Living with Neo-Marxism

A fantasy only academics could like 

Michael D. Shaw Jul 31 @ Mike's Point of View

 

As with many “Neo-” theories, Neo-Marxism was introduced to bolster the already-failing notion of classical Marxism. (cf. Neo-Darwinism). First promoted by a group of sociologists out of the University of Frankfurt in the 1920s, these members of what was to be called the “Frankfurt School,” endeavored to develop a theory of society that was based on Marxism and Hegelian philosophy, but which also incorporated the insights of psychoanalysis, sociology, existential philosophy, and other disciplines.

This method of analysis became known as "critical theory”—a term that is simultaneously opaque and grandiose.

Many influential articles were published in the Frankfurt School’s journal Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung (Journal for Social Research). Prominent contributors included:

** Theodor W. Adorno—Theorized civilization’s tendency to self-destruction; fled Nazi Germany in 1934 (ironically to capitalist Britain and even more capitalist United States); returning to Frankfurt in 1949 to pick up where he had left off.

** Walter Benjamin—Possessed great intellect, trying to reconcile Marxism, Kabbalah, free love, and the Arts scene; alienated some colleagues, and lived in exile, in fear of the Nazis; committing suicide when he realized he would be turned over to the Gestapo.

** Erich Fromm—Yet another German Jew who had to flee the Nazis; a disciple of Sigmund Freud before turning against him; Zionist for a while but functional atheist, calling himself a “nontheistic mystic”; held that modern man has become alienated and estranged from himself within consumer-oriented industrial society.

** Julian Gumperz—Born in the US, before returning to Germany with his parents; hard-core Commie who renounced it all after World War II to become a stockbroker; wrote Pattern for World Revolution (1947) under a pseudonym, this work analyzes the structure and strategies of the Communist International and its role in promoting world revolution.

** Herbert Marcuse—Followed the Frankfurt School members first to Geneva, and then to Columbia University; hired by the OSS (precursor to the CIA) in 1941; his Eros and Civilization: A Philosophical Inquiry into Freud (1955) attacked capitalism, and was described by some as “eroticizing Marx”; not surprisingly became popular with students in the 1960s for his Marxist and sexual liberation views.

Cutting to the chase, whether Marxism or Neo-Marxism, all focus is on the dialectic between the Oppressor and the Victim. However, this always requires a determination of which party IS truly the Oppressor and the Victim. In the US, ever since Affirmative Action (growing out of the Civil Rights Act of 1964), this distinction has become fatally flawed.

Under what rubric is a White job applicant denied a position in favor of a Black the “Oppressor”? What is the formula whereby society is healed by perpetuating discrimination in a modified context? Is a woman seeking an abortion a worthy Victim?

Indeed, the entire dialectic has deteriorated into pure travesty. How else to describe the new production of Jesus Christ Superstar, featuring Black Lesbian Cynthia Ervio as Jesus, and gay Adam Lambert as Judas. Surely, this arrangement will give new meaning to Mary Magdalene’s song “I Don’t Know How to Love Him.”

And, how can we forget the ridiculous incident (July 27th) in which WNBA player Kahleah Copper’s hair extension was inadvertently pulled off, and the game was actually stopped, followed by the ejection of a fan who apparently laughed at the absurdity of it all. Never mind that by all rights the league should not even exist since it has NEVER turned a profit since its inception in 1997. Who is the Victim here?

Make it make sense.

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