> "Marx does not 'oppose' capitalism ideologically; but Rousseau does. For > Marx, it is history; for Rousseau, it is evil." > > Gáspár Miklós Tamás: Telling the truth about class > http://www.grundrisse.net/grundrisse22/tellingTheTruthAboutClass.htm
I think this is half-right. Marx opposed capitalism both ideologically and morally. However, in view of the results of utopian socialism and the like (much of which followed Rousseau), he saw mere moral or ideological opposition to capitalism as _insufficient_. In desperate brevity, instead of pushing moral or ideological slogans such as "liberty, equality, and fraternity" (which, if defined correctly, Marx would support), he examined capitalism to find the class whose victory had the greatest potential to put those slogans into practice and the dynamics of the system that would allow this victory to occur. In contrast, I think it's quite possible for very conservative people to totally agree with almost any Marxian analysis of capitalism. They may think that there's an immanent tendency for capitalism to fall apart and for the working class to replace the system with socialism but then fight like hell against liberty, equality, and fraternity (unless those values are restricted to applying only to those with money). Marxism as a (social) science may not involve ethical or ideological components, but Marxism has always been more than that (and better than that). -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
