Yes, I’ve read up on the history of socialist movements.
But yeah, I’m just an ignorant anti-tankie swine. If I read one more Holy Text, THEN I would be enlightened.
I adore Marx, and the only reason I don’t regard myself as a Marxist is because I’m not married to many of his interpretations which have been somewhat superseded by later sociological theory on the importance of non-material conditions and postmodernist critiques of structured narratives within the soft sciences. But hey, I’m just some right-wing chud, clearly. I hold every opinion ascribed to me in this comment thread despite often and on this very website espousing the literal opposite position.
This is why tankies and their apologists are so fucking insufferable.
What postmodern critiques are there of narratives in the soft sciences? Juz curious.
The simplest version of the postmodernist argument is that grand, overarching narratives are just pareidolia for academics - people search for shapes where there are none; and that perception shapes reality to such a degree that one cannot examine simply the ‘conditions’ of a society, even non-material ones, and expect to understand its contours.
It’s more nuanced than that I think, but honestly, it’s been almost a decade since I was last in college and read up on it, so I don’t know how much I trust myself to give a more in-depth explanation, lol.
The admins for fucking one. I’m about to go to bed, but you can check about ‘Sinophobia’ bans for talking about the Uyghur genocide for proof on the admins. I’ll dredge up some choice examples from Lemmygrad when I wake up, if you’re still interested.
Damn I left reddit because of shitty politically moralized admin censorship. Is there really no escape from this hell
Totally get you, though:
sociological theory on the importance of non-material conditions and postmodernist critiques of structured narratives within the soft sciences.
Maslow’s heirarchy usually holds up to the former. But for the latter? It is a realm rife with grift. Even the best intentions can end up warped or being co-opted. So that’s probably where the contention comes from especially if you start with an aggressive posture.
Oh yeah, the nature of postmodernism means it’s very exploitable. I meant it more as justification for my broader disassociation more than something I bring up; I usually leave postmodernism out of it. Just outlining the internal thought process of why I wouldn’t describe myself as a Marxist.
