Is Marx relevant to American politics? I think so.
by Randian
Sun Aug 26, 2007 at 03:30:03 PM PDT
Karl Marx has, paradoxically, a bad name amongst the political mainstream and yet an abiding influence amongst scholars and political activists.
Yet, while mainstream Democrats may seek to abstain from ever mentioning the name of Marx, out of fear of appearing “too far to the left”, Marx’s thinking remains very useful for all those dedicated to progressive causes, whatever party label they may happen to embrace.
In my discipline, sociology, Marx is so influentiual that the main American sociological organization, the American Sociological Association has an entire section dedicated to Marxist sociology; I was briefly a member, but since my resources are limited and my scholarly interests lie slightly elsewhere, I am not at the moment; I still respect careful Marxian analysis, though….
Since the Democrats and Marxism are, ostensibly, dedicated to progressive change and to reducing inequalities, they have, in spite of some real differences, at least a few major areas of overlap.”
