Who's Afraid of Marx?

Who's Afraid of Karl Marx?

Karl Marx has become something of a philosophical boogeyman these days. His work, we’re told, calls for violent revolution, totalitarian states, and so on. But what if we’re getting Marx all wrong? What if his theories were far less prescriptive than we’ve been led to believe? We’ll explain in this Wisecrack Edition: Everyone’s Wrong About Marx.

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Written by Amanda Scherker
Researched by Tom Whyman
Hosted by Michael Burns
Directed by Michael Luxemburg
Edited by Jackson Maher
Produced by Olivia Redden

Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound

#Marxism #philosophy #wisecrack

© 2023 Wisecrack / Omnia Media, Inc. / Enthusiast Gaming

[blackshard]

"We are living in a material world, and I am a material girl" - Marx, probably

[ShinigamiInuyasha]

DeSantis a lawyer of Guantánamo wanting a law to teach "atrocities of communism" mandatory is the most US thing ever

[joshsmyth]

As someone with adhd, the goal of being able to not just do one thing forever would be amazing.

[saintgabriel]

The moment you said “it’s like you saying your boss needs you more than you” I began to think “Am I a communist?” because I’ve been saying that to all my coworkers for months. “They can’t fire us all” is what I tend to strengthen my argument but maybe I should lean more on the “Fuck it let’s be communist” 😂😂

[DavidHernandez-eqlw]

I got so blown away the first time I read  “philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it”.

[_oe_o_e_]

Imagine being afraid of a guy who slept on his friends couch cause he was reading a bunch of Economic books and going "Yoooo that's messed up!"

[kevinroscom]

The most ironic thing about politicians spouting off about the dangers of communism is that within the first few pages of the communist manifesto, Marx and Engels talk about politicians who spout off about the dangers of communism. It truly is prophetic

[Turnet]

The biggest misconception about Marx is that he was anticapitalist. He could be better describe as a post capitalist. He recognized the benefits capitalism over feudalism and that it catapulted the industrial revolution. He thought that after capitalism sufficient development it would not be necessary and the surplus of production could be socialized once the productive forces were developed enough.

[devinmcmanus]

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Marx is misunderstood; really getting his ideas requires reading books.

[mortalitydoesstuff]

"Marxism" and "Woke" are the two words in the US that have completely lost all meaning

[alphacause]

Marxism is probably the most amorphous term in our political landscape. It can be used as a means to vilify anything and everything.

[Jandrix_bb]

I was watching this while thinking about the Reddit Blackout death cycle. It really puts into perspective how the value isn't the site itself, but created by passionate volunteers who make a community and site worth visiting. Trying to extract money from the people who create capital in a misguided effort to make it more profitable is the literal death knell of every social platform.

[nathanfrentzel]

I agree with Marx that the ideal we should strive for is to give people more freedom to just be... people. How close we can get to that ideal, and how we get there, is what I'm unsure of.

[Evelyn_Okay]

Marxism: you're worth more than what your boss is paying you
Society: NO we're not
Socialist: this is why we can't have nice things 🤦🏼‍♀️

[lentoperoavanzo]

I saw a Wisecrack video about Marx not being a scary monster and I got worried that it would be a socdem/libsoc -esque repudiation of 90% of real-world Marxist revolutionary projects (somehow Cuba manages to avoid a lot of that energy), but I had enough faith in Michael to remain cautiously optimistic. I was not disappointed. This is getting saved to show to folks who flinch at words like “Marxist” and “communism” but are still willing to engage in good-faith dialogue. Excellent breakdown.

[chessenthusiast]

95% of those who criticize Marx have read about 0-5% of what he wrote. I have yet to come across a good faith, thorough, and accurate repudiation of Marx, likely because when you actually read and absorb what he says, you realize, “Oh, wait, he’s right about that, and that, and that, and that…”

[BrianMarshall]

I read Kapital a few years ago after reading The Wealth of Nations. Huge parts of it felt like the same book. I realized how propagandized I'd been against his work afterward. It didn't line up with what I'd been taught at all.
I wouldn't call myself a Marxist, but it definitely influenced the way I look at the world, government, institutions, etc

[eduardoserpa]

I'm happy I managed to scroll down the comments for a while without finding people having a complete meltdown over an honest portrayal of Marx's ideas. Great job, as usually!

[Rocketman]

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”
― George Orwell

[rileyxsko]

I was working as a machine operator making cooling systems for like airplanes, trucks, etc and just one piece of the 75-100 I made in a workday ranged anywhere from $500 - $2k dollars in value. I made $17/hr. For a 12 hour workday even before taxes I couldn't afford to buy just one of those pieces.

Can't even afford a 1/1 bedroom anywhere near where I work.

This is a good system and I see no flaws with it. 🥴